I have entered the world of Octogenarians!

It was celebration time again. One year ahead of  my 80th birthday and one day ahead of my Calender birthday. Though  I turn 79 only today and enter  the world of Octogenarians,  the celebrations took place yesterday- a Sunday. It started with my getting the best birthday gift of my life from my family. I opened my mail box yesterday morning  to find a mail from my daughter Sowmya attaching a book containing greetings and matching photos from my close family, extended family, old friends including a few walking friends. It was full of encomiums which I don`t know if I deserve. But I accept the sentiments expressed  with all humility. I had planned for a big get together  at GNC but that had to be cancelled due to restrictions on the number of guests allowed ( I promise to have that party later when the restrictions are totally relaxed).Instead I hosted a breakfast at Matsya restaurant in Gandhi Nagar for my walking friends whom I meet every morning. This was followed by a lunch at my residence in Sastri Nagar for close family in which my  resident grand kids Thavam and Bakthi and the non resident grand daughter Nila were VIP guests. The food from Eden restaurant which my son Balaji had arranged was delicious. I broke my resolve of not touching the spirits for the last seven years by having a glass of wine to celebrate the special occasion.

 In the evening Sowmya had arranged for a zoom meeting, anchored by my son in law RU,  at which over two dozen members of  my close and extended family conveyed their greetings to me online. Going down memory lane is always interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with every one. On the whole it  was a good start for another year which I hope to celebrate every day, God Willing!

My first out station trip after eighteen months- a unique experience!

When my daughter`s family  decided to visit Kumbakonam to offer prayers to her in law`s family deity, Uppiliappan, she agreed to take  me with them. I was more than delighted because I had been wanting  to visit Balaji temple in Tirupathi but was happy that instead I was getting an opportunity to offer prayers at the temple of Uppiliappan considered elder brother of Balaji. The visit turned out to be unique because my son in law RU had booked our accommodation in a home stay facility located  in the Agraharam of a  village instead of a modest star hotel we usually stay in.  The village was Konerirajapuram, about 25 kms away from Kumbakonam famous for the ancient  `Uma Maheshwari samedha Nataraja temple`. The facility was booked through the `Airbnb ` app.

The last few kilometers to the facility was through narrow winding  roads with green fields  on either side. The drive was pleasant and beautiful. When we reached the spot I was surprised to see a typical village house  with sloping tiled roof with a big `Thinnai in front`. We entered  the house to find the facility having  all the things that you would  find in a typical village home , as seen in many Tamil films. The owner had ensured that the guests experience  a life in a typical village home by retaining all the items found in such homes like a big swing ( Oonjal), an easy chair,  a grandfather clock which announced time every hour and many more.   

The three bedrooms in the home were very basic  without  attached toilets  which  were located in the back of the home. There were two toilets out of which  one  had a western style commode and the second one the Indian type. The other improvement was instead of the typical open wells used in the olden days, piped water supply was available through taps located in bathrooms and other strategic locations. There was also a simple Geyser in the bath rooms for those who prefer hot water for a bath. There are  no air conditioners in the house . Instead  Air coolers are  provided on request. Fresh linen and towels are also provided. Though WIFI facility is available , there is  no TV in the house. The care taker  Kumaresan ensured that we  were served delicious  home cooked  South Indian vegetarian meals from a family providing this service in the village.

After some rest,   post lunch consisting of a three  course meal, in the evening we visited the Uma Maheshwari  temple in the village followed by a visit to Sarangapani and Ramaswamy temples  in Kumbakonam. When we returned by 8 pm, hot idlis and Rava Upma were waiting for us for dinner. Though the beds were not very comfortable, it was a peaceful night that we spent at the end of the first day. 

The next morning after an early breakfast consisting of Idly, vada and hot pongal we checked out of the home and decided to visit Nachhiar temple and Uppiliappan temple  before returning  to Chennai. Standing before the imposing statue of Lord Uppiliappan  for  more than 10 minutes , I was lost in my prayers, without any crowd to push me around. Thanks to the fear of the pandemic, in spite of relaxations there was hardly any crowd in all  the temples.  I was happy that I had a darshan of a famous deity in my first outstation trip after eighteen months.

Though we had no time to go around  the village I learnt from the care taker that the village had about 2500 households out of which 400 houses were located in the Agraharam around the temple. Out of these only 40 are occupied now and rest of them were lying vacant used by the owners settled in other cities or abroad visiting the village during festival times. The home we were put up was 150 years old and is owned by a gentleman  settled in Japan, who had bought the property from the descendants of the original family. It was a big  house which had the main entrance on one road  and the back exit gate located on  a parallel road behind the home.  The new owner had demolished a portion of the house on the rear to create a small garden in which fruits and vegetable are grown now. 

Away from the hustle and bustle of a city or a  town it was an interesting experience staying in a typical village home and enjoying the peace and quiet  of the place. I learnt that the facility cost us Rs 5900/- for hiring the whole house for  one night for four people including all the meals and other supporting services. Ideal for people who are not too fussy in spite  of  the place not having  all the facilities and comfort they take for granted in a star hotel,  but would like  to have a  new experience.

