The Rocking Chair

It has been a week now since I had come from Madurai after attending 60 th birthday (sashtiapthapoorthi) of my second uncle (maama). Enjoyed the function to the core as a family get-together at my first uncle's home. Still my mind is just there pondering over..... Well not the function really. It was the rocking chair occupying my mind and brain. What is so special ? You would ask. Now you could see the white line spiraling in front of my face just before the flashback like in movies. Rewinding my memory just over thirty years.   



My first uncle's home is the permanent holiday destination year after year for me and my two younger brothers. We didn't even know any other destination existed till my maternal grandpa was transferred to Madras then. As far as I could remember that rocking chair was bought when my uncle was at Simmakkal at Madurai. It was a kind of row house with verandah, where the chair was placed. We were excited with the addition. At that time my uncle had two daughters, all younger to me, other uncles not married. That chair became our holiday spot in the destination. Always there had been petty fights between us as to who sits in that chair. My mom or maami will settle our dispute calming us to take turns allotting time to each of us. Other than one sitting in the chair all others will keep watching the clock not letting even a single minute extra. As we could not wait so patiently for our next turn we chalked a plan of two could sit together at the same time, so that waiting time for the rest reduced. Since we were odd in number the 5th one will pair with 1st one and the 2nd with 3rd for the next round. Next was the strategic planning of who is 1, 2 and so on. One day it will be of young to old, one day old to young, then boys first, then girls first. We must have tried all the permutation and combination which would have taken half a day everyday. Years rolled. We got one more baby cousin (third daughter of my uncle). My uncle had moved to an independent house with even bigger verandah. We grew older. My brothers were getting obsessed pretending to be driver and conductor. We came to terms, that everybody will sit together, as if the rocking chair was bus, my brothers as driver and conductor, rest of us as passengers along with two more maternal cousins of my cousins. We traveled footboard. Only both my brothers took the role of being conductor and driver, where driver had the privilege of sitting and the conductor standing at the horizontal rod at the back of the chair. We girls never fought for the seat during bus game as always bus driving was considered as boy sport and we girls always adorned the role of passengers. The conductor and one passenger will keep rocking the chair. We had got hurt during our play, but the rocking chair always kept us together. Fast forward six to ten years. After we shifted to Madras from Thirunelveli in 80s our trip to Madurai got reduced. But when I got chance I spent hours rocking in that chair reading books and sleeping while reading, which gave me the luxury of being in mother's lap.

Fast forward to present. This trip! I missed my brothers and cousins (all settled in different parts of US) except one, who is still in Madurai as a lecturer. Of course, other two young cousins - daughters of hero of the function were present.

I felt a pain ran through my heart when I saw the chair dumped at a corner for want of space as all other furniture of living room had to find space there. I know it will come back to its position once the normal arrangement restores. Of course I very well understand and accept that we are all with the flow of happening changes and responsibilities. Still the whole of last week I have been feeling the lullaby of rocking sound of the chair, providing me soothing memories of togetherness. 

PS: Definitely I have not got that old yet who started saying "In those good old days ......" to my kids.
Awaiting the pic of that rocking chair from my Uncle

The Rocking Chair

It has been a week now since I had come from Madurai after attending 60 th birthday (sashtiapthapoorthi) of my second uncle (maama). Enjoyed the function to the core as a family get-together at my first uncle's home. Still my mind is just there pondering over..... Well not the function really. It was the rocking chair occupying my mind and brain. What is so special ? You would ask. Now you could see the white line spiraling in front of my face just before the flashback like in movies. Rewinding my memory just over thirty years.   



My first uncle's home is the permanent holiday destination year after year for me and my two younger brothers. We didn't even know any other destination existed till my maternal grandpa was transferred to Madras then. As far as I could remember that rocking chair was bought when my uncle was at Simmakkal at Madurai. It was a kind of row house with verandah, where the chair was placed. We were excited with the addition. At that time my uncle had two daughters, all younger to me, other uncles not married. That chair became our holiday spot in the destination. Always there had been petty fights between us as to who sits in that chair. My mom or maami will settle our dispute calming us to take turns allotting time to each of us. Other than one sitting in the chair all others will keep watching the clock not letting even a single minute extra. As we could not wait so patiently for our next turn we chalked a plan of two could sit together at the same time, so that waiting time for the rest reduced. Since we were odd in number the 5th one will pair with 1st one and the 2nd with 3rd for the next round. Next was the strategic planning of who is 1, 2 and so on. One day it will be of young to old, one day old to young, then boys first, then girls first. We must have tried all the permutation and combination which would have taken half a day everyday. Years rolled. We got one more baby cousin (third daughter of my uncle). My uncle had moved to an independent house with even bigger verandah. We grew older. My brothers were getting obsessed pretending to be driver and conductor. We came to terms, that everybody will sit together, as if the rocking chair was bus, my brothers as driver and conductor, rest of us as passengers along with two more maternal cousins of my cousins. We traveled footboard. Only both my brothers took the role of being conductor and driver, where driver had the privilege of sitting and the conductor standing at the horizontal rod at the back of the chair. We girls never fought for the seat during bus game as always bus driving was considered as boy sport and we girls always adorned the role of passengers. The conductor and one passenger will keep rocking the chair. We had got hurt during our play, but the rocking chair always kept us together. Fast forward six to ten years. After we shifted to Madras from Thirunelveli in 80s our trip to Madurai got reduced. But when I got chance I spent hours rocking in that chair reading books and sleeping while reading, which gave me the luxury of being in mother's lap.

