THE STUNNING ST.ANDREW'S KIRK AT CHENNAI

I had been to this kirk several times to attend marriages, but this was the first time I got to see the minute details of its beautiful architecture. The band 'Dhwani' of which am a part, was shooting one of its songs here.

This beautiful piece of architecture was built by the British. The pipe organ that is several years old is still in full cry and is being used during their services. It's wonderful to see sunlight creeping through the glass painting.

The ceiling looks heavenly as it's painted with dark shade of blue while the while colour of the surrounding border and the pillars give it a royal sheen.

What's more royal than a beautiful view of royal white through natural green. You can see that from many angles here.

And that view of the church steeple piercing the air towards the sky gives me goosebumps.

A SCHOOL BAG FULL OF REMINISCENCES - WAVING TO A PASSING UNFINISHED TRAIN

This is a picture of an unfinished train carriage that I shot around late evening time at a spot in Chennai. On my return from work, I get down from the company shuttle at a spot that is about two kilometres away from home and walk the stretch. This is to have a walking stint in my daily routine, even though the routine is not big enough, time-wise. And what I love most about this stretch is this railroad that lies within twenty metres from where the shuttle drops me.

On most of the days in the year, I don't get to see any trains plying on this railroad. One reason for the same is that there is no regular train plying through this track as whatever service that had been planned earlier, did not materialize. The only activity that goes on on this railroad is the movement of unfinished carriages from the Shell division of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) to its Furnishing division and vice versa. And this happening at the time when I return from work, is probably that rare. ICF at Perambur is where the carriages get manufactured. 

Every day, I wait near the track and have a look on either side to see if there is any unfinished train appearing in the distance. And when I spot one, I patiently wait for it to pass by, even though it could take a good ten minutes. I always very happily wave to the driver and the person on the last carriage and they smile and wave back. Am not sure if it's the same people that I get to see each time but I always get a response and that makes me happy.

There is something very special about this train unlike the fully finished ones filled with people that I normally got to see every day during my school days. It's like the driver and the other person, possibly the guard, being all alone with a kind of ghost ridden train full of unfinished, empty and dark carriages. But still they are happy and full of bubbling spirit. I think that way, they are mentally stronger humans than me because I would probably sulk driving a unfinished train, when there are better trains being driven all over the world. It takes lot of character to be able to do a dirty job and wrap it with a happy heart and a warm smile.

I have a connection with the Indian Railways as my parents were Railway employees and the first twenty years of my life were spent in the Railway quarters and its surroundings. I studied at the Railway Mixed Higher Secondary School, Perambur and there were just very few days when I missed out seeing a train pass by. I would spot one of them either when I was on my way to school or while returning back. This view though, would be from the top of the over bridge running over the tracks and I would not be able to connect with the driver or the guard this way. These trains were fully finished ones carrying full of passengers. These days, every time I see an unfinished train, beautiful memories of watching the trains whiz past under the bridge, flash through my mind.

But whether the train is a fully finished one with passengers or an unfinished one, a train driver is on a different journey always when compared to those drivers on vehicles on a road. On a road, drivers get to see much more human activity and they always have the possibilities of quick proximity with other humans while on their journeys. A bus driver for example has all the passengers behind him that he can see anytime, a car driver if not alone, will have passengers inside and both these drivers can view human activity outside or stop and interact with humans, while they drive on a road. But a train driver's state is different. His journey is most of the time a lonely ride barring the person accompanying him in his cabin, as he can neither meet the passengers in the carriages behind him nor is he seeing human activity outside while he drives. He has to reach a station to see it or that could happen while plying adjacent to roads or places of human activity, that comes by once a while. His journey is mostly filled with loneliness irrespective of whether it's a ride through the daytime or the night.

But sometimes on the flip side, his tryst with nature is more intimate. He sometimes takes a path that is carved through the mountains and he gets to see and feel that pristine greenery and develops a much closer connect with Mother Earth. Many rail routes in India give this feel and that's what makes train journeys unique. One can never get this feel while on a car or a bus. So while the train driver goes through that patch of loneliness, nature gives him intimate company.

I always keep looking forward to taking up journeys by train and my love for the unfinished trains is still the same.

You may read the related pieces at:

Journeys to Home
https://cherryspace.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-school-bag-full-of-reminiscences.html

The Gypsies

https://cherryspace.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-school-bag-full-of-reminiscences.html

Lighter Moments

https://cherryspace.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-school-bag-full-of-reminiscences.html

The Anglo Indian Flavour

https://cherryspace.blogspot.com/2017/01/a-school-bag-for-of-reminiscences-anglo.html

THE BEST CAKES SO FAR

Cake cutting became a regular affair on birthdays at my home after the birth of my daughter. To begin with, this was only on her birthdays, but now every other birthday has a cake cutting coming up with it. We have had many different types of cakes right through these years. 

