My Journey in a Paper Van

Pic courtesy: http://www.imcdb.org/

It was July 1984 and Mangalore got a TV station to coincide with the Los Angeles Olympics. My brother wanted a Dyanora CTV(CT212) which was not available in Mangalore.

In Bangalore there was heavy rush as well but I could succeed in booking one through M/s Devi International on Madrtas Bank Road(St Mark's Cross Road). After much waiting that evening till 10:30pm, I got my piece, tested it, got it repacked and took it to my home in Malleshwaram. I also purchased 3 sets of 5 element antennae with mounting pipes and a full coil of ribbon cable for my brother and two other friends which was cheap compared to Mangalore.

Now the question was whether to book all that in a lorry or take it in the bus. A friend of mine told me that Hindu paper van(Matador) starts at little after 11:00pm and reaches Mangalore much before 7:00am to deliver paper and works out cheaper than bus/lorry. I booked a seat for the next night's schedule and also luggage space in that van at Sheetal Hotel in Gandhinagar which was the booking and pickup point.

Reached there well on time at 10:00pm and loaded the TV and the antennae plus my suitcase. The van was almost 50% loaded with heaps of cartons making chirping sounds that they told me are baby chicks that were being delivered to a Poultry. There were also 3 passengers seated in a cramped manner on the back seat! I wondered how they're going to dump the paper. That day being a Thursday, the weekly magazine Frontline was also printed and ready for loading. I got the front seat behind the driver on which I placed the TV box near the window and sat in the middle.

The van went straight to Hindu press on Cunningham Road, parked inside the compound and loading started. It was a never ending load and by the time they stuffed in all the bundles, the van was jam packed and even the back of my neck started getting hurt by the paper bundles! Besides, the birds kept chirping and I started getting a mild headache! From Hindu press, the van started at 11:45pm and the driver drove like a rally driver, screeching brakes at major towns like Kunigal, Chennarayapatna, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Uppinangady and unloading bundles of paper and Frontline. It rained cats and dogs almost all through the way and he entered every small town and was throwing them bundles expertly out of the window, without even stopping over! I had a doubt whether the paper remains intact in such a heavy rain but the driver said, someone will pick them bundles from the steps of the shops sooner, where he threw them.

Great network, that!

The chicks kept chirping nonstop. Two of the passengers behind me kept grumbling about chicks being loaded on paper van but I was tight lipped, as my load of TV and antennae were also questionable!

The cartons containing the birds were unloaded at BC Road and we all sighed in relief!when we reached Hampankatta little after 7:00am, it was bright and sunny. I sighed in relief that at least for unloading, I got an ideal weather! We reached Vyas Rao's Paper stall in Mannagudda near to my home, where I got down and unloaded the luggage, caught an autorickshaw and went home. The TV and the antennae reached safely.

My plight didn't end there. My head was reeling and I still heard birds chirping around my head with 3D surround sound like a baddie knocked down by the hero in some cartoon strip! I couldn't hear a word that my folks at home spoke and I was literally moving around like a zombie. I'd not slept a wink after getting into the van!

It took me almost two days to overcome that chirping sound and become normal!

Cycle Balance

Pic courtesy: DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images

It was October 1967 and Dasara time. A Tamil song from Sivaji Ganesan movie was playing aloud on the horn loudspeaker. Over a hundred people were gathered around the make shift arena built on the vacant land of Panchavati Colony behind Modern Talkies Shimoga. They were cheering aloud as a slim dark man in his Twenties, wearing black half pants and colourful floral design shirt, was pedaling the bicycle round and round, nonstop. A banner written in rustic Kannada and Tamil read "Cycle Balance non stop 7 days. Shanmugham challenge".

Yes. Such scenes were not unusual those days in the Sixties in old Mysore province. They were supposed to keep pedaling the bicylce for 7 days without touching the feet or other parts of the body to the ground. I have also seen a movie in which, jobless hero has pressure on him to get his mother or sister cured for a deadly disease and he resorts to nonstop cycle balance to earn money.

That Shanmugham seemed to do it regularly for a livelihood. They had all the necessary equipments like the gramophone and the public address system with something written in Tamil. I think they travelled by buses and went from town to town, him performing the feat.

I was fascinated, as I was on a holiday, staying in my sister's home nearby, I was still 10 years old and I had nothing better to do! My brothers, a few relatives and myself stood and watched Shanmugham pedal the bicycle while he did some feats like they do in circus like wheelie and staying still without touching his feet to the ground. He also entertained the crowd by miming his lips to the song playing on the gramophone.

