Kadmanivasi. My Blog. Geeta Ramani

Halfway up the stairs is a stair where I sit.  There isn’t any other stair quite like it.          A. A. Milne.  Last week I chanced to spend an hour on the staircase leading to my first floor flat. I needed to temporarily escape the 'friendly fumes' sprayed in my flat as part of the maintenance for keeping away pests. On such a previous occasion, I remember having spent the hour with my neighbor friend, but sadly she was away this time. And that is how I came to settle down on one of the steps that fine morning.  The day was sunny yet mild, and the gentle breeze kept my spirits up. On the outer sides of balconies,  the clothes fluttered in a colourful dance, the trees beyond swayed in happy abandonment. I was all by myself, midst the breeze and the warm sun and thoughts and feelings rushed in unbidden.  ' No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp.              ...

The world of Bollywood songs, to me, is a mystery, an enigma. Almost every film is adorned with songs. It may be sung by any character in the film. It may just be a background score, sharing deep feelings or taking the story forward. Most of them are romantic numbers but in reality they convey eternal truths. Once you transgress from the reel,  you will realise that there's a song you can relate to, in each and every situation in real life.  When did I start listening to Hindi Film music? I have no idea at all. Initially I came to love the voice o f singers and then I could identify the music directors. But I know this much- what endeared me to the songs was the timelessness of the lyrics. I would never play the song in the background as some music lovers do. For me listening to these songs is  an activity in itself. But the writers of the impactful lyrics have rarely found mention, many have been lost in oblivion, leave alone find name and fame.  I had once, made a ...

A journey by train was the best part of our summer vacations and as a family, we looked forward to it every year. The destination was always the home of an uncle or aunt, and I can recall so many wonderful moments spent in their company. Later, we started adding one more destinations, a temple visit or a tourist hill station. But still, the most exciting part, was the train journey itself. How I miss them!  For my family, arriving at the railway station in time, would be an understatement. The reality is that we would reach the Tatanagar Railway Station, in Jamshedpur much ahead of time. Trains were never known to arrive or leave early, invariably they were late. But still we would be there an hour before schedule.  The next, was to go through the booking list. We always used to have our tickets reserved months in advance, however, until we saw our names on the list, we were never sure. The chart used to be pasted outside the compartment in the last moment, as the train trudge...

No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning. Native American Proverb. On 9th August, 2024, I set out, for the first time in 65 years, on a pilgrimage to my ancestral village of Kalpathi in the Palakkad district of Kerala. I did not travel alone. My daughter, who accompanied me, was excited to be on a 'journey of discovery, to solve a 100 year old mystery' and chose to be Hastings to my Poirot. My husband, who valued the visit to one's native place, also travelled with me. Years ago, we had been on a similar pilgrimage to his native village of Kandamangalam, in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu.  But why was I undertaking this journey?  What was propelling me? What was driving me? I tried to question myself and understand my need to visit a place my ancestors had left decades ago.  My paternal grandfather had left Kalpathi in 1917 and had arrived in Jamshedpur in Bihar, where he took up service in The Tata Iron & Steel Company. Li...