Based on a True Story
Legend has it that when she was born, the third girlchild in her family, her mom said ‘Chahiye na!’ and that became her name.
We used to work together (the photo above was clicked a few days before she quit), and today she is a good friend.
Chain, thanks for being around.
Final Years’ Day, October 1987, Outside Audi
Sitting: Jaggu, Newton, Zulfi, Suresh, Paramu, Babu, Chudan
Standing: Rakesh, Pattar, Hari, Kathi, Jackie, Vinu, Shilen, Baby Alex, Santhosh(?)
Walking: Baby PP
The shirt that Paramu is wearing is mine
From 1991 to ’93 i was with Ashok Leyland, in the Marketing Services Group, handling market Research. It was a dream job – opportunity to travel and meet people, lot of free time to catch up on reading (on the train) and good money.
Once, in Central Station, while walking to my coach, i saw this beautiful Mallu girl boarding the train. After the train started, i tracked her down and struck up a conversation – She was studying in Cuttack (hey! i am going to Cuttack), She was from Calicut (I studied in Calicut). I told her i will be in Orissa for a week and that i would like to meet her sometime. She wasn’t very enthusiastic…
Let us call her Devi, She was studying in NIRTAR (National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research).
I asked everybody i met in Cuttack, starting with the auto driver who took me to my hotel, about NIRTAR and nobody had heard about the place. Finally, on the day i was to leave town, i was told NIRTAR is located in Olatpur, some 30 km away from Cuttack.
I decided to make the trip (!). It was pouring like crazy, the bus was leaking, and by the time i reached the institute (the last 2 km in a cycle rickshaw with open sides) i was drenched to the skin. I located the Girl’s Hostel (which i remember as an old bunglow, nothing like the pic below), met the warden and asked for Devi.
Devi made her entrance after a good 30 minutes. She was cold, and bundled me out in a few minutes.
From Cuttack, I went to Calcutta. Jose was working in Cal then. I recounted my story to Osa and he deadpanned “Ninakku NIRTARayille?”
Vaalkashnam: When i got back to Chennai, there was this letter from Devi waiting for me. And that was “the beginning of a beautiful friendship” (From Casablanca, check out the movie)
I lived in Perambur with Chacko, Biju, Puthu and Chacko’s dog (the last few months) during 1993-94. Rakesh also stayed with us for a few months.
I had had some crazy highs and crazy lows in Perambur, and today, i look back upon the days we spent there with much fondness. Perambur was in many ways an utopian experiment – there were no rules and there were no limits. And naturally, our flat was a big time party hub – Ani, Jose, Pattar, Aliyan Rakesh and Unni are the regulars i remember, and the entire Cochin gang, including Biju, Bobby, Diji and TV, has jammed with us during Perambur’s halcyon days. And once, the ENTIRE Cochin gang landed up in Perambur together – that was for the Jethro Tull concert – and that in many ways, spelled the end of Perambur as we had come to love.
My wife wasn’t very happy that her in-laws were on the blog and she wasn’t, so here goes…
The first photo, from the Ammankovil Archives, is almost 50 years old. The second one was snapped in Chennai a few months ago.
Here’s wishing Pappa & Mummy many more years of good health and happiness.
In October 1987, eight of us planned a trip to Kodai via Munnar & Top Station. The operation was top secret – we didn’t tell our people we were biking to Kodai. We packed our stuff and met at BTH (My parents were told we were going to Kottayam to meet Chicku – REC 1988, more about him later).
BTH, waiting for the gang to assemble
I don’t remember who, but one of the bikers didn’t turn up. So it was seven guys & three bikes – one of us had to drop out, and nobody wanted to. So we decided to ride triples on Biju’s RD 350!
Beginning of the Ghat section
The Se7en – Biju, Top, Raman, Fanny, Ani and sitting, Rojo & I
(Fanny passed away last year, RIP)
Vazhiyorakkazhchakal
Hairpin near Munnar, After the First Crash.
Check out the tear in Biju’s jeans
(The backpack on Rojo is Paramu’s, u will be hearing more about him soon)
Top Slip. My fav photo
Roads were bad, but no so bad…
Rain & Slush. After a few spills, nobody wants to ride…
I do not have any photographic record of the next few hours (If i had taken the camera out, i would have got hit)
On the forest roads between Top Station and Kodai, it was dark and raining, Raman & Ani crash, and one by one the head lights of all three bikes conk off.
We managed the last stretch on the nurungu vettam of 350’s turn indicator.
Outskirts of Kodai. The worst is behind us.
Warmth, Food, Kodai
It was a Gandhi Jayanti-Puja weekend, and Kodai was packed. We ended up spending the night in a bunglow’s annexe some 15 km away from Kodai, and all we could manage was one room, and one bed.
Yes, this bed…
But we had a blast there, jamming late into the night till the guy from next room (a judge, we were told) made us shut up.
The morning after
Trying to top Top! Mookkan & a friend of Biju’s from Palghat join the fun.
Go to Cochin!
One the way back, a late lunch at Diana
Finishing Point. Caravan.
We did 550 km in 36 hours, seven guys on three bikes. Vintage Sangham Stuff.
One year later, we did it again, 14 guys on seven bikes. But then, that’s another story…
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Image originally posted on www.lntvalves.com/blog on 30 May 2007
Babu Kuriakose 