My sister takes a lot of interest in coming up with some innovative designs for the cakes. Here we see the pictures of two such beautiful cakes. One was for my 25th marriage anniversary.

The other was for my daughter's birthday at 18 years. I did not want to cut both these cakes as there were that beautiful.

ON MY BIRTHDAY WITH MUSIC COMPOSER STEPHEN KOSHY SIR

I remember an uncle on every birthday of mine. His  was Mr.George. For the several years that we were staying in the Railway Quarters in North Chennai, he was our neighbour. He was my mathematics Guru, the shoulder I would always lean onto when I had all those crazy doubts to be cleared. Birthdays were not celebrated at our home as we would see it as any other normal day, but uncle would come home with a cake for me and that's how I got to experience cake cutting. Of course, but for the cake, Appa would get me something for the birthday.

Once I got married, my wife brought it birthday celebrations as a standard practice.  So we had this happening in our home especially because my daughter was around and it was a feeling of joy with every celebration that we could come up with. 

All through these sessions I had not mastered the art of cutting the cake and facing the people around who were singing for me, because all I had around me was my family and an additional person in Uncle George for the first few years while I was at school.

Last year too on my birthday, like as in any other year,  I had wanted to make it a very private affair. There was an important music session that had been planned by my music band leader on the same evening and I could not avoid it.

The eminent Christian music composer had flown down to Chennai for an exclusive session with our band Dhwani.  So I went there. But to my surprise, my band mates had spotted my birthday date and had planned out everything for my birthday celebration.

I think I fumbled in many things on that day, but since it was so natural it became part of the many reasons for laughter that evening. I started cutting the cake before blowing out the candles and I really did not know what to do with the first piece that I had cut and taken out :)

But what I relish when I look back is the blessing to have had an eminent music composer singing the birthday song for me. 

SPECIALLY SCRIBBLED FOR KAPIL PAAJI AND HIS DEVILS

June 25, 1983 is a special day for Indian cricket when our team, a pack of underdogs, overthrew the Windies, for the first time from their throne.

CRICKET WORLD CUP 2019 - ON THE AFGHANISTAN ENCOUNTER

CRICKET STORIES - WHEN DAD GOT HOOKED ONTO THE SPORTS PAGE FOR AN UNUSUALLY LONG TIME

Every June 19th brings the same memory with the same intensity in me, even after 36 years. It was the morning of June 19th, 1983. I heard Dad’s call “Your coffee is on the table Roy”. I headed for the coffee with THE HINDU newspaper in my hand, but after making sure it was closed. This was because, Dad was of the impression that the sports page was the first page I opened and many times, the only page I read in a newspaper. I went to a far corner in the balcony and opened the sports page. On the road outside, as was the case of any other day, I could hear the flower vendor belting out the names in her collection and the strange whining sound of the salt vendor’s cycle as he made his way through the street. The sound of the brooms in action, by the women in the neighbouring homes, also mixed with these sounds and formed a nice piece of bearable discord. 

I knew Dad would soon ask for the news paper and I thought I should give a quick glance first. The morning winds danced through the sheets of the newspaper while they also created the beautiful rustle in the leaves of the tree that stood adjacent to our home. When I opened the sports page, I was stunned to see a picture of Kapil Dev that adorned the full length of one half of a page, from header to footer. This was the first time I was seeing such a big picture in a newspaper and I could even see the mud that dressed the pads and shoes of Kapil Dev as he was taking a shot. The picture was that big. “Where’s the newspaper?”, came Dad’s call and I rushed inside and gave the newspaper to him.

That morning I saw Dad spend an unusually long time on the sports page. He was indeed a cricket enthusiast and he followed the game that time on the radio, but on the newspaper, sports was usually his last priority. But that day I saw him spend a long time on the sports page. Something unbelievable had happened the previous day. Something that was like a miracle of destiny. Kapil Paaji had come in at 9 for 4 when the chips were down and had lit up Turnbridge Wells with his blitzkrieg of 175 not out and saw India through that game of the 1983 World Cup Cricket with Zimbabwe, in spite of their top class fielding. Till then, I only had a very vague idea of the World Cup and I was not even interested in knowing India's progress on this big stage.

No wonder THE HINDU had dedicated such a big picture for him. Kapil Paaji is still seen as a miraculous hero. Only a select few like him could use a bat like a magic wand.