Wednesday 11 March 2015

'Triplets Kerala' pirannal

Yesterday was 'Triplets Kerala' pirannal (third). Kumbham 1st. The day turned out to be eventful- not very pleasant events either.
My father had a slight fever day before yesterday. Yesterday at 5.00 am he got and was going to charge his cell phone when he fainted and fell under the staircase, and the back of his head hit the stair edge, cutting the skin and causing some bleeding. We got real frightened, Ramesh and mother took him to the hospital, got the cuts stitched and dressed and they came back after some time. I took leave and stayed at home. He was doing all right till the evening, when suddenly his left leg started hurting. By midnight the pain was too much and we got scared about neurological concussions. Early morning they went to the hospital again and learned that it was a displaced bone, and got it bandaged too. The whole house is upset, we have a temple function next week (of which I shall write then), and father wants to be present for that. Cannot predict how everything will turn out.
On lighter note, triplets have started referring to themselves as 'I' most of the time, instead of the usual name. Instead of saying 'Balu will get it', Balu says 'I will get it'.
Communication between them has improved considerably. Until now they used language with each other just to show off their knowledge of handling language, as a means to prove superiority. Noe that all three have achieved pretty good handle of it, they have started to actually communicate with language. Very cute to hear. Also the way they take the dolls, make up stories and tell that. Refereeing is one major effort now, as they start throwing tantrums all of a sudden, throwing toys at each other's face, pushing each other forcefully, sometimes even biting each other, or hitting each other- sometimes in play, sometimes in a fight. It is really scary at times and requires all our alertness. The game gets dangerous all too soon.



If anyone starts to scold, Raman has a habit of running to his grandmom and crying and complaining to her, or if she is not available, running to the bedroom and lying on the bed sucking his thumb (no, he still has not got rid of it). Today he bit Balu for which Ramesh started to give a mock punishment, when he ran to the bedroom, saw it was closed because his granddad was resting inside. He ran to the kitchen, found no one there, and passed us and ran to the living room. The way he was running looking for a shoulder or pillow to cry was so funny that Ramesh started laughing and called him to come and cry on his shoulder. Next moment we saw Raman come in carrying a big cushion from the living room sofa which he placed on the floor before Ramesh, lay on it and started to weep. But by now, his grief was forgotten and he too started grinning!
Balu does all the intelligent plays now, filling a tin with different sized balls and blocks in different combinations, and trying to close it etc. He can pour water from one jug to another without spilling it. Kutty is polishing her role playing skills daily. :)

Sunday 8 March 2015

Reflections


Teri aankhon ke siwa duniya mein rakha kya hai
in mein mere aane waale zamaane ki tasveer hai
chaahat ke kaajal se likhi hui meri taqdeer hai

ye uthe subah chale ye jhuke shaam dhale
mera jeena mera marna inhi palkon ke tale’

Loosely translated-
What is there in this world except your eyes
In them (I can see) the image of my future (generations)
Also my destiny, written with the kohl of love
When they look up, morning sun shines, when they are cast down, twilight comes
My life and my demise depend on these eyelashes…

A smitten lover sings this beautiful song to his lady love, in the movie ‘Chiraag’ (1969) (lyricist : Majrooh Sultanpuri, music: Madan Mohan, singer: Mohammed Rafi). I especially like the line- 'in mein mere aane waale…’- (The exact translation would be ‘In your eyes resides the image of my time that is yet to come’, but I prefer the loose translation). It talks not about a momentary infatuation, nor a love that will last a life time, not even a love between two people that is eternal. But it talks about a bond that had been, and will be continuing through generations. It is not between two people alone. When he looks into her eyes, he can see how his sons and daughters are going to be like, and their sons and daughters, too. And when he sees his daughter, he can see a part of his own, and her (his lover lady’s) own, mother, and grandmother. They are just a couple in a timeless bond, a bond that is so natural, so much a part of evolution, that there is no way it can be broken, no way it cannot exist.

In India generally marital bond is (or at least, it was) considered timeless, a strong bond between families, between clans, communities, kingdoms, generations. We have that culture encoded in our system and so it is taken for granted that once married, we remain married, forever. Usually a young couple’s married life is colorful and joyful in the first few years. Then it becomes even more joyful and meaningful once a baby enters their lives. The whole family- including all relatives take part in the rearing of the children, and children are supposed to belong not only to the parents, but to the entire family, their past and future generations. The right for taking decisions on the children’s education, their diet, clothing, play times etc. are vested upon everyone. This has changed considerably in the recent past (in a way for good, in a way for bad) still some values of the bygone culture remains. And that gives us a certain assurance and feeling of security when we think about our family relationships.

Why am I telling this now? Will tell you in the next post.