Sankarabharanam

Even though this movie commercialized classical music, father liked the songs and the rendering by SPB.

Malakpet

During the latter part of his CGWB job, father had to bike all the way to Malakpet, which was very far and took him an hour and a half. Not only was it long, it was also dangerous, as every vehicle on the road was trying to run cyclists off the road.

De-cluttering

Father used to organize his things well, though he would misplace his items occasionally. Improving the organizational skills is very useful for everyone.

birthday

I hit my birthday today- and remembered the days when dad would make sure I had new clothes to wear and new toys, like a bat.

Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy's passing is a very painful event for many, including me. Reminds me of my father and his struggles.

PB Srinivas

He was father's good friend. apparently he would always enquire after father when he visited Nellore. PBS sang some nice songs that were father's favorites.

Turning down an opportunity

I remember that father had an opportunity to go to Africa as part of his work. He chose not to go because the children were in school and he did not want the education to be affected.

Vinayaka chavithi

Yesterday was vinayaka chavithi. Father used to read the great story with all of us sitting and listening to him intently. I miss those days..

hair cut

I remember a time when I wanted to keep long hair as that wasin fashion- and my mom would ask me to cut it short. We had our regular barber where mother would take me for a haircut.

Dad generally went alone for his cut, but I do remember a few times when I went with him.

RInging the bell

I remember father cleaning his bike every weekend and ringing the cycle bell to make sure it was in good shape..The bike used to sparkle after he was done cleaning.

AIR

One memory etched in my mind is that of father putting on AIR early in the morning when it aired a half hour of MS Rama Rao's SundaraKanda. It was worth getting up early to listen to the program, as MS Rama Rao sang a very inspired version of SundaraKanda.

The Steel Almirah

We had a beautiful Steel cabinet with a wonderful glass mirror inset- the glass and the mirror were exquisite. Father had put in great effort in identifying what worked well for us...

Wearing pancha

I am just not used to wearing the traditional pancha- most of my life I have worn pyjamas. On my recent trip to Chennai and Nellore I was given a pancha to wear many times, and after a while even the host would take mercy and let me wear pants. The funny thing is that my dad wore a pancha most of the time when he was home.

Vinayaka Chaviti

I remember the Vinayaka Chaviti celebration in our house every year- we would have a festive time during the day, capped off with father reading the story of Vinayaka. I always found the story to be fascinating, with gripping action and powerful messages. When I was returning from Tenkaya Topu to Nellore on Sunday morning, Siva took me via Eduru, and on the way I saw someone making some very large statues of Vinayaka and preparing them for sale. Reminded me of the festivities in our house for this holiday.

Remembering father

I visited my uncle on Saturday and he was remembering my father- how he used to visit us when our father was alive. It was nice to hear.

Father's sweet sambar

Dad used to cook when mom had to go away to Nellore for some purpose. He made excellent rice and veggie dishes, and his sambar was excellent and sweet.

Krishna

We had a beautiful ceramic statue of Krishna in our living room. It was a gorgeous work of art- have never seen anything quite like it.

Playing games

We used to play a number of games including cards, snakes and ladders, and a trade game. We also had a marble based game where one had to launch a number of marbles that went around various obstacles.

Mahindra and Mahindra

Jeeps were the ones that dad used on his field trips. I remember one of his drivers called Krishna, who I think took us to Chittoor.

Half sleeved versus full sleeved

Our dad mostly wore half sleeved shirts- which made eminent sense in the tropical city that is Hyderabad. How I got to wearing full sleeved shirts I do not know. Even at IIT, I used to wear full sleeved kurtas.

Brown Belt Shoes

I remember the maroon-brown belt shoes father used to wear. They were his favorite footwear. I also remember dad polishing all our shoes before we went to school, so that we all looked very tidy and perfect.

Weird world

My father had an extraordinarily physically demanding job. It says a lot about him that he took the work and the physical toll as just a part of life. Folks like me go out and run because we don't get enough physical work in our work.

Taj Mahal

Father and mom stayed just opposite the Taj Mahal and enjoyed quite a few evenings watching the Taj in the sunset. A lovely romantic setting.

Grand Canyon

I took my mom to the Grand Canyon in 1992. How I wish my father was there. He would have loved the geology and the history of the mountain ranges, and the Hoover dam.

North Indian Food...

I have been in Delhi for a few weeks and the little differences between the South and the North are beginning to hurt- so I cannot imagine how my father lived in North India for many years. Even more amazing is that he still retained his love for coffee, while the North Indians just drink all the time.

Going from records to audiotape

Was a big transformational event- I got a tape recorder when I was at IIT Madras, and recorded a lot of songs on tape- including Madhumati, hits of Rafi and Simon and Garfunkel. Father liked to listen all the music- whatever his kids played. What a big heart!