Couple of days went by and late one evening, I saw Shanmugham leaning over the fencing and having bath with cold water, while staying on the bike. I appreciated that, but also wondered how on earth will he attend to nature's call while balacing on the cycle!

Then on the fourth day, Four of us boys went to watch a movie. At around 10:00 in the night, we were returning home. As we reached the arena where the cycle balance was going on, we neither saw any light, nor we heard any sound on the gramophone. Shanmugham was visible sitting on the bicycle in the dark smoking a beedi, but with his left foot touching the ground! We laughed aloud and suddenly music started to play, lights were switched on, and Shanmugham threw the beedi butt and started pedalling the bike aggressively!

As we tried to move away, a woman grinned at us with an apologetic look on her face that seemed to say 'Please don't think he has broken the challenge. He was out of his mind or probably he was sleepy. Otherwise he will do this nonstop!' We just laughed heartily and went home.

Shanmugham completed his "7 day nonstop Cycle Balance challenge" exactly on the Seventh day amidst a loud cheer, some folks garlanding him and applying turmeric powder and ash on his forehead and offering him tender coconut to drink. He looked like real hero of Tamil film with dark glasses on and milky white teeth sparkling in the sun!

He gave a long speech in Tamil, thanking all the people and said he never gets tired when he takes up challenges like the one he just completed. The crowd cheered and threw coins into the bowl a small girl went around with. However, he ignored us boys smiling and watching him with keen eyes! 

Cheap Of-FUR

Winter days were fast approaching when I was in Mysore in 1979. I had to travel early in the morning to Chamarajanagar and return late in the evening. Some of my colleagues suggested me that I buy a sleeveless sweater and beat the chills.

Those days, a sleeveless sweater in any shop cost little above Rs.120/-. I did check in two or three different stores but was two minded, whether to buy one or not. My salary of little over Rs. 500/- per month just kept me going and I had to travel to Mangalore once in three months to overcome home sickness. That cost quite a bit because I took some goodies home and while returning, purchased something for my friends and colleagues.

Then on a weekend, I was chatting with my Mangalorean friends near the post box in KR Circle. A Tibetan woman grinned and asked us if we want sweaters. I was attracted to the different designs, some resembling typical American Apache Indians' attire! I asked the woman the price. She said it ranged from Rs.45/- to Rs. 75/-. I thought, the prices were reasonable as well, and asked her to show the pieces.

Prabhat Kumar, the senior most among us, also my childhood friend, warned me that Tibetan sweaters were not good. He advised me to buy a branded one in any shop paying more. I again thought about my bank balance and nodded my head. Just to save myself from the curse of Prabhat, I asked the lady to move on and said I'm not interested. She was surprised and she went away.

The next day I was standing alone at KR Circle waiting for my friends. It was just 6:30pm but was already dark. Sundays my friends usually appeared late, as they either went for a movie matinee show or to have evening snacks and coffee at Madhu Nivas Roof Top, Deepa Drive-In or Dasprakash before reaching the usual hangout, the Post Box.

Then she was there, the same Tibetan woman. She was looking as charming as she was the previous evening and she again grinned and asked me if I want a sweater. I was bored and thought why not have a look into the heap she was carrying. I also developed sympathy for her, being a refugee who travelled all the way from Tibet to reach Kushalnagar and settle down, doing hard work and making sweaters. I thought, I will buy one for sure, no matter anyone likes that or not!

I asked her to show a sleeveless white one with dark blue ethnic design. She showed that and I knew there was bargain in Mysore for almost every deal. She started from Rs. 45/- and I started from Rs. 10/- and was rigid about it. After many minutes of bargaining, she parted with it for Rs. 10/- and I bought it, feeling jubilant. I also wore it, though it had some foul smell. I thought I'll surprise Prabhat and other friends with my buy and bluff that I purchased it in a showroom on Dhanavantari Road.

After 20 minutes or so, Prabhat Kumar, Krishna Kumar and Shashidhar Pandit appeared on their scooters and bikes. Pandit had an eye for fashion garments and he was fascinated to see my sweater. He came closer, touched the sweater and asked me, from where I purchased it and how much I paid for it.  I first boasted about the name of a ready made garment showroom on Dhanavantri Road and said I paid Rs. 100/-  but he didn't believe me. He said, the feel says this is a Tibetan sweater! Prabhat heard him and stared at me with a "I told you not to, but you didn't listen to me" look!

I then told them everything and said I am not worried about the quality, as It was a temporary measure till January when the winter will be over. I also added that I felt good by helping that Tibetan woman who was struggling to sell the sweaters. They laughed and said that's usually the case with new bakras who fall for Tibetan women, their smile, their sweet talk and charm! I started feeling a bit odd but controlled my agony.

