My Musings

COMMUNICATION - Part 3 UMA wrote on 29 Sept 2004 Dear Mama Your mail on communication( and lack) is suberb. It brought back nostalgic memory of my childhood days of Allahabad. When we returned from school, Amma used to read to us letters written by Patti Thatha, Mama, Chitappas and others. It was a cherished moments for us. The internet and email though brought us in touching distance but _the personal touch_ of reading a hand written letter is missing now a days. The songs Sandeshe aate hain, chitti aathi hai and _dakia dak laya_ are living tribute to our postal system. After reading your mail I listened to these lovely songs many times. An apt song for people like us who are living far away from their loved ones. Keep mailing. Your mail reminds us of R K. Narayan writing. With Love Uma ********** Neeraja wrote on 30 Sep 2004. Dear Appa, A strong, thought-provoking, very nostalgic mail. And, equally nostalgic, thought-provoking replies. Just last week, Ashok and I were talkin...

COMMUNICATION - Part 2 Vasu on 28-09-2004: Dear RC "Puli Pathungiyathing" karanam therindhuvitttathu ( No mail from you in the past couple of days ! ). What a nice mail. Y'day night only myself and manni had spoken about you and when manni asked about any mail from you, I told there is no mail from you and said we may receive a big bang at any time. What you had written is the reallity and everyone is trying to hide ourself inside the constrain - NO Time for anything - and not ready to accept the reality. I want to share my feelings / rememberence even if it is not revelent to your subject. Going to Post office to see any letter came to our house at 0800 hours is one of my / Sridhar's main duty when we were at Babu Rao street and I was proud to see the post man answers me on priority to give the letter over others. Most interestingly when we get our school result through post card, I felt great to see my name on the post card rather than the result inside. (Ofcours...

** COMMUNICATION. (or, Lack of it ….) sent on 26 Sep 2004 by rajappa From the time of BIG BANG, Man has devised ways and means of communicating. From smokes and drums of Africans, from Kalidasa’s Sakuntala beckoning megh (cloud) to take her letter, from using pigeons to carry messages (as in Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin), the human race was in continuous process of evolving better and more efficient methods to convey messages. Cut to 19th Century when British brought the Postal System to India – it was a revolution. Have you ever stopped to wonder that with just fifty paise, you can send your views and news across from one corner of India to another, maybe 3000km away? Not a joke, but real. Buy a postcard today; write a message; post it to me. Be convinced. People used the postal service with enthusiasm. “Sandeshe aate hain, chitti aathi hai ….” was a super-duper HIT because it touched the emotional chords of crores of Indians. The sight of the postman approaching your house pumped adrenalin...

*** Train No 6010. There was this article in HINDU in its magazine section on Sunday, June 5, titled “Train No 6010.” This train, Chennai-Mumbai Mail, leaves Chennai at 2155 hours daily. It reaches a small station en route called Hosigi, very near Karnataka-Andhra border, by 1000 AM next morning. The story starts at this station where a few women entered a sleeper coach with big baskets on their heads. Now, over to the author: “I felt myself besieged. How dare they get in? Did they have tickets? I did not know what to do. They would talk loudly, dirty the place, fight with the passengers.. I could picture a horrible scenario. The railways are doomed, I told myself, and so is the country.” “In the meanwhile, the old woman in a torn green sari sat on the floor and started to uncover her basket. Would she spread her bed sheet and lie down there? Would she take out her food and eat it, and mess up the place? How long would this group be on board? How long would one have to tolerate this?” ...