I lost my cool this New Year!

Despite the decision of the Government of Tamilnadu to treat Pongal (First day of the month of Thai) as the start of the Tamil New Year, diehard traditionalists like me celebrated the Tamil New Year’s Day today. We found it difficult to postpone the start of the Sarvadhari Year for another nine months to comply with the Government directive. You may ask me how we celebrated the New Year’s Day. We just added Vadai and Payasam to our usual menu and being a festival day we did not try out any off-beat items that are recommended for the health conscious in this august community!

Unlike most of you, I never take any new year resolutions because of my compulsive tendency to break them the very next day. Some of them I have broken at 12.01 A.M. in my younger days. Being a prudent man that I am, I have stopped taking resolutions even before I became a major. But there is one thing that I follow religiously for several decades now. I never get irritated or lose my poise on a New Year’s Day. This includes Tamil, Yugadhi, Vishu, Navroz (Parsi), Christian, Rosh Hashanna (Jewish), Islam and many others. Not that I am so secular but this gives me an opportunity to remain cool on as many days in a year as possible.

But for the first time in so many years, I did get irritated this morning. In retrospect, I feel silly but it can not be undone now. Let me tell you what happened. You are no doubt aware that every consumable product comes in mega cost-saving packs these days and the safety matches are no exception. Some of the packs contain two to three hundred sticks but the striking surfaces coated with red phosphorous and some abrasive continue to be two small strips. They are effective until about 100 sticks or so and the trouble starts thereafter. This morning, I was in my pious best with ‘panchakacham’ and ash smeared all over my forehead and arms. It was my job to light the sacred lamps and I proceeded to do the job. I took hold of a Wimco Homelites Match Box which had hardly a few sticks left out of 240. The striking surface was virtually bereft of any phosphorous. I struck the first stick several times without success until the head completely wore off. The second and third sticks suffered a similar fate and the fourth and fifth broke. It was then I lost my cool and muttered some oath. I threw the box into the waste basket seething with fury as I looked upon this non cooperation of the match box as some kind of a bad omen! My irritation grew further when my DW picked up the match box from the dustbin and lit the solitary match stick with just one strike!

I became cool fast as was my habit in trying circumstances. I was ashamed at my show of temper at such a trivial issue. My mind traveled back a couple of million years when I would have taken a whole day as a homosapien to start a fire by rubbing two stones or pieces of wood against each other. Excited sapiens would have crowded around me watching me create a fire. There would have been no frayed tempers watching me take more time than another homosapien in a nearby cave. Of course no one was in a particular hurry then. Matters started getting worse with the advent of technology. The invention of wheel hastened man’s intolerance. And when he learned to fly like a bird, he just lost the art of taking time. I understand that there is an ordinary looking bird called a ‘Bar-tailed Godwit’ which can fly non stop for 12000 kms from Alaska to New Zealand without even pausing to feed! Humans just do not have that kind of patience or perseverance!

As a child, I have watched my mother lighting a coal stove by setting fire to a ball of The Hindu stuffed under the stack of coal. The fire was whipped up into a flame with a bamboo fan. It used to be fun. But most of the cases of hypertension among women these days are due to delayed delivery of cooking gas! I have seen my DW resembling an idol of Durga that we can see in West Bengal during Dussera when the gas ran out midway through her cooking. I used to make fun of her impatience and my comments at her not being smart enough to keep alternatives ready roused her further. But seeing how I behaved this morning at the sight of defaulting match sticks, I realised that anything could constitute a trying circumstance! And when she said that only when people faced such a hardship that they would realise others’ predicament, I just smiled!

Dear sir,

Such an ordinary, routine event happening to almost anybody has been penned so juicily by you.It is frustrating because it happened in the morning. Somehow, we all assume that every single activity should happen perfectly in the morning hours every single day.
May be, dealing with a little discomfort is better off than major ones.

Happy Tamil NewYear!

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

A wonderful write up with its predictable dose of humour which makes each article of yours a delight to savour.
Sir if its of any solace to you I can only say that thank the Almighty, we do not have to light the match stick Rajnikant style else by the end of us we would all be nervous wrecks.

Yes I do agree that the quality of patience is waning .We are not as patient as our fathers and forefathers used to be and the result of course is the 120/80 mark on the sphygmomanometer which remains a lucky number for most.
Sir as far as your wifes resemblance to the Durga Ma is concerned ,I guess the DH's here will add a few more versions to it like Chandalika, Mahishasur Marthini etc.

Actually the life now is so fast paced , everyone wants everything imprompto and just cannot spare a minute .Now marriages are solemnized on net . Infact Poojas and Abhishekams too are a part of everyday routine of most ,but on net. Fruits are ripened with the help of chemicals , for faster sale no time to wait for it to ripe naturally . Well who cares if health goes for a toss. Maggie noodles , the two minute wonder is a meal for most ,Very difficult to add a minute more.... And the list is endless ...

