Mexican Sambar

Dear Yama/Chitragupta - How are you all doing? How is the temperature and weather patterns there? It has been a wild swing here so far. No one is sure how this is going to go. All we know is that it is not in the correct direction. Ennamo! Two years ago, I wrote to you about how countries are turning into regimes. Well, guess what happened south of the border - they elected Trump again! He has literally taken things into his own hands. You know how Chuchu would have reacted to this, right? Probably, would have agreed that it's all for good. Nesamani Ponnaiah! How is Chuchu mama doing? How is he shaping up? Is he eating well? Has he put on weight? What is he eating nowadays? I hope he is consuming more than a handful. Speaking of food, we've been cooking up a storm in his remembrance. Today, Praneetha made his beloved Kollu rasam - you know, the way he liked it, that perfect balance of turmeric and pepper that he would always critique until we got it just right. The potato fry w...

Dear Yama/Chitragupta - Another year and another letter to you. I hope your business doing well. Another year of bumper harvest, I suppose? Projections for 2024 states that you will go past 2023's total (source: https://ourworldindata.org/births-and-deaths). High-fives around? What is the party looking like? Who is your best sales agent so far and how are you rewarding them? So many questions but no answers. Just like the Indian government! Alright, heading to the main topic: How is Chuchu mama? How is he treating you call? Does he talk about us often? Well, tell him I miss him a lot. I am here in India with the family on vacation, and I was looking for him everywhere. It is hard to not to miss him and I do. Please convey that message to him. How are the mama and his anna's interactions going? I mean Sarathy mama whom you recruited recently. They must be having a jolly good time, especially with Gopu mama thatha with whom you must have already been having an enjoyable time! The...

 Dear Yama/Chitragupta - How have you all been? A year had passed since our last interaction . How is Chuchu doing? It has been two years since you he arrived at your place. I hope he has been well treated and he has treated you both well? Well, a lot have happened in the last one year. More leaders of nations have turned their tenure to a regime. More people have been killed - thanks to the war, environmental destruction (forest fire/drought/famine/floods/pollution), and diseases. You must have noticed the turnover - month-over-month on your end; if not please check with Chitragupta. Life has been difficult for many people - sustenance is no more an option. We as a generation are letting down the future. Well, that's not why this post is about. If Chuchu was around, I would have had fun poking him with politics back home. Shruthi has made - apparently - a favourtie of Chuchu called Bambai lakidi a.k.a Kalakala. I never knew that. It is Praneetha's favourite though. We are pla...

Dear Yama/Chitragupta –  It has been a year and a day since Chuchu’s departure from here . I hope he is treating you both well and keeping you on your toes. Especially you, Chitragupta – he is good at keeping accounts. So, beware – you will not be able to falsify on your double entries anymore. I am sure you would have learnt about it since his arrival there. Since the last one year, there would have been so many arrivals at your end. In fact, God could not save the Queen. She has been your freshest arrival – few hours ago. Anyway, how has Chuchu been? I am sure you have the strongest man in the known Universe. He is capable at many things, not just keeping accounts. One of the things he was not able to do while he was here was travel places. By himself. That must have changed since his arrival there! I vividly remember every travel with him. Especially, the travel to Disney World, Florida - circa. 2014. He was ecstatic! The rides he took there – I mean those he was able and allow...

Chuchu [1957-2022] Yes. TL;DR: An Eulogy (sort of) Let me tell you all a story about a lesser-known human: Soundararajan a.k.a Suresh a.k.a Chuchu. Chuchu was born in a middle-class brahmin family to Narayanan and Rukmini. He has a sister: Nalini. That sister's son is me. But, this isn't about me. It is about my mama: Chuchu. Up until the ripe age of 19 or so, he was very active, physically. Jumping terraces in pursuit of kites, getting off running buses, hanging behind on the ladder in a running bus. He was rowdy! Name the rowdiest thing a 60s kid would do - he had done it. He had crushes too! Around his late teens, he lost his mother to cancer. The troubles were just beginning - he started to feel weak. He felt pain. His shoulders started to droop. He was losing something: his muscles. This was not new to him, as he had seen his uncles (mother's brothers) undergo that phase, but what he couldn't understand: why so early? At that time, not ...