Musings from Antique Origins

T he New Year was celebrated by us in a small family gathering with few relatives. Apparently everyone wanted to bid farewell to a year which was not too pleasant in many ways. The world at large was still under the tentacles of recession. In India we were witnessing some of the most blatant instances of corruption in public life. Inside Kerala the paradoxes were on the rise with the highly literate state getting ashamed over police excesses, systematic destruction of administration and rising prices. To top it all, the housewives were seriously concerned over the unheard price rise of onions. Raj, younger son of legendary musician LPR Varma was on a vacation from the Middle East and his house by the side of Tripunithura backwaters was the venue for our get-together. A perennial entertainer that he is, he along with his gracious wife Thulsi took the initiative. His sister Beena, brother Prem with his family, turned up along with Jamuna Varma their aunt-Cheriyamma-with whom my wife Sin...

Webbs Double Soda Waters, London c. 1830 (Murali's Collections) A s the New Year eve approaches, corks are popped up all over. Kerala is a state in which the hard liquor is sold like an essential food item and has more consumers than for the traditional hot cakes of Xmas and New Year. Soda water is an essential ingredient for hot drinks for many. Though soda water in pet bottles is popular and readily available, many people use the soda makers at home for making their drinks. I too had once bought the Butlers soda maker, a brand quite popular here. Talking about soda bottles, it is very interesting to trace the evolution of these in India. Though the concept drinking soda water was introduced by the English, the elite Indians soon developed a taste for it and buying soda water became quite fashionable in the nineteenth century. The earlier soda bottles date back to 1778. Probably, these bottles were introduced in India only during the middle of the 19th century. These egg shaped...

Statue of the Maharajah A nyone born in Kerala and who has gone away from its shores for employment and a living has many lingering memories of the land in his mind. Of these, the memories connected with the ancestral family, the village, the childhood, the harvest festivals and the worshipping places are most rooted. Probably, this is because these institutions or symbols have considerably shaped ones personality and thoughts during one’s formative years. Temple festivals of yore were occasions when village children in particular enjoyed themselves wholeheartedly. The hawkers with wares unseen, vendors of exotic sweets, performers of magic tricks, performances like Ottan thullal, Chenda melam with its mystic and captivating tones and the caparisoned elephants provided enough thrill and excitements to the young minds. Money was hard to come by, but the enthusiasm was never diminished. Snacks from the make-shift stalls tasted heavenly. As one grew up, the colours of many memories faded...

Mrs. Subbalakshmi Karyakkar (1925-2010) M rs. Subbalakshmi Karyakkar of Chathapuram Gramam in Palakkad died on the 17th of November 2010 at the ripe old age of 85. A widow, she left behind her two elderly daughters, Rajam and Rukmini. A simple old Brahmin lady, she was not of much consequence to the present day society of Palakkad which is fighting hard to catch up with the rest of this consumer state for the fast moving life that we witness all around. Who was this venerable lady –who we fondly used to call Mami -to me? To put it straight, I must say that she was more like a mother to me, though we were not blood- related. Sixteen years back, when I made a career change and when I and Sindhu were expecting our second child, we were at Palakkad enjoying the good winter weather and the delicious foods the place was famous for. As it happened with me, my spare time often used to be spent on visiting some of the local traders who dealt in antiques. Most of them were raw dealers who were n...

Dying with honour- Seppuku- O ne of the most shameful incidents of corruption in public life in post independent India has come out with the exposition of the Adarsh society scam from Mumbai. Whatever may be said and justified by the VVIPs involved –which includes Chief Ministers, Cabinet ministers, Service Chiefs, Chief Secretary/Secretaries, politicians etc etc- , it is clear as crystal that all of them were aware of the gravity of the outrage they were committing. If someone claimed that he was ignorant of the facts surrounding the housing project, we can safely presume that he was not fit to be in the exalted pedestal where we had placed him. Here you see greedy, powerful and rich people manipulating every rule and grabbing the land which belonged to the Indian Army. This was the force which was expected to protect 1.1 billion people of this country from enemies. The army in its wisdom and good intention had proposed to build a small housing complex in the prime area of Mumbai adj...

Sudhakara Varma and Radhika Varma L ast week, we were invited to the Shashtyabdapoorth i-6oth birthday- of Sudhakara Varma, a relative and I was suddenly made more aware of my own generation which has just entered the wrong side of fifties. He hails from Kilimanoor Palace and is a great grand nephew of the illustrious painter Raja Ravi Varma. He is also the brother of my brother-in-law (my sister’s husband) and is the brother-in-law of my elder brother. To avoid confusions, I must add that his brother and sister married my sister and brother respectively. He stays at Kamalalayam Palace at Tripunithura, just opposite to the house where I stay now. His devoted wife Radhika Varma is the grand niece of Col. Goda Varma Raja (brother-in-law of Maharaja Chithira Thirunal of Travancore) and is the daughter of Captain Kerala Varma who had served during the II WW and who was the first to be commissioned to the British India Army from the royal household of Cochin. He was also one to be stripped ...

Accounts are settled after transporting an elephant T his year, the South West Monsoons in Kerala in June appeared quite active. The whole country is drenched in water and I was frequently shuttling between Palakkad and Cherthala during the month. Of late my Dad had not been enjoying good health and I needed to shift base to Kochi/Tripunithura as my son had joined a school there for his 11th. I opted out of a banking assignment in Kabul because of the obvious risks and for the time being decided to be at Tripunithura relaxing a bit with my personal interests. Transporting personal effects in Kerala through a heavy motor vehicle is not at all a pleasant experience. Besides, the settling down at a new place has its own inconveniences and delays. I am yet to get my net connections. It should take a couple of weeks more for the dust to settle inside the house. Outside, thanks to the rains, there is no dust but many a messy water pool. During the rains, while traveling, you are likely to f...