When I reached my room after a night out at Kings Kourt and removed the sweater over my head, I heard couple of stitches giving way. I also felt some kind of itching sensation around my neck. When I examined my neck in the shaving mirror, I saw red rashes all around it! Then when I gazed at my Raymonds Woolen pant, the area that was covered with the sweater was full of white fur from the sweater. I could not remove it that easily and I felt helpless. I frantically tried to rub the pant with nylon washing brush without success. My roommate Mohan Reddy was laughing aloud watching my plight and I shouted at him to get lost. I said I shall leave the room the very next morning, if he ever tried to laugh over my miseries. He silently went out on the balcony and watched the stars in the sky.

I hung the sweater on the wooden frame of my bed, went to bath room and washed my arms and face with soap and water. Still felt the itch on my neck but I was helpless, without any anti-histamine tablets or cream in stock.

I called Reddy and said, " Look. I think I am allergic to the wool they've used in the sweater. That's why I got the itch. I remember using some woolen blanket in Dwarka Hotel Hyderabad few years ago, and then also it was itching like this."

Reddy said "No sir. It is some cheap fur they use to make these sweaters. You should feel lucky if they haven't made it with Dog's fur!"

I was shocked! For the first time in my life I felt grossly taken for a ride by that smiling fair skinned charming Tibetan woman. I cursed my luck and thought, there's no hope left for humanity in this world. If we get duped by people for whom we show sympathy and try to help them this is what we get in return! I also thought, Reddy might be right. That's the smell, dog smell that I got when I wore the sweater for the first time!

Next morning I wore the sweater and travelled in the train to Chamarajanagar. Most of the train mates were impressed by the design but they warned me that Tibetan sweaters are not strong. I need to get them stitched on the insides for better reinforcement. For a moment I also heard some grinding sound of wheels on railway track and thought the train is skidding while changing tracks at Nanjangud outer signal, but we were still in Kadakola. It was Vijay Kumar of Indian Bank and Badalu Srinivas my colleague squeaking like rats trying to laugh without showing any emotions. I just nodded my head and watched the marshland through the window with deep worry.

After I reached the branch, I removed the sweater and did my work. In the late afternoon, our Bank sweeper Madamma came and she watched the sweater hanging on the back of my chair. She asked me how much I paid and where I bought it. I told her about that. She asked me to get one for her the next time, as she wanted one badly to keep her warm in her thatched roof home.

Suddenly an idea struck my mind!

I whispered "Madamma.....!"

"Sir?"

"Do you really want a sweater like this one?"

"Yes sir."

"Definitely? God promise?"

"Ayyo sir...what are you saying? Don't you believe me? I want one sir!"

"Take this Madamma. It's all yours."

"But sir, don't you want it? How much should I pay for it?"

"Nothing Madamma. Just take it, but on one condition. Don't tell anyone about it. Never wear this when you come to Bank. I don't want anyone to know that I gave this to you for free."

"Sure sir. Thank you sir. Goddess Chamundeshwari bless you sir."

She was looking extremely delighted. I still remember her smile when she took the sweater and turned around twice before leaving, and looked at me with gratitude.

(Almost)Missed Train - Experience 1

Pic source: http://wallzoa.com

Train journeys are fascinating. We get to enjoy the nature passing by, while we make friends with fellow travellers, have breakfast, lunch and dinner on board and also have the facility of toilet.

My first train experience was from Mangalore to Manjeshwar in the year 1966 when my father's friend Manjeshwar Vasudeva Kamath and his family came down from Mumbai to attend the festival 'Manjeshwar Shashti'. Since they stayed in our home, they persuaded me to come with them and enjoy the festive mood. We travelled by the passenger train in the evening to reach little after dark. That was by all means thrilling, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I was invited by my friend Ganesh Baliga in the year 1976 October to visit Madras for the first time. He was working for Fedders Lloyd Airconditioners then.

That Saturday, I caught the Mangalore Madras Mail in the afternoon and reached Madras the next morning. Baliga came to the Central Station and picked me up on his Lambretta scooter and we reached his room in a Lodge opposite Kodambakkam Railway Station.

I spent 4 days with him, happily visiting relatives and friends, visiting places including a day trip to Mahabalipuram and thoroughly enjoyed his hospitality. He was a good cook and his simple rice and daalithoi with a curry in the night is something to reminisce over.

My return journey was booked by Brindavan Express to Bangalore, where I wanted to spend a couple of days with my brother and my uncle's family.

