Nurungukal....contd...

        I would say that I enjoyed the life at Tatabhad lodge the most as a bachelor. The inmates hailed from almost all the districts of Kerala and had varied cultural backgrounds. The slang in which we spoke was typical of each locality. For e.g. Balakrishnan the TTE about whom I had mentioned in my last post spoke exactly like Biju Menon in the movie Ordinary[Palaghat style]. Once in a  way we enjoyed a hot session and went on picnics en mass. The life was in perfect harmony. One or two even managed to develop ardent love affairs in the neighbourhood. And in one case we had to extricate one of our friends from such a case with great difficulty. We had a common kitchen. The accounts were managed meticulously by Rajan and Namboodiri of LIC, both hailing from Tirur. But our eye sore was the cooks. We tried several, but none came up to our requirements. If one was too old and shabby the other failed to provide tasty food, yet another connived with our grocery merchant to earn a few extra income.  But some how we managed to keep the ball rolling, despite serious complaints. Yet it was the best and nostalgic part of my bachelor life for which I should be thankful to Vasu ettan, my cousin-in-law. In Madras it was a different experience.

            Actually it was popularly known as Nadar’s Garden and not as a lodge. It was an asylum to bachelor Malayalees in Madras. Its location was ideal, connected closely with rail and roads with facilities at arms reach. There was a canteen run by a set of cooks, providing tasty cuisine at reasonable rates and the rent was affordable to our meagre budget.

       I do not know the history of that house. It belonged to a rich Nadar family. They would have been using it to carry out their business in Madras. It was like an old bungalow. The facilities were such. The compound was full of big trees and provided a salubrious ambiance. It was cool and pleasant. There was abundant supply of water and we enjoyed it both morning and evening to drive away the drudgery of a days hard work. This was an exclusive facility in Madras for a Malayalee, who can not think of a life without two or even three baths in such hot weather.

        The break fast used to be very sumptuous. Puttu with plantain, pappadam, bulls eye etc. were the favourite of all. On holidays special menu with one or two non veg dishes satisfied even strict gourmets.There were a few inmates who had made this accommodation as their home in Madras. Their long standing association had given them some extra facilities viz. single room with fan , mirror,bath room etc. I had to share one with my colleagues, Thomas, Ramesh, Surendran etc. But as in Tatabhad, Nadar’s Garden did not offer any collective activity. Here we lived as individuals and used it as our dwelling only..contd.....