My first brush with Malayalam magazines....
The very first Malayalam magazine that reached Baroda home by post was the 'Manorama'. I remember my mother waiting eagerly to rip open the seal lapel with the postal address on the folded black and white magazine, soon after serving and clearing kitchen post lunch, and indulge in the 1st leafing, before her afternoon siesta. This 1st leafing involved reading aloud for me the Boban and Molly cartoon strip on the last page. Many a afternoons I remember, snuggled on my mother's lap listening to comments by Hippie, President, Motta, and the rest. Of course, most of the sarcasm, wit, politics, and all, was lost on me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening to Ma read aloud and watch her laugh.
In fact, it was my inability to read Bobanum Mollyum on my own that prompted me to learn to at least read Malayalam. Needless to say, my mother was most delighted at the prospects of tutoring me and encouraged me as I progressed with the Balapatham Book 1. Even today, the imagery that pops up in my mind, when I manage to read Malayalam is that of 'pa for pana', 'ta for tavala', 'gha for ghadhigaram', and the rest.
In the next few days, Ma would have several leafings, and devour every page in the magazine. She would read the several 'to be continued' story series, which sometimes overwhelmed her too much and made her read it aloud with me around. My teenaged sister completely disapproved Ma reading aloud such 'disgusting romances' to a kid!! Not that I understood much of what was going on, but I gave a patient listening to my mom's mumbling and was happy to see the involvement and speed with which she read.
Along with MM came another boring church newsletter called the Satyadeepam, with no cartoons or illustrations. I couldn't care less for what I called the 'newspaper' from church. But this newsletter was seriously revered in my house. The series was kept neatly stacked beside the daily home prayer books, and sometimes under mattresses, along with the Holy fronds of the Hosanna palm leaves.
Then came another magazine named NaNa, which my father totally disapproved of, not just buying, but even leafing through the few odd copies that would find its way into our house from the hands of visiting male cousins from Kerala, who'd buy these for easy read before boarding the Jayanti Janata to Bombay - Baroda. This was also the time when small tapri or hand cart 'Kerala Store's started to make an appearance in Baroda, perhaps taking a cue from more established Kerala stores in Bombay. And while accompanying dad on his Vespa to these hand cart mini Kerala to buy the much coveted few Kerala goodies like Nentra pazham, koorka, kolli / kappa, muthira, etc (this was over and above the truck load of cartons with Kerala goodies, including avalose podi, puttu podi, kozhalappam, chakka, pineapple, etc that was lugged on the Jayanti Janata over every school vacation to Trissur!) NaNa was also a 'gift' from Kerala
While dad checked out the 'items' in the mini Kerala stall, my eyes would wander to the colourful NaNa magazines festooned around the tiny hand cart with clothespins. I would curiously look at the eye-catching magazine cover with photos of voluptuous ladies and muscled men in goggles. My father would give me 'the look' if he caught me staring at these magazine covers. Likewise, the image that pops up in my mind for the Malayalam letter 'Na' is the bright red logo of NaNa magazine.
Then in 1980, while I was still a kid, my eldest sister in law, entered our home armed with a copy of a very "elegant, smart, and cultured" magazine called the Vanitha, another offspring from the 'respectable' MM family......... (to be continued.....)
The very first Malayalam magazine that reached Baroda home by post was the 'Manorama'. I remember my mother waiting eagerly to rip open the seal lapel with the postal address on the folded black and white magazine, soon after serving and clearing kitchen post lunch, and indulge in the 1st leafing, before her afternoon siesta. This 1st leafing involved reading aloud for me the Boban and Molly cartoon strip on the last page. Many a afternoons I remember, snuggled on my mother's lap listening to comments by Hippie, President, Motta, and the rest. Of course, most of the sarcasm, wit, politics, and all, was lost on me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening to Ma read aloud and watch her laugh.
In fact, it was my inability to read Bobanum Mollyum on my own that prompted me to learn to at least read Malayalam. Needless to say, my mother was most delighted at the prospects of tutoring me and encouraged me as I progressed with the Balapatham Book 1. Even today, the imagery that pops up in my mind, when I manage to read Malayalam is that of 'pa for pana', 'ta for tavala', 'gha for ghadhigaram', and the rest.
In the next few days, Ma would have several leafings, and devour every page in the magazine. She would read the several 'to be continued' story series, which sometimes overwhelmed her too much and made her read it aloud with me around. My teenaged sister completely disapproved Ma reading aloud such 'disgusting romances' to a kid!! Not that I understood much of what was going on, but I gave a patient listening to my mom's mumbling and was happy to see the involvement and speed with which she read.
Along with MM came another boring church newsletter called the Satyadeepam, with no cartoons or illustrations. I couldn't care less for what I called the 'newspaper' from church. But this newsletter was seriously revered in my house. The series was kept neatly stacked beside the daily home prayer books, and sometimes under mattresses, along with the Holy fronds of the Hosanna palm leaves.
Then came another magazine named NaNa, which my father totally disapproved of, not just buying, but even leafing through the few odd copies that would find its way into our house from the hands of visiting male cousins from Kerala, who'd buy these for easy read before boarding the Jayanti Janata to Bombay - Baroda. This was also the time when small tapri or hand cart 'Kerala Store's started to make an appearance in Baroda, perhaps taking a cue from more established Kerala stores in Bombay. And while accompanying dad on his Vespa to these hand cart mini Kerala to buy the much coveted few Kerala goodies like Nentra pazham, koorka, kolli / kappa, muthira, etc (this was over and above the truck load of cartons with Kerala goodies, including avalose podi, puttu podi, kozhalappam, chakka, pineapple, etc that was lugged on the Jayanti Janata over every school vacation to Trissur!) NaNa was also a 'gift' from Kerala
While dad checked out the 'items' in the mini Kerala stall, my eyes would wander to the colourful NaNa magazines festooned around the tiny hand cart with clothespins. I would curiously look at the eye-catching magazine cover with photos of voluptuous ladies and muscled men in goggles. My father would give me 'the look' if he caught me staring at these magazine covers. Likewise, the image that pops up in my mind for the Malayalam letter 'Na' is the bright red logo of NaNa magazine.
Then in 1980, while I was still a kid, my eldest sister in law, entered our home armed with a copy of a very "elegant, smart, and cultured" magazine called the Vanitha, another offspring from the 'respectable' MM family......... (to be continued.....)
