PLUM CAKE

The most popular cake in Kerala during the Christmas season is the plum cake. All the bakeries sell their own version of the plum cake. 

WHITE LEATHER SHOES

I had my first holy communion with my elder brother at a Catholic Church in Sembawang, Singapore. We had to dress up in white for the occasion. White clothes were easily available. In those days we used to wear white canvas shoes to school but my father wanted us to wear white leather shoes on that day. So we went from one shoe shop to another looking for white leather shoes. Most shops had leather shoes only in black or brown. A few shops did have white leather shoes, but they had them only in adult sizes. At last, we came to a shop which had white leather shoes for children. They were expensive. My father bought them.

At church, I noticed most of the others were wearing white canvas shoes. I could not understand why my father took the trouble to get us white leather shoes. I am sure he wanted us to be well dressed for the occasion. Later on, when I began to understand how some of our relatives speak, I realised that another reason could be that he wanted to avoid listening to their sarcastic remarks.

After the function at the church we went to a studio and got a photograph taken. Then there was a party at home. I never wore those shoes after that day.

RP MALL

RP Mall, Kollam

SALES INTERVIEW

During the beginning of my career I was working in the Sales Department of a dealership. At that time I was called for an interview at a large multinational company. In India, even if there are only a few vacancies, organisations receive a large number of applications. I think it is due to the large population in the country. Applications are screened and some candidates are called for the interview. When I reached the venue, I noticed there were about hundred candidates. Later on, I came to know that there were only two vacancies.

They conducted a written test which included English Language and Product Knowledge. After the test results were known, half the candidates were asked to leave. The rest of us were divided into groups and given a topic to discuss among ourselves. They wanted to see how we speak. After the group discussion, half the candidates were asked to leave. Then there was a preliminary interview with the Product Manager, after which only five candidates were selected for the final interview with the Regional Manager on the next day. I was lucky to be among the five.

When I arrived for the final interview I noticed my application was on the Regional Managers table. It was very brief. At that time I did not even know how to send a proper application. He asked me ‘Is this the way you send an application? Don’t you think you should have given us more information about yourself?’ He asked me several questions but the one I remember most is ‘How do you know that your sales is increasing?’ I told him that if my sales for a product is Rs.100,000/- for one year and it is Rs.200,000/- the next year, that would be an increase in sales. He asked me ‘Is that the only way to look at it?’ I said ‘Yes’ since I did not know of any other way to look at it. Then he told me ‘Suppose your sales for a product is Rs.100,000/- for one year and the total market for the product is Rs.200,000/-, you have 50% of the market share. Next year you may sell for Rs.200,000/- but the market for the product may have grown to Rs.10,00,000/-, which means you now have only 20% of the market share. That’s a loss in market share.’ I told him I was working for a dealership and that they did not conduct a market survey. He said ‘If they don’t do it, you should do it.’ He told me that they would inform me if I was selected. I knew that I would not get the job, but I learnt something. I learned about the market share of a product.

SHRINE

Shrine of Our Lady of Velankanni, Tuet, Kollam

DOT ON FOREHEAD

Many women in India are seen with a dot on their forehead. The dot has some religious significance but today it has become more of a fashion statement. Sticker type dots are available in fancy designs. They stick it on in the morning and remove it at night. There is also a practical reason for putting a dot on the forehead. Women in India are shy and do not want men looking directly into their eyes. The dot distracts men. They tend to focus on the dot instead of looking into their eyes.

Men in India do not usually put a dot on their forehead. Sometimes they put a mark on their forehead after visiting a temple. It is part of a religious ritual. Those who are seen with it every day are religious people who are involved with temple activities or people who visit the temple every day. Some shady characters can also be seen with it.

FLOWERS

Some flowers seen near my house.

Compared to the red hibiscus this one has very few flowers.

This flower is found on a tree called the ashoka tree.

I see these flowers almost everyday.

This one is seasonal. They flower only once or twice a year and then lasts only for a few days. It is worth the wait though.

