Tirunelveli

- By Avinash Y

I was born here in 1986. Lived here till 1993. I went back to this place after Sep 1993 in Jul 2010. It was a quaint little town and I shouldn’t have remembered anything from the place. But somehow though I’ve been in bigger cities with better infrastructure had more fun, this place reminds me of the longing I have to become a child again. I remember my friend’s names but not their faces, the things I did but not the places, the fun I had but not how I had it. Its like I visited this place in my dream but my birth certificate and an old TC(Transfer Certificate) remind me it was all too real.

The time I lived in Tirunelveli was the time when Star was something in the sky and cartoon was Tom and Jerry on a VCR (do you remember what it was). The only form of entertainment in the evening on the tele was a programme called “Oliyum Oliyum” which used to show the latest songs in tamil. Funnily my mother tongue was Telugu. Hence I used to play on the streets with friends who I remember but haven’t contacted in ages. I dont even know how I will contact them now.

My weekends were typically spent by accompanying my mother for some of her kitty parties organized by the wives of IAS/IPS officers who were friends of dad. I still fondly have a photograph of sitting on the lap of the Collector of Tirunelveli during the independence day parade of some year. Its also a place where my parents have the fondest memories of me. Somehow despite all that happened, I never think I found that memory happy memories in the other cities I lived in. Or maybe I just like to think that the place I was born kept me the happiest.

Things I love about Tirunelveli which I discovered on the train journey to that place is how people are still simple in wants, courteous by nature & polite with their words. In that place money does not define your social circle. the snootiness was missing, the flashiness was not there. I was in the train with a gentleman who had studied till 8th standard but built an empire of over 1000cr on his own. he still owned a Nokia 1500 along with the latest HTC. but he didn’t care which phone he used!!!

He spoke cheerfully about the 440 acre organic farming project he was doing with the same ease as morning tennis he plays with the who’s who in Chennai. the best part about this place I realised was the lack of airs and the avoidance of any sort of false pretenses. These people were happy with whatever they had and whoever they are, the whole world be damned. I’m glad that part of my place of birth has stayed with me till now. I hope that never goes away, wherever I may go.