The night before, Baliga told me "Rajani, your train is in the morning at 7:35. We need 15-20 minutes to reach the station. SO, I'll keep the alarm set for 6:00am, prepare coffee and have some bread butter with it. By 6:45 we must start. You better be alert and wake up as soon as I call your name first thing in the morning!"

I nodded, but the night was stilling and we kept listening to the album 'The Sound of The Sunshine Band' that I had recorded for him on a cassette and also talked and talked till maybe 2:00am!

The next morning when I heard Baliga shout my name, I opened my eyes and saw him looking at me with panic in his eyes! He feebly said "It's already 7:05am and we have hardly time to talk anything. I'll run to the parking lot and start my scooter. You come down with the luggage. Now don't waste any time!"

Obviously, he had missed the alarm and woken up late!

I nodded my head, just washed my face, changed my dress, packed my bag in a hurry and ran to the parking lot. There he was, ready with his scooter. The time was 7:15am.

He drove very fast on the Kodambakkam High Road and reached Mount Road. Luckily traffic was not much, but as he went past the various Embassies, Secretariat and reached the other end, there was deviation for some road work going on! Time was 7:30am.

He cursed the Municipal Corporation for the sudden development and somehow managed to reach the Central station at sharp 7:35am!

He shouted "Rajani Brindavan is on platform no.1. Go from the open right side gate of the terminus. I'll park the scooter and be there. If I miss you, we shall meet next time in Mangalore".

I did just that and as I reached the train, it blew horn and started moving! I jumped into the nearest compartment, stood at the door and saw Baliga appearing just on time to wave goodbye. I too waved at him.

The jubilant, happy and thrilled expression on both our faces was copious!

Tiger Dancer

Pic courtesy: Rajesh Shetty

Mangalorean Tulu speaking people are generalised as 'Shettys', no matter they are Poojary, Bhandary, Hegde, Shettigar or otherwise.

I happened to meet this Shetty in Shediguri(Ashok Nagar) in Mangalore in the year 1974 where we lived in a rented house belonging to the Yenepoyas for 3 months from July to September. He had a shop near our home selling vegetables, fruits and a few grocery items. This Shetty was a courteous guy who called me 'Dhani'(Sir) even though I was just 17 then!

I used to buy bananas from him and a few vegetable items. He was very reasonable and he charged slightly lower price than in Mannagudda or Ballalbagh where we used to do most of the shopping. When the prices of vegetables and bananas went up during Dasara time in the latter half of September, he was very apologetic saying, "Onthe piriya atthe dhani. Maarnami kariyi boka sama aapundu."(Slightly costly now Sir. After Mahanavami/Dasara is over, prices come back to normal)

Starting from the 8th day of Dasara, we get to see many 'Pili Veshas' or Tiger Dance troupes going from home to home, dancing to the wonderful rhythm of 'Taashe' and 'Dhol', the local instruments that we used to compare with Afro beats of Santana, Osibisa and similar western artists of the early Seventies. Known people who lead the troupes  were paid well by the householders, anywhere from Rs.25/- to Rs.100/- those days and unknown ones were discouraged from dancing or they themselves avoided such homes.

On the Ninth day(Mahanavami) we heard the Pili Vesha band approaching our home and a troupe having 6-8 tigers entered the compound and started dancing aggressively! We never knew any known troupes from Ballalbagh or Mannagudda side reaching a far away place like Shediguri those days and my mother told me, "Stop them and tell them that we don't entertain strangers".

I obeyed her and politely told the vesha leader to move forward. I told him that we don't promote unknown people dancing the tiger and they are not going to get anything. I also added that I don't want to insult them by paying a Rupee or two!

Then that guy with a well protruded paunch smiled and told me humbly "Yaan dhani. Gurtha thikkije?"(It's me sir. Didn't you recognise me?)

Omigosh! It was our Shetty, the vegetable shop owner!

I felt ashamed and ran inside to inform mother that he's a known person. Mother also felt embarrassed and she said "Now I don't have change with me. All I have is a 5 Rupee note and a Hundred Rupee note. If I pay him 100 Rupees, your father will definitely take me to task!"

I took the 5 Rupee note and handed it over to Shetty. He immediately ordered the band to play again and started dancing feverishly with all the other members of the troupe for another 5 minutes and finally he did the back bend like a scorpion which we call 'Chelu Bagguvudu' and picked the 5 Rupee note with his lips, an act done mostly by those who are paid over Rs.25/-!

We all had a hearty laugh after he left our place with his troupe.