This young old man was born in a small town called Tanjore
Presently known as
as Thanjavur in South India, Thanjavur
He lived six or seven miles from the Railway Station.
He used to play with the boys many games on the road,
They played football.throw-ball, hit ball.
. They also played marbles,sometimes when the marble was broken there were tears in the eyes of the loser,sometimes wept and sometimes crying.
The loser has to push the marble till he reaches the game spot and his knuckles would have scratches and at home he applied the turmeric paste.
The next day,he was ready for the game again.
They played with the cycle rim and the stick and would drive the rim with the stick running along with that.
There was competition and there was no jealousy or fight.
They also played with the stick and the bail and the ditch in the road.
He would hit the bail. The opponent had to catch or bring it near the hole. Then the play would start again.
May be, The boy thinks now that was the forerunner
for the cricket of this date.
They also played with the tops.One boy,who lost, would keep his top in the middle and the other boys would hit at his top and sometimes break it.
Then they had a nice scene there.The next day the same boy would come with another top to play again.
There was no bitterness among them.
They had a sporting spirit.
. If any boy got hurt, all the other boys would pacify him and give
whatever help they could.
Some of those boys, when they meet even now, are very happy to have the exchange of welfare of their families and the stories.
. Girls used to play different games like Sillu or Paandi.
A game of jumping from one block to another.
Another game was with the bamboo sticks.
It would have a hook at the end.
. The loser’s stick would be thrown away with the hook in the other stick.
The loser had to go there where the stick was there and bring it back.
The boys also played Kabbaddi.
Now an Olympic game
Finding which team was
stronger and valiant and have more vigour
and presence of mind.
. The game would come to an abrupt end ,if a corpse
was taken on that road and the flowers were showered on the dead body and on the road,
In some houses,if a person left this world, there would be huge hue and cry.
You could see people coming from two miles afar crying and weeping
along with the drums beating.
Some time they were all hired and would come there for 4 idlis and
one coffee and for some little money and a meal after the corpse
had been taken away from there.
. When Pandals or shamiana or tents were put in front of anybody’s house that meant some auspicious function or the other way round.
If the drums were beaten that meant someone left forgetting
his breath.
If the Nadaswaram was played, that meant some good auspicious function. The whole residents would enjoy getting together.
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. In front of the house there was a road.
At the left hand corner there was a beautiful “Magila Maram:” . The flowers were very very tiny and had a good smell.
. Between the tree and another house there was a lane.
The boy went into the lane which led to another big garden
only once or twice.
He used to sit on the walls of his garden and watch,
. The lane was normally very empty.
On that lane and in the house nearby he had friends
with whom he played games.
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He still remembers those days when Goddess Draupathi would
come there in procession and would never leave that corner
until a lemon or two was cut and thrown,’
. The man who wore the attire,the boy even now wonders
how such a heavy attire was carried by him
Sometimes when there was fear of Cholera,
Goddess Vadabadra Kali
would come and drink turmeric water, nearly 4 full vessels
and also eat plenty of neem leaves.
This also is still a wonder for the boy.
On Sivarathri day, a man with a well-decorated bull
would come beating the drum and would leave
the house getting some old clothes and rice and change.
The boy who slept on the Thinnai was always afraid that Kali
might come in the middle of the night on the road.
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In the month of January, All the roads near Rahu Kala Kali
or Vadabhadra Kali were decorated and everywhere
The hangings made from the tender leaves of coconut were put in a special fashion
.It was a very nice sight.
There the Goddess would have Abhishekam and
dressed in different attire everyday and
was blessing all those who came to her temple.
The drum beatings made even the non-music lover dance.
Some devotees carried milk in a closed vessel. paal. Kudam
The kudam was also covered with flowers.
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There was a municipality thick pipe of 2” which supplied drinking water to the locality.
There was always a bickering,quarrel and fighting for
who had to take first,
The fight and quarrel would lead for the husbands
to join because of the slangs and untoward words
used by the ladies.
. The boy was watching along with other boys
and learnt many slang by heart.
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He used to study in the Kalyana Sundaram High school.
He had to walk all the way to the school.
He went from Marakkadai, then Keela vasal and
vellai Pillayar temple and then touching
the East Main street (keela veedhi) then come
to Aranmanai gate the
front one and the middle one,
then through the vegetable market and then through
the kadai veedhi( the road full of all kinds of shops on both sides)
And he still remembers the Jain stationery shop where
He bought his school stationery.
Then crossing one Lord Narasimha temple and finally reaching the school.
The school was very big.
It had a big hall.and nice stage to play dramas.
. The boy even now remembers the Krishna role played
by his elder brother with a red shawl on him and asking
Karna gave as a donation his Punya.
Sri .Venkatrama Iyer was taking class 3rd and then
Rama Iyer and Laxman Iyer the twins took 4.5 and 6 th standards.
In 3rd std, he had a friend in the name of G. Ramachandran,
who introduced the Heramba temple of Ganesh behind the then Meenakshi talkies( cinema theatre)
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. We used to see movies in Meenakshi theatre when Mr.Nagaraj
was the manager.
Mr. Nagaraj retired as a teacher and joined the Meenakshi theatre.
The theatre was very near North Main Street.
In that street at the end of the street,there was a house where
Prince’s relatives and their families lived.
When the family went, the cart was covered with white cloth on both the front side and back side.
This was the custom followed by some Muslim families too.
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. There are 4 main streets East main street, North Main street, West main street and south main street,
West main street was called Mela veedhi.
These streets were very lucky
.They had seen Muthu pallakku palanquins, the chariots
more than 8 or 9 came from different parts of the city
and from evening 6 p.m. to the next morning till 8a.m.
They were running on the 4 roads.
That sight was a rare one.
All the leading Nadaswara vidwans played and it was very nice.
And pleasing to the ears.
. There was a sadhir aattam in the big temple.
The dancer went on the top of the ladder nearly 100 feet
and from there she danced on the special round
with a thick wood in the middle.
. she would tie herself there and dance.
It was there in the left hand corner of the temple entrance
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. In the early mornings all devotees took bath, applied
the religious signs on their foreheads and went inside
the big temple to pray after worshipping the Ganesh idol
on the bank of the river.
. People of those days told each one that
there was a ghost called “Mohini” in front of the Big temple
so people avoided going on that road at night alone.
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One could hear Reserve police bugle sound from there in the morning.
. This road is behind the Govt. Eye hospital.
You can see the statue of the king Raja Raja Cholan there in the corner.
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