We were driving back home after a visit to my sister's home, when I chance upon this temple procession on the road, with 4 elephants part of it. Which is not really an uncommon sight in Kerala, given that most temples have elephants and so you could see them sauntering on the streets, while being led to the nearby river by the mahouts for their daily bath.
But somehow since my son was born, I never have seen elephants on our streets. Usually you could hear them long away, by the bell around their neck and the rattling of the huge chains around their legs. And hearing the racket, people would come out onto the streets to have a look at the majestic animal walking leisurely on the road. Infact there is a popular saying in Tamil - "Yaanai varum pinnai, mani-osai varum munnai" which translates to "While the elephant comes behind, the sound of its bell precedes it".
Usually, I like to introduce my son to the various animals and birds around us and he now knows the crow, hens, pigeons, goat, cow, cat, dog etc. But an elephant would surely be a sight to behold - I would love to see his eyes widening as he takes in the big animal. So, I think of parking the car on the side of the road and taking him near the elephant. But my idea is quickly vetoed by my wife who feels that it is not a good idea to wake the kid up from his sleep. I agree and decide to later take him one day to the nearby temple so that he can see an elephant.
Aah, the pleasures of being from Kerala. Who needs NatGeo or Discovery or even the nearest zoo, when wildlife is all around you ? As we move on, leaving the elephants and the procession far behind us, my Dad goes back to his childhood days :
Dad : When I was a small kid, in school they asked us to write down the name of the largest animal and I wrote down "cat".
All of us : Cat ? Why would you think a cat is the biggest animal ?
Dad : Well, we did'nt have the kind of exposure that kids of today's generation or even your
generation had. Also, then we were living across the river, in a sort of island, waterlocked on all 4 sides. The bridges you see now, did not exist.
My wife : Agree to the exposure part and about being on an island. But you surely had cows, goats, dogs etc in the neighborhood and they surely are bigger than cats. Then why did you name a cat ?
Dad : True - we had all these animals around. But I don't remember why I named a cat of all the animals. I was too small, and somehow that was the answer that came to mind.
I don't know what my Mom and wife were thinking, but my mind immediately tried to imagine those times - no electricity, water all around, landlocked place etc. That was where I was born, though in a few years my grandparents moved across the river, to where we live now. We had a small piece of land there, where the old house used to stand, where my Dad was born and grew up. It was kind of sentimental for me and I hoped we would retain it, but some of our relatives made my grandparents gift it to them, citing some emotional reasons. Anyway...
Dad brought me back to the present by saying, "And do you know what your Grandpa did when he saw the notebook with the wrong answer written by me ?"
Me ; What did he do ?
Dad : He promptly took me to the nearest place where an elephant was available (must be
some temple) and showed me the elephant. Letting me know which was the biggest animal.
Why am I not surprised by what my Grandpa did ? Exactly what I would expect him to do. Teach by example, instead of rote. He could have corrected my Dad and said that, "You are wrong. The elephant is the biggest animal on earth." But he chose to actually show him the biggest animal, since seeing is believing.
The longest time I spent with my Grandpa was during my 2 years of schooling in Kerala. He had by then had had a paralytic stroke which rendered one symmetric half of his body pretty much useless and also had weak eyesight. But he still kept himself active. I learnt quite a lot from him during those 2 years and things which I still hold on to.
The blog-writing I do, can be attributed to him. He was an avid diary-writer & even today we have his diaries extending back to 3-4 decades ago in which he has noted down various events like my birth and that of my sisters, my Dad's career & important events in life etc. I started off with diary writing and then stopped that to have it online on a blog.
He also practiced what he preached and had a set of principles by which he lived. Charity was an important part of his life. Most of the day, he would be reclining on the easy-chair which was placed close to the main door from where he could see as far as the main gate. He had a bowl kept within reach with coins in it to give to anyone coming for alms.
And another of his principles that I follow religiously is "Everything has a place for it. If you take something from somewhere in my home, ensure that you return it to that place. This will help the next person looking for it find it easily." Somehow my Dad did not get this practice of his Dad's and occasionally would be at the receiving end of my Grandpa's rebuke for not replacing stuff at their set location.
And one of his quotes that I still vividly remember is, "Do not ever lend anyone your pen, spectacles & footwear. These 3 are personal objects and only for one's own use." In today's world, I guess we can add "cellphone" to the list. I ofcourse promptly modified the adage to include bike/car in the list of items that one should not lend to anyone.
He was also religious, but not a blind follower. I remember him debating the finer points of the Bible with preachers/priests and in some cases even recall them leaving unable to answer his questions.
Did he have any vices ? Sure he did - he was no saint. Smoking was one. Even to his last days, he used to smoke. Also I have heard from my Grandma about how when he was younger and abler, he used to like his few glasses of toddy and would occasionally take me along to the toddy-shop on his bicycle when I was a small kid. Somehow, my Dad turned out to be a teetotaller, while I smoke and also like my occasional drink. Looks like the vices skip a generation in our family, which I hope is true because then my son would be a teetotaller.
Another vice, if I can call it that, was his buying lottery tickets. He was convinced that he will hit the jackpot one day and would buy the weekly tickets without fail. On very rare occasions he did win some small money, but nothing even remotely close to the jackpot. But he never stopped buying lottery tickets. On the train to Kerala, there is always this guy selling lottery tickets and whenever he comes around, I am reminded of my Grandpa and even wonder if I should try my hand at it.
What if I hit the jackpot ? For all of Rs10, I could end up winning Rs.10 million, which after-tax would work out to some Rs6.5 million. Still not a bad sum to retire early to Kerala. You know what ? I think I will give it a try next time. And if you don't see me updating the blog, you can be sure that I am somewhere in Kerala, enjoying the moolah and having fun in the backwaters.
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