STRANGE DREAM

I had a strange dream once. In the dream I saw a human eye. There was a small blister in the white part of the eye. When I woke up in the morning I was worried that there may be something wrong with my eyes. I looked into a mirror and checked both my eyes. I was relieved to find that there was nothing wrong with my eyes.

That morning, after having my breakfast I was reading the newspaper when my friend came to see me. He said he had a problem with his eye and wanted to see a doctor. He asked me whether I would accompany him. I said I would and I looked into his eye. It looked like what I saw in my dream.

The doctor asked my friend about his occupation. My friend was teaching then. The doctor said that it could be due to an allergy caused by chalk dust entering his eye. He prescribed an eye ointment. After using the ointment for a few days his eye was back to normal again.

SHASTRI JUNCTION

Shastri Junction, Kollam

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

The movie that scared me the most is ‘The last man on Earth’. I saw it on TV in the late sixties. I was about ten then, old enough to understand and young enough to be frightened. I did not know the name of the actor then. Later on, I checked the net and found that it was Vincent Price. I also noticed that there was a slight difference in the way I understood the story.

It is about a man who finds people around him dying. They are affected by a Plague. He is immune to the plague because he had been bitten by a vampire bat earlier. Soon he loses his family, friends and everyone he knows. He is the only man alive. He goes into a supermarket and takes whatever he wants. He does not have to pay for it. There is nobody around. He gets fuel for his car at a petrol station. There is no cashier to receive payment.

At night, the dead bodies get up and start walking around. They are in various stages of decay. His dead friends and relatives come looking for him. They knock on his door and windows and try to get in. They call out his name. He gets home before dark to avoid them. One night he is late and they crowd around him. They don’t seem to hurt him. He uses a small crucifix to repel them. He hangs garlic on his door which also helps to keep them away.

Later on he learns that the dead bodies can be prevented from getting up at night by driving a stake through their chest. He starts making stakes using a lathe at home during the night. During the day he goes around looking for dead bodies and drives the stakes into their chest.

He listens to the radio to see if there are people living in some other city or country. One day he meets a woman. Since she is walking around during the day, he is convinced that she is not one of the dead bodies. She tells him that her friends will be arriving soon. Her friends see him in the evening and mistake him for one of the dead bodies. He tells them that he is a real man. They don’t believe him and attack him. He runs into a church. They follow him and stab him to death near the altar.

After watching this movie, I was afraid to go out alone at night for several days.

HOTEL SEA BEE

Hotel Sea Bee, Kollam

JAPANESE ENGINEER IN INDIA

In the mid eighties I was working for an Agency that represented a Japanese Company in India. One day my Manager told me that a Japanese Engineer would be visiting India on a Sales promotion tour and that I would have to make the arrangements for his visit to some large organisations and also accompany him. Before his arrival I visited the organisations and fixed an appointment for him, since foreign nationals are not allowed entry without appointment.

On his arrival, I met him at the airport and we travelled together by car to my office. He looked out the window and said ‘Scenery good, many tree.’ Maybe they don’t have trees in Japanese cities.

We visited various cities and his accommodation was booked in five star hotels. One morning when I met him, he told me about the problems he faced in the Hotel. He said he hit the mattress with his hand and noticed dust flying up. He asked for the room to be cleaned and it took one hour to get it cleaned. He also noticed a crack in a window pane and complained about it. In the morning he ordered full breakfast which according to the menu had corn flakes, toast, bacon, coffee etc but when it arrived there was no bacon. He called the Food and Beverages Manager and asked him about it. The Manager told him that they will not charge him for the breakfast. On the next day, while vacating the room he noticed that he had been charged for it. He called up the Manager again and got it cancelled.

In another Hotel, we were having lunch. It was a buffet. I noticed he ate a lot and after which he had a plate of fruits including an apple, an orange, a bunch of grapes and a piece of pineapple. I could eat only one fruit. I thought he was enjoying the food. I asked him ‘How do you like the food in India?’ He said ‘Food in India is a big problem for me.’

