Category: Classic Kovai

My mother Aravindakumari and my paternal granny Lalitha hailed from Salem. This gave two generations an opportunity to spend our ‘Summers in Salem’. A customary inland letter from my maternal granny Chandra used to precede our annual exams. Mummy used to get ready with the huge suitcases to pack our clothes. Daddy would drop us by car in Salem after a trip to Ooty. We would begin early and reach Sankar Café in Bhavani for a brunch. This Iyer kadai with marble topped tables used to offer nice dosas and…

Diwali, the festival of lights is an important Indian festival. The people of Coimbatore have been enjoying many ‘Happy Diwalis’ over the centuries. Legends tell us that the return of Rama to Ayodhya was celebrated by the people by lighting lamps through the city. It was on the same day that Krishna and Sathyabama exterminated the demon Narakasura. Essentially it was the return of good times and a celebration of the victory of good over evil. The Ramayana culture has gone all around the world. In Fiji, for the people…

‘Koodi Vaaznthaal Kodi Nanmai’ is a popular Tamil saying. And those were the days when joint family system was in vogue with entire family members celebrating the festival of lights at their ancestral home in elan. They derived pleasure in celebrating it with their Thaatha, Paati, Appa, Amma, Periyappa, Periamma, Sithappa, Chithi. The list is endless. And the trend changed slowly and steadily with newly weds opting for ‘Thanikkudithanam’. And the joint family system disintegrated following nuclear families. However, my mind revolves around my native when I used to celebrate…

The celebration of festival of lights is incomplete without new movies. This has been the case right from MK Thiagaraja Bhagavathar’s period to MGR and Sivaji Ganesan while not speak of Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ajith, Surya and Vijay. Cinegoers’ make it a point to reserve tickets well advance for their favourite stars movies during Deepavali festivity. In a quick rewind, MGR’s 1964 Deepavali release blockbuster movie Padagoti made a record of the sorts as it ran to packed houses across the theatres in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The…

People entertained themselves with games like ‘Adupuliattam’, ‘Paramapadham’ etc., those days. Many of these games involved a bit of physical activity and time. While attention was important, the games did not make people hyper. Fellowship was part of the deal. I remember my older relatives playing ‘Pallankuzhi’ with tamarind seeds or cowrie shells at home. My mother’s paternal grandmother Swarnambal used to play Pallankuzhi with effortless ease. The game of dice was much loved. Every household had a set with them. Carrom Board, chess, card games, Chinese checkers etc., came…

C.R.Narayanaswamy (CRN) has recorded his family history and given a copy to Janardhanan of the MCS family. We get to learn that the family hailed from T.Narsipur (Thirumalcode Narsipuram) in Karnataka. They had left all their properties behind and migrated to Sathyamangalam. CRN was born to Ramaswamy and Seethammal on 23/8/1907 in Somanur. His birth star was Avittam and he states that he was born on Varalakshmi Vratham. The family had been known as ‘Cheyyur’ family. Their gothram had been the Bharadhwaja. CRN had done his schooling at the village…

C.R.Narayanaswamy (CRN) used to live in ‘Thulasi Bhavanam’, Lokamanya Street (East) in R.S.Puram at Coimbatore. He was pretty close to the MCS Transport family. His travel to the Kumbh Mela in the year 1977 has been chronicled in a vivid manner. The gentleman has left behind a detailed note on his travels and also his family. Kudos to Janardanan of the MCS family for preserving these wonderful details. CRN belongs to the Bharadwaja Gothram and the family hailed from T.Narsipur. He was born to Achuthananda Ramaswamy and Seethammal in 1907…

Our family consisted of a huge number of people. The family strength was more than 25 in our Vysial street house ‘Raju Bhavan’. We moved over to ‘Sri Krishna Nivas’ on Trichy road in 1977. Fourteen of us lived in one old house and it was good fun. Summers were spent with our maternal grandparents. A short trip to Ooty used to precede our trip to Salem with mummy, Aravindakumari. Dad Govindarajulu used to take us to places like Chennai once in a way. The trips were by car or…

Lord Ganesha or Vinayagar is the remover of hurdles. He occupies a central place in Indian mythology. Every Hindu family has its own favourite Ganesha. He was the Divine Scribe who took down the dictation of Veda Vyasa. This dictation is the ‘Mahabharata’ The Siddhi Vinayak temple is famous in Mumbai and so are the other famous temples of this deity. They are known as the ‘Ashta Vinayaks’. Many devotees undertake a visit to these temples. Adi Sankara founded ‘Shanmatham’ or six paths. ‘Ganapathyam’ is one of the paths, according…

Cross Cut, Gandhipuram is a big shopping destination today. The commercial district has had an interesting past. I remember Cross Cut from my childhood. We used to visit the road as a family. Grandfather, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins used to go to Gandhipuram in two cars on Sundays. It was after filling ourselves up with our ‘signature’ idli, vadai and sunday sambar. The same sambar recipe is being followed even now. Our first stop used to be Ramakrishna bakery. “The bakery was promoted by Abbuluswamy Naidu those days. It…