Kuttikkaalam With Kannan

The Chooral was a huge part of our childhood. At the time of its introduction to our family, the Chooral was to be used in case we do mischief. Achan liked the kind of control it had on us and he used to wave it through the air and our eyes followed suit. The Chooral adi grew from a 'once in a month' punishment to a 'twice in a day' affair. Amma and Achan were seriously enjoying the way we would obediently sit down, stand up, go from one room to the other and study silently just by taking the Chooral at hand. Sometimes, they would simply hold the Chooral to admire its marvel while we stood frozen wondering if a beating was to follow! We had had enough! We wanted the Chooral to disappear, and once again, Kannan and Vava came up with a plan! We knew that Achan would go to the office in the morning and be back only at noon for lunch, while Amma will be busy in the Kitchen with Kumari Chechi (our home maid). So we had just enough time. The Chooral was ...

Children fighting and driving their parents crazy were very common back in our school days. It is common even today. This story is about the time when mom decided to teach us a lesson so that we quit fighting forever. That Saturday afternoon, Achan was out for work and Amma had the tedious task of cooking and looking after us. We, as usual, fought our wars, played our games and made a lot of noise. Amma tried her best to keep us silent, but all in vain. Finally, she got a brilliant idea and she called out: "Kanna, Vavee, help me" and fell down. We stopped our games and rushed towards the kitchen to see our mom lying on the floor eyes closed. Amma was happy that her plan was working. She waited for her us to call her and try to wake her up. Kannan and I stood still trying to get hold of the situation. After a brief observation of the environment, Kannan spoke up. "Chechi, I think Amma is gone" I swear I saw Amma shiver when she heard that. I was shocked....

Aah! It was that time of our childhood when we understood that certain words were deemed to never be spoken in public; or some, which were not be to called against our worst enemies. It was also the time when Suresh Gopi's Commissioner movie was played in every Malayali's home. Some of the famous dialogs that were born as part of the same included: "Just remember that!" "Pha Patty" and so on. Of the many kids who watched these in television, Kannan and Vava watched in awe, the intensity that defined the anger portrayed when these words were called. 'Poda Patty' became a common use bad word for me and my brother Kannan. This name calling continued for a few months until Amma had had enough of the humiliations it caused her. One fine day, Amma called the both of us and made this golden rule which we remember to this day. "Never will one of you call the other 'patty' again. The one who breaks the rule will have to go through th...