On the way to a meeting we were held up at a railway crossing. He asked me why we had stopped. I told him a train is expected to pass by. Only after that, will they open the gate and we can continue our journey. After a few minutes we heard the train’s whistle. As soon as the train appeared he started laughing, he could not contain himself. I asked him why he was laughing. He said ‘So slow, the train is so slow. When will it reach its destination?’ I thought the man is used to seeing Bullet trains in Japan, he must find our trains funny. Along the way, he asked me to tell the driver to drive carefully. He said in Japan, if there is an accident, the driver has to take care of the victim’s family.

When we reached the Company, we met the concerned Engineers and had a fruitful meeting. After the meeting we walked to the car and noticed our driver was sleeping in the car. He said, how can man sleep while at work. In India it is normal for a driver to take a nap when he is not driving. I asked him if he thinks our people are lazy. He said ‘lazy’ is not the word, the word is ‘inefficient’. He went on to explain that we had an appointment for the meeting and we had reached on time, yet it took almost one hour for all the concerned Engineers to assemble and for us to start the meeting. He told me that in Japan even if we go to a Company without an appointment and if they agree to hold a meeting, the concerned Engineers would assemble within five minutes and we can start the meeting in five minutes.

In the evening we arrived at another city. When we reached the hotel, he asked the receptionist ‘Do you have a swimming pool?’ The receptionist said ‘Of course we have a swimming pool.’ He then asked ‘How big is the swimming pool?’ She said it is big. He wanted to see it and she arranged for a person to take us to the swimming pool. Along the way he told me ‘Tomorrow is a Sunday, I have no work. I want a big swimming pool so that I can get some good exercise.’

Next day we were free. He told me he could not sleep last night. When he visited the Indian Embassy in Tokyo to get his visa, an Indian working there had given him some children’s books to be delivered to an address in an Indian city. He had forgotten about it and we had already visited that city. He said he could not keep his word and felt bad about it. My office agreed to deliver the books and he was relieved. He then said he would like to see an Indian style cabaret. He mentioned that when he visits Korea they provide him with girls.

Before leaving, he asked my Manager to ensure that I remain with the Company. He said Companies where employees leave for other jobs do not prosper and that in Japan most people work for one Company all their life. When I shook hands with him to say goodbye, I noticed he bowed his head slightly. I was tempted to follow suit.

MOSQUE

Mosque, Kadappakada, Kollam

LENDING MONEY

Most people don’t borrow money. They manage with what they have. But there are some who have no hesitation to borrow. Sometimes people go through unexpected situations which require them to borrow money. My experiences have been with people who I feel, did not really require the money so urgently. While most of them return the money, some try to delay or even avoid returning it. If you have to remind them about it several times, it could spoil a friendship. I don’t remember having any good experience.  

One person borrowed a small amount of money and did not return it for a long time. When I asked him about it, he said ‘I returned it, don’t you remember.’

There was another person who would borrow in private and return in public. If he needs money he would call you to a place where there was no one around and tell you about his difficulties. If you lend him the money he would return it in front of many people and those watching would think that you are taking money from him. It looked like he was building his reputation as a person who gives money.

One night while I was fast asleep there was a knock on the door. I woke up, it was past midnight. A colleague was at the door. He needed some money urgently. I gave it to him. He told me he would return it by the end of the month. Even after the end of the month he was sitting next to me and talking about everything under the sun except the money he owes me. I decided to ask him about it. He said, ‘I came to your house last night to return the money but the lights were off. I thought you were sleeping and did not want to disturb you.’ He returned it a few days later.

Another person told me that if I lend him 5,000 dollars he would give me a monthly interest of 500 dollars and that my 5,000 dollars would be safe with him. I only needed to give him a call and he would return the 5,000 dollars whenever I required it. It sounded too good to be true. I didn’t fall for that one. I am sure if I did, he may give me the interest for one or two months and then claim that his business has suffered a setback and he can give me the interest or the amount only after his business improves.

