The Legend of Elikunji
Mothers spoke about him in hushed whispers. When they fed their babies. “If you don’t finish your lunch, Elikunji will take you away.” We debated, “Does he exist? Or is it just a conspiracy to make the babies eat?” But, somewhere in the dark corners of our minds, a nagging question kept us on tenterhooks: […]
How I won the World Cup for India
Ramaswami Mudaliar was a kind man but he wasn’t too kind when it came to his Dyanora black-and-white television. In 1983, owning a television was the current day equivalent of driving a BMW with Katrina Kaif as your dinner date. Mudaliar probably hugged and slept on the TV, which was encased in a wooden cabinet; […]
The end of Suren as we know him?
For all you guys that know Suren, here’s some breaking news. The rum-loving, party animal who terrorized unsuspecting victims with his ruthless one-liners has been branded. Yeah, that’s what samarshanam means. They brand you with red-hot Sanku and Chakra emblems. What this entails is that Suren is not supposed to drink, smoke, and eat (even […]
Stories from Chennai
I always saw Chennai in Yellow. It could be the harsh sun. Or probably the bright colored Sambar with a wild, turmeric fragrance. The Chennai in early 80s was a different world. There were no high-rise apartment complexes. Barring the LIC building on Mount road, which was the tallest in Chennai, there were no distinguished […]