The Project Grandparents -VMKC-1

These few episodes are for those few cousins ,who had little interaction with our momside grandparents.I thought of taking you on a tour through my beautiful memories.

So the Varembaserry Meenakshiamma Kochumol Correspondent (VMKC), writes her memories from when she was eight during her short six month stay.

It all started when I completed my 3rd std JanTo Dec school.My father,a fauji got his regular transfer order. Now some schools  in those days were fromJune to March.All that I know was ,I had to do another six months in the same class ,though I was to have joined the next grade.

Now getting admission in the middle of the year was unheard of. We were staying with my moms parents.We called them Valliachan and Valliammachi, our maternal grandparents.

We roped in,a grandfather who was the then IG prisons and man of position .I joined the already going gang,at a girls school in Hospital Junction which would have been about one and half kilometer away.

The place where my grandparents stayed was called Kunnukuzhy. I often wondered what a name for a place.We trekked up and down to and from school.

No autorickshaws/cycle rickshaws or school vans plied our way.Maybe one city bus passed that way in the morning and evening .So we had a morning walk to school and an evening walk from school.

During that time Lucky and Dilip also stayed there.So the five of us,Meena,Lucky ,Dilip,Sarsi and me. Sarsi was too small may be one or two years old.Meena was a quiet kid whereas we three were the villains.We would tear the house down and Valliachan would chase to beat us.We three would escape poor Meena used to get the brunt of the rolled newspaper, which substituted for a stick.

Mostly, we would climb the guava tree on the side roof top which was our grandparents bedroom .We would scream at the top of our voices and disturb their afternoon siesta.

Our cousins little Chitra and Lekha stayed just across the road.Further down through shortcut our cousins Kochubabuannan Meerachachi,Deven and Suresh stayed . Now, when all come together, you can just imagine.

Now Babu was a common name .There were three babus.Babu Mammen the eldest was our only uncle who passed away in an accident was referred to Valiya Babu .

The next in line was Damayanthi aunty's son called Kochu Babu.

The last was our Ashok Babu being the youngest of the babus was called Babu Kuttan.

Whatever be it ,inspite of the expletives hurled at us, we loved both our grandparents and they loved us to the core.