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Colony of memories
ON A summer evening with the humidity irritating me, I felt I
could not concentrate on anything. How long can one be shut in an
airconditioned room or watch insipid programmes on the cable
network? I took a book to read but couldn't make much progress,
and I soon realised it was one such day when a person just
doesn't feel like doing anything. So I sat in the verandah.
sipping a glass of iced lemonade, and made a survey of our little
colony.
Opposite my house is an old house that has been demolished and
the four-storeyed building coming up in its place is just nearing
completion. Watching this, I let my thoughts go down memory lane.
Years ago, when we moved from Trivandrum to Madras, the city was
enchanting with its famous Marina Beach and well-paved roads with
huge trees on either side. Edward Elliots Road in Mylapore - a
road which led to the Marina Beach had small colonies nearby and
in one such colony near the beach is where my parents built their
house - 'Burma House'. It was a picturesque colony with just a
few bungalows in small gardens. The residents were friendly with
each other. While the girls used to play games or go for a
stroll, the boys played cricket in somebody's garden or sometimes
even on the road. Sometimes even the elders would join in.
Festivals like Pongal and Deepavali were occasions for
interaction among the residents. But it was during Navarathri
that the colony was full of life. The children merrily
participated in arranging the kolu dolls.
There were some celebrities living here too. The famous
Travancore Sisters - Lalitha, Padmini, Ragini - who were good
dancers and leading actresses of the Tamil screen then, lent
charm to the area. The residents often witnessed at the gates of
their house, crowds of star crazy onlookers trying to catch a
glimpse of these popular actresses. The Travancore sisters owned
a few houses in the colony and each bore the name of one of their
family members - like Lalitha Bhavan, Padmini Nivas, Ragini House
and so on. In Padmini Nivas lived their cousin Ambika, a leading
actress of the Malayalam screen. Padmini Nivas was just opposite
our house. I had known Ambika in Trivandrum; both of us went to
the same school. I was delighted when I found that Ambika lived
just opposite and we continued our friendship.
Though celebrities, these girls had a friendly disposition, had
no airs about being famous and when invited would attend kolu and
other functions in our house, provided they found time from their
busy shooting schedules.
The residents also treated them normally. Another celebrity who
lived here was the famous Carnatic musician, M. L. Vasantha
Kumari. She also mingled freely with everyone. Thus, the colony
besides glamour had music and rhythm too. We have often heard the
jingling of bells when Lalli, Pappi and Ragi (as the Travancore
sisters were affectionately called) and Ambika were practising
dance and MLV's singing too. Visitors to our house had no problem
locating the colony as it went by the unofficial name of Lalitha-
Padmini colony.
It lost some of its celebrity status when the Travancore Sisters,
Ambika and MLV moved out. But it still had little Shobana, the
niece of the Travancore Sisters. Later, Shobana also moved out.
Today, the well-known colony is undergoing a transformation like
elsewhere - old houses are being razed to make way for flats. My
heart bleeds when I see such demolitions of familiar houses.
However, some old houses still remain, one being ours. Some
houses have changed hands, in some the occupants have changed and
only in a couple of houses do the owners or original occupants
continue to live. My friends Padmini and Ambika now live in the
U.S. and on my trip there, sometime back, we met again and
sitting in Padmini's house in Hillsdale, New Jersey, talked about
our little colony and the pleasant years we had spent there. I
realised the colony had such an impact on our young minds that
many years later and thousands of miles away from India, most of
our conversation revolved round it.
I feel therapeutically, it is better to dwell on pleasant and
fond memories rather than on unpleasant thoughts. So, when I feel
depressed, I go down memory lane and think of the happy times I
spent in this colony.
LAKSHMI SUNDARAM
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