Sunday Times…

It was generally a trip undertaken strictly on Sundays….the day would start at 6 with appa waking me up and amma having a nice coffee ready to boot….TVS Max100 it was which we cranked up……appa riding the bike…and me being the pillion with 4 bags in hand….and we rode our way to greenery…..

The first time I came with my father in this road, I seriously thought we were to go into a semi gothic type building which seemed to be an anachronism considering the fact that I was asked to bring with me at least 4 bags….the closer we went to the structure the more apparent it became as to what my purpose in the whole scheme of things was…that of a faithful caddy carrying the bags even as Tiger Woods was contemplating what shot to play next….I must add that this job came with its own perks….that of sharing a cup of coffee with appa early in the morning and also getting the chance to ride the bike from house till lucas junction….

Koyambedu it was which welcomed me….though I used to view it with sleep weary eyes…we parked our bikes on the left kerb….said a Hi to our grapes waala….and then went right in….it generally started with aloo and pyaaz…followed by any and every greens you could lay your eyes on…beans, avaraikai, karamani, vendekkai, murungakkai, keerai, pudina, malli, chow chow, kathirikai, lauki, gobi, phool-gobi, sepankezhangu. To end the internal rampage, for desserts we bought the customary inji, pachai melahai, poondu and karuvepilai…..Having made our mark in the coliseum that was Koyambedu, my arms would be aching from the weight I was carrying…..I would try to not hear appa’s calls to me even as he would stop to buy (yes its not yet over) thengai. Finally as we came out and I was sprinting towards our bike to keep all the load, appa used to cross the road ( I rarely accompanied him on the last lap) to get our box of grapes, vazhaipazham and vellirikkai….and then we went home….

Back in home it was a raja varaverpu….for waiting for us and fussing over us was thaatha, who used to oversee the distribution of the vegetables and keeping them in fridge and shelves….and now even as appa and I sat on the table sipping one more coffee, I took vicarious pleasure in seeing meks doing the running around to keep the veggies inside….by this time it was 9, thaatha and appa would go to have their bath (this being Sunday, bath was a strict no no for me pre lunch)

Of course, then there were those strictly Sunday-ish rituals to be watched on TV….chandrakantha, sunTV super 10, aachi international, some crazy mohan drama, then there was this Dara singh serial in Zee tv which was wonderful….

Strangely the Sunday evenings were the most mentally tiresome times to pass by…You always had that weariness which precedes the fact that come Monday, you have to be in school….add to that the fact that I generally didn’t finish my homeworks on Friday and Saturday almost always meant my Sunday evenings were spent with books (which was the last thing I ever wanted to do)…..Even as we were watching superhit muqabla and its counterparts in other channels…..meks and myself would take turns to polish our shoes…I still remember the extent to which thaatha used to get irritated with the umpteen no. of times that the brush slipped from my hand and clanged on the metallic stool…..

Finally this wonderful weekend ended with amma giving us all a glassful of milk…and we lumbering off to sleep wondering how much better we could have spent our weekends if only we finished off our homeworks on Saturday mornings……