Nurungukal.   Contd....

                                One of my elder brothers had in my fathers words a mechanical bend !He was not good at studies . But was known for his ingenuity to solve problems connected with any machine or instrument. He was called upon by neighbours and relatives to repair a dead clock, gramophone or a cycle refusing to move etc and he obliged them without any hesitation. He used to spent hours and hours  on each case until the defect was rectified.He had set up a work shop on our attic, where he n spent most of the time. Me my younger brother or sister were to be available at his call and obey him without any delay . If there is any lapse we were sure to receive a hit with his knuckles which would make a dent on our scalp and the pain would persist for a few minutes.

                                He was adept in designing many objects , such as a stand for a time piece, letter holder. even some toys etc with plywood and tin sheets. The plywood of tea cartons and tin from face powder containers  were his favourite materials. Once he made a home projector for screening cinema films. On a wooden plank a lens and a tin slide to hold  frames of cinema negatives were fixed,.The position of the lence had to be adjusted so that the picture in the negative is clearly projected on to a wall in a dark room. A piece of mirror would be placed outside the room so that sun’s rays are falling on the slide and the image passes through the lence . The operator, either me or my brother would stand outside the room for changing the films. Inside there would be many of our friends enjoying the show. Often when the sound from the room go out of permissible limits father would admonish us. Then total silence and again a crescendo. 

                               Such creative expressions of improvisations helped us to develop a positive attitude. Many of the toys that we played with were made out of objects available free in nature. Although we craved for ready to use items purchased from the market , we knew that they lacked to provide a true sense of achievement and ownership......