 

My 11th book in 12 years-

 `The Search and other stories`- my first attempt at a translation job

My 11^th book in 12 years is out. It is a translation  of selected  short stories of Dr.J.Bhaskaran (JB)  from Tamil to English.  Based in Chennai .JB is a practicing Neurologist and Dermatologist whose articles/stories have been published   in popular Tamil Magazines  and also posted on his  Face Book page. He has so far published  nine books in Tamil - 3 medical, 4 general essays and 2 short story collections. He is a rising star in the world of Tamil literature.

When I decided to take up my next book project of translating a Tamil book into English I chanced upon a collection of Tamil short stories by JB  titled ‘Thedal’.( Search) The stories in the book, covered a variety of subjects with different settings, different characters, some serious and some humorous—but all of them with some message. Doctor was more than delighted to give me permission to translate any 15 stories from the book. As this was my first attempt at a translation job I started translating the first story with great trepidation, as I was worried if I would be able to get the correct translation of all the words and phrases in English. I did not have to worry. The ubiquitous Google Search which has replaced every  available dictionary/ Thesaurus in any language came to my rescue. When I sent the translations of two selected stories to JB, his response was more than encouraging..

 

You may wonder what is my credential for translating a Tamil book into English. In my student days in Bombay, where I studied in a Tamil medium school until 8th standard

I was a Tamil fanatic. An active student member of Bombay Tamil Sangam, I was an avid reader of all the popular Tamil weeklies and books by well-known authors of the time. I also tried my hands at writing short stories and plays in Tamil. I was active on the Tamil stage in Bombay donning character roles. But all this was behind me when I took up the demanding advertising career and left Bombay for good in pursuit of better opportunities in Delhi and Chennai where I am settled since 1974. Though I completely lost touch with writing in Tamil, I continued to keep in touch with the Tamil literary world by being a regular reader of the popular Tamil magazines.

 

In the meanwhile, the success of my autobiography in English published in 2009 paved the way for my taking up writing as a serious hobby post retirement. Very early in my evolution as a writer /author I had decided that I will try and cover all genres of writing. So far I have covered six genres: autobiography, rural marketing ( an industry), essays, history of an association, short stories and  novel.

 

As the seventh genre of writing, I chose  a translation job because of my comfort level with both English and Tamil. Besides I also had the lessons I learnt from my good friend (late) Charukesi, a well-known bilingual writer of his time, who had translated my autobiography into Tamil.

 

This book titled `The Search and other stories`  has a Foreword by R.Seshasayee, Vice Chairman of Hinduja group. Following is an extract:

 

“There is something that is very simple and elegant about Dr J. Bhaskaran’s short stories- like the  murmur of a small brook; like a modest nandiavattai flower. Like the strumming of a thampura, like   an unpretentious, tasty milagu rasam that only your mother could make. Every story has an uncluttered theme, characters being built up just to the point where they are ready to carry the story on their shoulders without losing speed or straying from the storyline. Not surprisingly, the stories leave you feeling good and satisfied

A word about the translator. Language needs to remain unobtrusive in a translation, never coming in the way of the narration. Like the right measure of salt in your sambhar, unnoticed, yet contributing significantly to the taste. R. V. Rajan, being a seasoned hand at writing, achieves this effortlessly.”

The book was informally released at the end of  a small event held  to commemorate the release of the 90^th Anniversary Special  of Kalaimagal, the popular Tamil monthly.

The book is published by Creative workshop, designed and printed by Compuprint.. Priced at Rs 150/- the book is available with the author ( bhaskaran_jayaraman@yahoo.co.in) and from me. It  will soon be available on Amazon.

Like a student awaiting the results of an examination he/she wrote, I now eagerly await the response from readers to my first translation job!

 

 

Grand Children – best gifts one can get in life!

I consider  Grand parenthood as the greatest promotion one can get in life. There cannot be a greater gift than getting a grandson or a  grand daughter. I had the privilege of becoming a grand father at the age of 54 when my grandson Arul was born. I remember the day vividly. I was busy in the office in discussion with my Secretary, when I got a call informing me of the arrival of a  baby boy - my first grand child through my eldest daughter Kavitha & RU. I literally jumped with joy shouting `I have become a Thatha!` Arul had arrived  in this world seven  weeks before my silver wedding anniversary. I had a grand function planned at Savera Hotel. The invitation went  in the name of Arul which carried a line at the end `No gifts please. My grandparents say  I am the best gift they got for their Silver Wedding Anniversary`

Since that day 25 years ago I have been blessed with five more grand children. Three grandsons  and three grand daughters including the two late arrivals – my resident grand children  3 years old Thavam and 5 month old baby doll Bakthi. The lovely kids of my son are keeping me entertained and spreading joy around.  Though I must confess  that at 79,  I don`t have the energy that I had 20 years ago to indulge them physically. It is always good fun when all my children and grand children visit my home for a family get together. We had one such occasion three days ago.  A lunch get together in honour of my second daughter Sowmya and her family visiting us after nearly two years thanks to the restriction imposed by the pandemic. The occasion also provided photo ops. Attached is a photo of my grand kids taken on the occasion. I missed Arul as he is now based in San Diego in USA ,doing well in his fist job that  he got after completing his Masters from the Carnegie Mellon university.

While the four senior grand kids, all talented in fields of their choice,  have grown into mature kids with their heads on their shoulders- I am sure the latest arrivals also will follow suit judging by the way my son Balaji and daughter in law Tulse are bringing them up. Please join me in  blessing  all my grand kids a bright future.