Based on a True Story
Kochi is drowning in garbage.
Had Nostradamus predicted a plague in this little-known quatrain?
When the Queen’s land turns black of aspect
In twice thousand and seven,
It will enter, wicked, unpleasant, infamous
And take many of her sect to heaven.
Top corporates in India were invited for the Monkey Challenge 2007. Round I – there was a monkey seated on the dais and everybody was asked to make it laugh. Infy, TCS, etc. tried, no success. Guys from _____ (insert your company name here) whispered something in the monkey’s ear and the monkey guffawed its head off. Round II, the challenge was to make the monkey cry. Infy, TCS, etc. ditto. My company successful again. Third round. The task was to make the monkey run off. Other companies drew a blank again. Our guys spoke to the monkey, and it just vanished.
Everybody wanted to know what our guys had told the monkey.
“In the first round, we told the monkey we are working for _______, in the second round we told them our salary”
And in the last round? “We told the monkey we are hiring”
Story contributed by Biju. I had a small session with Biju and Bobby this Sunday. Wish you were there.
Pattar’s wedding. Crazy bash in Trivandrum Club. Early morning muhurtham. Guess only Mookkan reached the hall in time. After the wedding we pushed off to Munnar. 7331 and Jose’s car. For most of the journey, Biju was sleeping (he was driving, of course); he was finding it difficult to sleep when somebody else drove.
We stayed in some PWD guest house. Another big night – ‘I saw the Sign’ was the flavour of the season. Next morning, we were so exited to see a koladu that we almost drove off the cliff; round the next curve, 100 kolads…
That was Sangham’s last big trip. Jobs, marriages, whatever…we never went on a ‘big’ trip after that – perhaps it is time we did. What say?
Pradeep was called Pattar because my Cochin friend Pradeep was called Pattar (He was a pattar, but Pradeep was a Nair). He was from Bombay (Lucky Star Apartments. I remember all the addresses – Sudhag, KR 181, Puzhamudi, Mt. Wardha, Koodal – but have no idea what I had for lunch). My fav memories about Pattar include the game of ‘paru soap’ and the bharatmatrimony stunt he and Jaggu played in the final year.
Now, I am not sure if this really happened or of if this is a false memory – Did Pattar and I actually meet the Princi to request a day’s off when Gurdayal Singh failed to turn up after the 1988 Delhi riots? (Gurdayal did return; he fell to his death from MB 3rd floor in the final year. RIP Sardar).
News about a building collapse in Borivali triggered this post, now I remember.
Manassariyum Yanthram, the first book that i borrowed from Rajagiri library, started off a romance with books and libraries that continues to the day.
Last month i saw the book in DC Books, Cochin, and it was like running into a long-lost friend…
I was always in touch with Vinu, except for that brief while when he went back to REC (and you know what happened to him there). Over the years, whenever we jammed, we would talk about Paramu’s whereabouts – he had this habit of disappearing from our batch radar every few years.
Then two years ago, Paramu resurfaced in Chennai. It was like old times, we dropped in at Vinu’s place at midnight, woke up Paul at 2 am, partied till dawn – too bad Kathi was not around…
The more we change…
Civil Suresh, Appappan, Paramu, Babu, Vinu, Outside D-321, 1987
I was a big fan of Raju Nair’s Mavelinadu cartoon in Deepika. That was a good 20 years ago. Then a few months ago, i bought ‘Raju Nair Cartoon Kathakal’. Great cocktail of cartoons and stories – a must buy…
(Available at indulekha.com)
Biju and TV with families, at Ammankovil Road, a few days after my marriage
Chicku was my junior in college, and the photo above was snapped in his room on Non-Pol Avenue, during our batch’s final countdown.
(There is a story behind all that brown paper on the walls, do ask me some time)
We shared a passion for quizzing and movies. And during my 8th sem study leave (and Chicku’s 7th), when the whole hostel was in hyper kuth mode, we used to have these never ending movie quizz sessions (Mick Martin & Marsha Porter, Thank you!). Our other common interests included music, books, quizzing, partying and chorichil, and we had had a great time together.
Chicku always used to say RIP, and he was right.
News item about my sis’s kid, from Malayala Manorama, 9 July 2007
Babu Kuriakose 