"From Kitchen to Classroom" - A Teacher's Blog

CHAI PE CHARCHA

I uttered some kannada lines as a conclusive remark over a discussion, while I was having 'chai' with my wife. We all, including my kids, speak Kannada in our house. My wife and my kids know 'Tulu' in addition, which I do not. There are two types of Tulu, and my dad understood both, and spoke one, he even knew Telugu, which most of his contemporaries know very well even today. I understand Telugu to a great extent, if not full, thanks my Uncle’s service first in Nizamabad and then in Hyderabad, where most of my holidays were spent. Latter on a torrent of brilliant students from Andhra Pradesh in mid-nineties, whom I mentored, were helpful in reviving my understanding of this ‘mast’ language. For the first time I ventured typing Kannada (with due credits to my wife, as she helped in correcting and I am not versed in it). 

A little history behind these lines - Until my father passed away in 2010, it was a ritual in my life that we three, me, my dad and my wife used to have tea together, and deliberate on various topics of this world and life. Topics ranged as impromptu as they arouse. It was a clockwork routine, which no one even thought of skipping, as it was happy hours for my dad, and enriching moments for us. During that daily one hour session with 'Appa', as I used to call him, he sat on the sofa or on a chair besides a table, and we both husband and wife, sometimes along with our kids, sat on the floor listening and participating in that randomly sprouted topic of the day. He was a man of great humour, who had the knack of converting and concluding any serious issue in a light and philosophical way. 

The one-hour family 'Chai pe charcha' always, till his end, ended happily. Now that he is no more, his memories and the event remains.I with my wife daily ritually never miss to have morning tea together, with long discussions. Some days, she waits, until I return from cycling and I have a second round of tea. If Morning College’s timetable doesn't allow time for this precious conference, then the tea meet is postponed for in the evening. It gets more interesting then, with an additional advantage of peeking in the balcony, while sipping tea, watching the world passing by (may be my next scrap book page will be MY BALCONY ;). At this time, our growing kids too participate enthusiastically. Sometimes it's humour time with kids as they narrate funny happenings from their school campus. I am unknowingly now playing my 'Appa's' role, of the co-ordinator.

Our yesterday’s discussion concluded me impromptu saying and concluding the days discussion with these lines, ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾದ "ಕ್ರಮ" ನೀವು ಫಾಲೋ ಮಾಡಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದರೆ ~ ನಿಮ್ಮ "ಕರ್ಮ" ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಫಾಲೋ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಒಂದು ಹೊಸತಾಗಿ ಅರಿತ ‘ಗ್ಯಾನ್’ which means nothing more than the fact that - if a man doesn't follow discipline in life, his karma will follow him. Now this is a blunt translation of its meaning.