The teacher just announced that there will be an excursion and all the students must bring Rs.5/- to join. Exhilarated ran to home and asked amma please give me five rupees i want to go to excursion. sorryda kanna i dont have money and dont think appa will also have that amount to spare. let him come and let us see. Father came and the result was as mother predicted. Father's refusal angered me and i started to cry. nobody took notice of me after trying to convince me few times. I refused to eat and went on hunger strike. Don't know when i went to sleep. After some time felt my head in mother's lap and her feeding me. most probably it would have been a more saadam ( mother strongly believed that i will become a fool if i had curd in the night. she does not know i can become a fool even without eating curd). Got up in the morning and still angry (not to the extant of leaving without eating anything) left for the school. Anger was some what mitigated by the fact that there are some who are like me and cannot afford that trip.

Years rolled by.Finished my S.S.L.C and joined in the Kumbakonam collage. It taught me everything except how to study. I became street smart and learned new tricks to cheat my mother and father. I will be given 40 paise towards bus charge to go to collage. I befriended a person who is going to collage in his cycle and used to piggy ride with him daily saving that 40 paise. both of us are regular visitors to Jupiter talkies, Diamond Talkies and Vijayalakshmi talkies (which used to be converted to a drama stage once in a month and remaining days will function as theatre). Result i royally failed to pass Pre University Exam. As customary to people like joined in typewriting and short hand class. passed lower and failed again in higher. This time the reason is not movie it was two beautiful girls. Instead of typing what the teacher asked me to type i typed lengthy love letters ( that practice still continues - i meant writing lengthly) and torn them immediately after leaving the class as i did not have the courage to give it to them. Got a job in the Bank with a total take home pay of Rs.156/-.
Our house was situated between two bus stops with equal distance from either of them. To go to Kumbakonam from one stop you have to pay 30 paise and from another you have to pay 25 paise. Father used to go to 25 paise bus stop while i used to go to the other. Parents used to scold me that i am squandering the money and i will never come up in my life if i continue in such a way. During 1974 i came to Chennai for first time and purchased a few items for my sisters for a total cost of Rs.17/- and though they liked the fact i purchased it for my sisters i was still scolded for spending too much on dresses. Life went on. got married and sons born. they grew up and got their employment and one day took us to Hotel Le Meridian. The bill came to Rs. 8000/=. That night myself and my wife were worried how my sons are squandering their hard earned money. Wonder what my son and his wife will think when their son does something like this ‪#‎rskpolambals‬#