The Scribbling Eccentric

What is the emotion that you go through when you think of a refrigerator? The question came out of the blue from my boss while we were discussing the idea of a promotional campaign. Though a simple question, it did stir a lot of emotions within me. For some reason, I could not answer the question and just sat there remembering what a refrigerator actually meant in my life. In fact, any middle-class kid with both parents working would understand how important such appliances were in our lives. They become our friends and pals. They are at times disciplinarians, entertainers or even nurturers. They were an integral part of our families, the unusual family members. As a kid, I and my sister spent several days in the company of nothing but these appliances and ourselves. Our parents were working and striving hard to fulfil their responsibilities not only towards us but also to the family in our native village in Kerala. However, as a kid, I never understood why they worked so hard and wo...

I was told as a kid that in Hinduism (the religion I was born into), there are 330 million Gods. Yes, you heard it right..... 330 MILLION!!! I was told this by my father when I was a small boy of maybe 7 or 8 years, but even today the number seems unreal. Quite recently I looked up for the authenticity of this information and I found that even Wikipedia mentioned this as a fact. It was said that among the commonly known Gods that we are used to seeing in temples and more fondly on TV, there are others who were declared Gods. These were court poets, scholars, warriors and people who did something beyond their call of duty for the betterment of society. One does not need a PhD in mythology or history, but just common sense to understand that people were given titles for their good deeds and contributions. They were called Lords or Gods as an appreciation for their good work. These titles were supposed to invoke a sense of respect and not worship. This is where most of us lose out o...

A terror..... that would be the first impression anybody would have when they witness him walking through the village streets. Children would run helter-skelter screaming at the sight of his shadow. But in appearance he was just another common village man. It was his heavy coarse voice, resultant of many years of smoking bidi, that invoked such terror in people. His fear was not just restricted to kids, but elders too. People seldom said anything wrong in front of him fearing his eardrum shattering yell and an unfortunate slap that will leave its mark on your mind for a lifetime and on your body for weeks or mostly months. He was a terror for many, but also a devoted son and at the same time a carefree bird. He had a lot of adjectives to describe himself, but for me, he was my "Valiyachhan" (literally means Big Daddy), my uncle and my Dad's elder brother. The first born of Unnimaya and Narayanan Nair was named Raman and was fondly called Gopi by his parents and ...