Grandmother's Tales

When Daddy was young, he was the good boy. He would study well and get good marks in his exams. His mother never had to teach him anything. When the teacher taught the class, Daddy would understand everything in a moment's time and so he never had to spend too much time with his books.

Daddy's little brother, though, wasn't so good. In the mornings, he would drag his feet and never get ready on time. When the school bus arrived, Uppappa would not be ready. Daddy, who was always ready on time, would be so embarrassed, he would tell the bus driver, 'My brother is not coming to school today'. 

The bus would leave and Uppappa would be left behind. Their dad, Achacha would have to bundle him into the car and chase the bus down. 

In the evenings, when Uppappa was asked, 'Have you got any homework?' his constant reply would be, 'No!' But then the next morning, when Ammachi opened his bag, she would find lots and lots of work to be done and no time to do it!

Ammachi's youngest child drove her to despair. 

Her first child, Pakku-ammachi, on the other hand, was beautiful and intelligent and did all the things a little girl should do. She never forgot her homework or got into scrapes. 

Pakku-ammachi only got into trouble once and this was how it happened. Every evening the boy servant would take Pakku-ammachi to the park. She was very popular in the park. All the young girls thought she was their pet. 

One evening, Pakku-ammachi was dressed and ready to go to the park but the servant boy was delayed. As she waited, some of her friends from the park passed by and took her with them. No one knew that Pakku- ammachi had left. When the servant boy called for her, there was no answer. 

Immediately there was panic. They searched high and low. Achacha wanted to call the police. He thought she had been kidnapped. Just then, there came little Pakku-ammachi, strolling back with her friends. 

Achacha ran and grabbed his cane. All his worry and fear for the safety of his daughter welled up in him. He raised the cane to beat her. The little girl's eyes grew wide and filled with tears and standing there, she did a wee wee! She was so frightened! 
Of course, then the cane was forgotten and all was forgiven.

Although Achacha lifted the cane on that occasion, he never beat his children. He was so stern that one word from him was enough to make them behave. 
And so his children were well behaved.

Their cousins were perhaps not so well behaved! When the boy cousins came to visit, the games would become rough and noisy. Cousin Georgie's favourite game was 'Dark Room'. He would shut the door, draw the curtains and make the room as dark as possible. Then.... well, then there were no rules. Basically you grabbed the first person you came across in the dark and beat them to a pulp!

Cousins Jiby and Siby would run wild all over the house. Every visit meant at least one piece of broken furniture!

Nowadays, clever people would say that children only behave like that when they have no other way to spend all their energy. And growing up, Daddy and his brother had plenty of energy. Like most brothers, they would fight often but were best friends when it was time to play. 

And though they were on best behaviour when Achacha was around, they had their fair share of scrapes too.

When Uppappa was 2 years old, he was constantly climbing up things. He was very good at climbing up but not so good at figuring out how to come down again. So, often, once he had reached the top, he would just let go and take the quickest route down!

One day, Ammachi had put Uppappa down for his afternoon nap. She had no sooner left the bedroom than she heard a sickening thump. She ran back to find Uppappa in a twisted heap on the floor. The toddler had climbed up their radio shelf and stuck his hand inside a plug, electrocuting himself. The force of the current had thrown him clear which was probably what saved him from more serious damage. 

Ammachi scooped up her child and ran. She didn't stop to lock the door or take her purse. She just ran. She thought her son was going to die. 

In those days, neighbours looked after each other. Chinnamma aunty who lived next door saw Ammachi running out with the baby in her arms. She quickly came over, locked up the house and took Daddy and the servant boy to her own house. 

In the hospital, it was hours before Uppappa regained consciousness.

In those days, Achacha was working in a rubber plantation far away. He would only visit home in the weekends. The day Uppappa had his accident was in the middle of the week. At the plantation, Achacha was feeling a terrible uneasiness and a voice in his head was telling him to go home immediately. Remember that in those days there was no phone to make a quick call to check that everyone was ok. 

Finally, Achacha could bear it no longer. He stopped work and hurried home. When he arrived, he was amazed that his premonition had been so right. 

Luckily, Uppappa came out of this ordeal without any visible damage. But to this day, Ammachi will claim that  that shock caused damage to his brain!

Today, Uppappa does things with computer software that very few people in this world can do. His research is talked about in the top universities of America and he constantly gets requests for permission to use his thesis work. But Ammachi still regrets that he did badly in school!

Uppappa's school days are legendary. The stories of his escapades are gleefully told at every family gathering. And these are what we will look at in the next chapter....