Fast forward to present. This trip! I missed my brothers and cousins (all settled in different parts of US) except one, who is still in Madurai as a lecturer. Of course, other two young cousins - daughters of hero of the function were present.

I felt a pain ran through my heart when I saw the chair dumped at a corner for want of space as all other furniture of living room had to find space there. I know it will come back to its position once the normal arrangement restores. Of course I very well understand and accept that we are all with the flow of happening changes and responsibilities. Still the whole of last week I have been feeling the lullaby of rocking sound of the chair, providing me soothing memories of togetherness. 

PS: Definitely I have not got that old yet who started saying "In those good old days ......" to my kids.
Awaiting the pic of that rocking chair from my Uncle

The Rocking Chair

It has been a week now since I had come from Madurai after attending 60 th birthday (sashtiapthapoorthi) of my second uncle (maama). Enjoyed the function to the core as a family get-together at my first uncle's home. Still my mind is just there pondering over..... Well not the function really. It was the rocking chair occupying my mind and brain. What is so special ? You would ask. Now you could see the white line spiraling in front of my face just before the flashback like in movies. Rewinding my memory just over thirty years.   



My first uncle's home is the permanent holiday destination year after year for me and my two younger brothers. We didn't even know any other destination existed till my maternal grandpa was transferred to Madras then. As far as I could remember that rocking chair was bought when my uncle was at Simmakkal at Madurai. It was a kind of row house with verandah, where the chair was placed. We were excited with the addition. At that time my uncle had two daughters, all younger to me, other uncles not married. That chair became our holiday spot in the destination. Always there had been petty fights between us as to who sits in that chair. My mom or maami will settle our dispute calming us to take turns allotting time to each of us. Other than one sitting in the chair all others will keep watching the clock not letting even a single minute extra. As we could not wait so patiently for our next turn we chalked a plan of two could sit together at the same time, so that waiting time for the rest reduced. Since we were odd in number the 5th one will pair with 1st one and the 2nd with 3rd for the next round. Next was the strategic planning of who is 1, 2 and so on. One day it will be of young to old, one day old to young, then boys first, then girls first. We must have tried all the permutation and combination which would have taken half a day everyday. Years rolled. We got one more baby cousin (third daughter of my uncle). My uncle had moved to an independent house with even bigger verandah. We grew older. My brothers were getting obsessed pretending to be driver and conductor. We came to terms, that everybody will sit together, as if the rocking chair was bus, my brothers as driver and conductor, rest of us as passengers along with two more maternal cousins of my cousins. We traveled footboard. Only both my brothers took the role of being conductor and driver, where driver had the privilege of sitting and the conductor standing at the horizontal rod at the back of the chair. We girls never fought for the seat during bus game as always bus driving was considered as boy sport and we girls always adorned the role of passengers. The conductor and one passenger will keep rocking the chair. We had got hurt during our play, but the rocking chair always kept us together. Fast forward six to ten years. After we shifted to Madras from Thirunelveli in 80s our trip to Madurai got reduced. But when I got chance I spent hours rocking in that chair reading books and sleeping while reading, which gave me the luxury of being in mother's lap.

Fast forward to present. This trip! I missed my brothers and cousins (all settled in different parts of US) except one, who is still in Madurai as a lecturer. Of course, other two young cousins - daughters of hero of the function were present.

I felt a pain ran through my heart when I saw the chair dumped at a corner for want of space as all other furniture of living room had to find space there. I know it will come back to its position once the normal arrangement restores. Of course I very well understand and accept that we are all with the flow of happening changes and responsibilities. Still the whole of last week I have been feeling the lullaby of rocking sound of the chair, providing me soothing memories of togetherness. 

PS: Definitely I have not got that old yet who started saying "In those good old days ......" to my kids.
Awaiting the pic of that rocking chair from my Uncle