MY PUTTUR TRIP

{ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON :

4/28/09, 8:37 PM

India Standard Time}

"Puttur" is a small Ooru (town) at M'lore. That's my native. Our house there is a beautiful place for vacation (only). And that is because of the weather conditions. It's very hot throughtout the year. During rainy season it is forever pouring. So there's hardly a way out. Just extremities. That makes it disgusting. Otherwise it is a lovely place to be.

Let me tell you how it looks. It is a mangalore tiled house, as we usually see in the coastal areas down south. My house stands alone in between a vast jungle. Believe me it scares me in the night. Lots of mosquitoes & other insects. Insects of all sizes, shapes & color. Lizards on walls as big as crocodiles, any insect & reptiles you name, it is king size. For eg., spiders as you see in Hollywood movies "BIG" that scares the $#!* out of you.

Amongst all these drawbacks it is still very close to my heart. My Badimaa lives there. I've spent my childhood there with my grandma, Badepapa, Badimaa, Mom, Dad & my younger brother.

We always had guests then. Never was a day without anybody visiting us. They used to make a stay at our place with their kids. I always had a gala time then . When these relatives would make a move, me as a child never liked it. I would always cry my lungs out. I usually forced them to stay for some more days. But still when they had to make a move I would again play all my pranks on them. Would usually hide their belongings. Sometimes it worked but many a times they would still go away, thinking they would collect their things the next time they paid visit. Very childish!!!! Gone are those days. Now we call ourselves "mature" but still long for those days of being "childish", as those were the days we lived the way we wanted. No set conditions or norms of life. No responsibilities.

This time when I had been to Puttur, I visited my old school.
St. Victors English Medium School. Since it was holidays, I could not see all my old teachers. Many of them I heard who were there, then, were transferred elsewhere.







But I still have to thank God for my encounter with my 2nd standard teacher. Her name is Miss Evelin. She was quite plump with a big bindi on her forehead, then, but has reduced now due to age & the recent pain of losing her daughter.



Pain of losing someone very dear to you & whom you love, is beyond explanation. Only the one who goes through it would know the pain. And this is the worst experience of any life & I fear it a lot. I know at some point of time I have to face it, but wonder how would I handle myself. Even the thought scares me & makes me sob..... God help me. I know life is not a bed of roses, but still I pray to God that HE keeps me away from these miseries of life at least till I am alive.

Oh............ Where am I going???? Whateva, that has to happen will 'HAPPE HAPPEN'. I remember one of my friends saying this.

The other teacher I met was a teacher then, but now she is the Head Mistress. Very soft spoken, small & cute, but I guess students see a different side of her. She is Miss Hilda.



I was very happy seeing them both. And Miss Evelin could remember my name, my family, the way I was then, everything but only after sometime. I was happy that she did, that was kinda enough for me for the rest of my life. She kept telling others ( the staff) as to how I was then, & still the same.



Miss Hilda said that I still looked a 7th standard girl with the same childishness. I hope I remain so till I LIVE.

I still remember my first spelling mistake of my english dictation & that was in class 2, the word being DOUBT which I spelt as dout not knowing 'B' was silent. Kept wondering why was it there in the first place when it is of no use ;-). I remember during my vacation at class 2 Miss Evelin asked me what would I bring her when I came back from Bombay & I said chocolates. When the stewardess offered chocolates in plane, I pocketed almost all the chocolates in the tray. After I came back I gave these chocolates to my Miss Evelin.

Hmmm........ Very childlike Gesture!!!



May God bless them all with the happiness they deserve. Love you Miss.
My school has changed a bit of its seating arrangements, uniforms & many teachers of course. Classrooms, school houses (Satya,Seva,Prema,Shanti), the loo are still the same.

So that was my school trip, a trip to my school days through the present.

Now back to my house at Puttur. It is definitely an escape from the monotonous life at Bangalore. Amongst greenery, birds chirping, vegetation, flowers of different kinds, insects of differnt kinds, fruits direct from the trees & many more. Lots of space for us play any outdoor games.



Is it not a feeling out of this world to be amongst this greenery & the closeness of your roots? Roots that I will never forget & am proud to be a part of. My people at home say that grandpa had bought a piece of land then, & he, grandma, BadePapa, BadiMaa & my parents have only improvised it. But the fruits are now less compared to those times when Grandma & Badepapa were alive.

Now that's me at Puttur. Happy & gay being amongst the greenery outside, posing & photographing. Courtesy : All me !!!! ;-)