I guess each one of us has those childhood memories which either we can’t forget or won’t forget because everyone else thought it was too cute and keep embarrassing you as often as they can. Just to recollect a few.
1. Achan and amma had left both of us( for the ignorant lot I am one of a twin) at a family friend’s place and gone for an office party. now last time we were there we had eaten a delicious fruit and both of us wanted to have our choo-choos asap. now no one there had a clue what choo-choo was. So they asked us ‘makkalke choo choo oyakanno’ meaning ‘do u guys want to pee’? No, we didn’t want to. we wanted those choo choos that were on top of the fridge last time we were there. Have u imagined how it’s like to confront two 2.5 yrs old and u have no idea what they want? Poor folks. Finally, we did get what we wanted. Choo Choos literally translates to Lychees. I still refer to them as choo choos.
2. Our initial years were spent mostly at a Hotel. My dad used to work there. Now when my mom used to get tired of both of us she used to dump us at the hotel and she would go shopping. Both of us are still quite well known for terrorizing the employees and the guests there. Cmon guys, we were cute and there were two of us. So it is obvious we were noisy.
3. When we were younger we used to have one of those Tandem tricycles. I seldom got to ride it. My sis used to be the designated driver and she used to drive us all around the house. Now one day she went and rammed into my mom’s showcase and broke one of its glass windows. When confronted my sis gives this unforgettable dialogue -‘Amma enne inniyum vazhaka paranjal njan matte kanaddiyum pottikum’ meaning ‘If you scold me again I will break the other glass window as well’.
4. When we were 5, we had a new addition to the family, a younger sister. Now since we were kids we were not allowed to carry her. Now they say curiosity kills the cat. So my sister decides that she will do the brave deed without anyone noticing. She had my support as well. So one day when my mom was in the kitchen and my grandmom was sleeping, we were ready. Slowly my sis picks the baby and she walks towards the drawing-room. At that point in time, we used to stay in a house where we could see the drawing-room from the kitchen through a small window in the kitchen. The minute my mom saw that the Baby was with my sis she screamed ( I know Drama runs in our family). Pataack… My sis dropped the baby. Luckily nothing happened and my younger sis is still telling tales of her older sisters evil intentions to kill her when she was young.
5. My mom kicked us out of the house when were just 2.5 yrs. We were too much to handle. So by the time I was 4, I was in UKG. First few days were kind of exciting. Learning new things. Meeting new kids. So one day when we got back from school we were all excited since we had just learnt our National pledge. So we were repeating it to our mom when we forgot some parts of it and she filled in the rest. We didn’t mention anything at that point in time. Then Dad comes home and we start narrating it to him as well. Again forgot some parts of it and he fills in the bits and pieces. Now we r genuinely surprised and I turn to my sis and tell her ‘Ramya, Achanum schoolil poyittundu’ meaning ‘Achan has also been to school’. Cmon its an amazing discovery at the age of 4. 🙂
6. In those days very few people had their own television sets. I guess in the whole of the Mallu community in Dar hardly 2-3 had their own television sets. So weekends meant going over to that house to see Mallu movies. Now one day in the middle of a movie, a 3 yr old gets up and asks ‘ Amma epozzha Mammooty marikannu pone?’ meaning ‘ When is Mammooty going to die?’. You can’t blame me. In old mallu movies at least one person used to die.
7. Once we were performing a dance depicting Radha and Krishna fighting. Now I was Krishna and my sis was Radha. All I had on was a dhoti tied around me (cmon I was 3 then.). The dance was like this: after the initial fighting, we finally resolve our differences and dance out of the stage shoulder-to-shoulder. Please remember I was bare-chested (remember I was 3). The minute my sister touched my shoulder I felt ticklish. I got angry at her on stage and ran off exactly in the other direction. But many people in the audience never realised that we had fought. They thought it was part of the act. 🙂