Then there are some people who have a good income but regularly borrow money. It seems like a habit they develop. I can see only two reasons for such behaviour. Either their expenditure is more than their income or they think they are smart by using other people’s money which can be returned later on without interest while their money is earning interest somewhere.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be – William Shakespeare

ICICI BANK

ICICI Bank, kadappakada, Kollam

HAIR STRAIGHTENING

When I first arrived in Africa, I noticed that most of the men have curly hair but many of the women have straight hair. I did not know the reason for the difference. Then one day while I was walking past a beauty parlour, I saw a board displaying the services that they provide. One of the services was hair straightening. I then realised that the women were getting their hair straightened. Later on, I saw hair straightening devices being sold in some shops. Most of them were made in China, some were made in Germany. People in China and Germany do not have curly hair. It is obvious they are manufacturing these devices solely for export. Africa is a big continent with many countries. Each country has a section of the population that is well to do. So Africa is a big market for such products.

Straight hair is more popular among the affluent African girls. Men don’t seem to care as much about their hair.

NEW BHARATH TYRES

New Bharath Tyres, Kadappakada, Kollam

ELEPHANT TROOP

I was a member of the boy scouts during my primary school days in Singapore. There were four troops and I was the deputy leader of the Elephant Troop.

On sports day there was a competition between the troops to put up a flag pole and raise the troop flag. All the troops had an earlier practice session and knew how to do it. Each troop was given several wooden poles of about five feet length. A few poles were tied together with a rope to make the flag pole. A pulley was attached to the top pole and a rope around the pulley would raise the flag. Three poles were tied to the bottom pole to create a stable base. A few long ropes tied to the top pole were pulled and tied to spikes in the ground to make it even more stable.

Many people had gathered to watch the various events on sports day. When our competition began we started in earnest. When we finished erecting our flag pole and were about to raise our troop flag we looked around and noticed that the others were still working on their flag pole. We were so excited. We were going to be first. We started to raise our flag. Suddenly we heard laughter all around. People were laughing. We did not know the reason. We then looked up and saw that the Elephant on our flag was upside down. We quickly lowered the flag. Some of my friends wanted to untie the flag but I realised it was not necessary. I told them not to untie it and raised it up the other way around. By the time we raised our flag another troop had beat us to it. We had to settle for second place. 

SREE VIGHNESWARA BHAVAN

Sree Vighneswara Bhavan, Kollam

'PHILIPS' PROBE

A few years after college, I was working for the sole dealer of Philips Test Instruments in my state. These instruments were mainly used in the Electronics Industry. During a tour of the northern part of the state, I visited a large organisation to discuss their requirements. I met some people in the purchase department. I was surprised to find that they were unhappy with our service. One of them told me that we had cheated them. He told me that we had supplied a Philips Probe, which is an accessory for the Test Instrument, at twice the normal cost. They had found out the actual cost of the Probe after making enquiries with the Philips Regional Office.

When I returned to my office after the tour I informed my Manager about this. He told me not to worry about it and that he will take care of it. I felt there was something fishy. I knew a Senior Executive was involved in this. Later on, after making some enquiries within my Company I came to know that it was not even a Philips Probe. It was a Chinese Probe and it was not even new. The Senior Executive had purchased a second hand Chinese Probe at a very low cost. This Probe was cleaned, packed and supplied to the customer along with a Philips Test Instrument. The customer was convinced that it was a new Philips Probe since we were the authorised dealers for Philips. Their only complaint was about the price. I heard my Manager and the Senior Executive shared the profit. 

BHARAT PETROLEUM

Bharat Petroleum, Kollam

LAUNDRY

A person who makes a living by washing clothes in India is called a dhobi. There was a time when many people were engaged in this profession. Today there are very few of them. They used to visit homes on the weekends to collect the dirty clothes. The clothes were washed and ironed and returned the next weekend. They charged a certain amount for each piece. Today many people have washing machines and do not rely on them. They do get some business from the bigger establishments like hotels and hospitals but now some new cleaning companies have started to take away this business too. The future looks bleak for the dhobi. Old business has to give way to the new.

Washing clothes - Kadappakada, Kollam

Drying clothes - Kadappakada, Kollam