The only one patient around is God. He still listens to our woes. He still blesses us so generously , He still makes a day of 24 hours. He still maintains day after night and night after day. He still brings in the seasons to us.He still nurtures the child in the mothers womb for nine months and as long as He is patient ,we are safe.!!

Love,
Your Mol

Dear Sri,
Our best wishes to you for a healthy, happy and peaceful new year.
Man and woman, belonging to the same species are made different is the only inference I can draw from what you have written about striking the match!
What could not be accomplished by you in several attempts was effectively done by your wife in a single strike.
Typically behaving like a man, you got impatient when “your orders were not obeyed”, but typically like a woman, your wife, gave the job, however small, its due importance and did it patiently and hence successfully!
Well, Sri, this year started for me & Vish with a healthy bang – I made Oats pradaman. His sisters who came home were simply astonished that the seemingly insipid (more because it is healthy!) oats could be transformed into such a delectable dish!!

You lost your cool when you were unsuccessful with the matchbox, but complain that your wife looks like Durga when she runs out of cooking gas. But from what you have written, I guess you got it “nicely from her” on the New Year’s day!
So, I guess, Sarvadhari started with a bang for you!!
Love,
Chithra.

dear sri,
you have become a pet here and we all wait for any expression thrown in by u with ur inimitable style which we have come to accept and search for the inner humour.

the last line proved all so sheepishly what it is to be caught in the act..wonderful, happy new year to you and your wife, we have it tomorrow, so all things getting ready for vishu...may u have healthy years ahead..sunkan

Dear Cheeniya,

Another humorous post! A cool one really!
We also celebrated Puthu Varsham today....then when we called back home, everyone was talking abt this govts decision. has it been approved and put in action?! Also realised that though there were special programs in Sun tv, there was no mention of the wishes for new year!

True that such small incidents can make one lose ones cool. And the Gas incident is something which happens in every household and i guess since it is our responsibility it tends to make us lose our head! But i really miss all those small tensions here.........and ur DW rightly said it all......"And when she said that only when people faced such a hardship that they would realise others’ predicament, I just smiled! "

I enjoyed the talk about the homosapiens and our patience .....true that people get so worked up for small things and have no patience at all!

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

As you have said that it is your job to light the sacred lamps everyday then you must be aware of the condition of the match box and the stick. If you are aware, then it is not the bad omen. You would have kept postponing the renewal of the match box and it has showed its validity on the right day for you to realize.

I wonder, how your DW was able to lit the match stick with just one strike! She was adding coal to the fire. A fire for realization.

Am I adding some more.

Well, I enjoyed the write-up.

Originally Posted by sudhavnarasimhan

Dear Cheeniya,

Another humorous post! A cool one really!
We also celebrated Puthu Varsham today....then when we called back home, everyone was talking abt this govts decision. has it been approved and put in action?! Also realised that though there were special programs in Sun tv, there was no mention of the wishes for new year!

True that such small incidents can make one lose ones cool. And the Gas incident is something which happens in every household and i guess since it is our responsibility it tends to make us lose our head! But i really miss all those small tensions here.........and ur DW rightly said it all......"And when she said that only when people faced such a hardship that they would realise others’ predicament, I just smiled! "

I enjoyed the talk about the homosapiens and our patience .....true that people get so worked up for small things and have no patience at all!

very true sudha,
my mom who is blind was also complaining not a single pudhu varusha vazhthu but something always about 15th year, cheh ivaalellam oru thamizhala, is her complaint...how very true something wrong with the channels..sunkan

Originally Posted by sundarusha

Dear sir,

Such an ordinary, routine event happening to almost anybody has been penned so juicily by you.It is frustrating because it happened in the morning. Somehow, we all assume that every single activity should happen perfectly in the morning hours every single day.
May be, dealing with a little discomfort is better off than major ones.

Happy Tamil NewYear!

Dear Usha
You are quite right about the morning blues. I have also experienced that the little irritants of life become huge in proportions in the mornings but the same during a lazy afternoon merely bring a smile on our face. It must have something to do with the Sun. While the rising Sun can cause even trivial things to raise our BP, the setting Sun has a sobering effect on our moods.
A good point well brought out by you!
Sri

dear sir,

enjoyed your post as usual...i cud very well imagine the scene.......but in my house it wud have been the opposite...i wud be the one chucking out the match box after a no of strokes and my DH wud have lit it with one strike giving me a benevolent smile saying patience has never been one of your virtues......a very happy new year to u and your family

mindi..