My name is Gana

  I wasn’t naughty in school but enjoyed basic fun which I thought was harmless but sometimes resulted in pain to the recipient of my pranks. Sometimes these were unconsciously orchestrated by teachers.  I was in Standard 4 of my Tamil School at the time of this story. Those were days we were allowed to attend two streams of education. I used to attend an English medium School in the morning and after lunch hour attended as a full time student in a Tamil    School. Most of my classmates were doing this dual session. Some years later the Government realised the flaws in the system and came out with the ruling that you could only be enrolled in one school. I had to cease my primary schooling at the Tamil School and continue my schooling at the English School.  While attending the Tamil School we were doing Tamil proverbs which came easily to me. There was a young girl who always found difficulty in memorising Tamil proverbs. My teacher would ask me to knock her he...

  A neighbour in my Kampong used to provide lunch to commemorate the passing away of his parents and forefathers. They were just vegetarian meals but free to anyone who dropped by. Free lunches were rare those days and the occasion almost always drew quite a lot of people.The neighbor also hired about 5 trishaw pedlars to bring the poor and hungry from the town to the venue. Every trishaw load would earn the pedlars RM2/-, a large sum for those days.  The eldest son of this neighbor was a misfit who was always seen in the company of beer and samsu drinkers - this chap was loud and boisterous and used to brag about the charity lunch as though it    was through his generosity. We learnt later that he hardly contributed his share to the charity lunch but would want a giant share of the publicity. After being intoxicated he would come to the dining area where the lunch was in progress and make a nuisance of himself. He would snatch the rice tray from the helpers and try ...

  There was a solitary mangosteen tree near my home. The tree used to remind me of Wordsworth’s the     ‘Solitary Reaper.’  A pony from nowhere used to wait below the tree every night. We guessed it must be a runaway from the Turf Club which was 3 km away from my home. However we had our doubts as to whether                                                                                                                                                                       this was a pony and not a horse as there was no reason for the Turf Club to own ...

  My generation did not have the misfortune of playing television/computer games and IPhones mysteries, while cooped up within the four walls of the home.  Mine was a robust period where we spent most of our time outdoors. We had an assortment of games like kite flying, top spinning, marbles both the glass made ones and the lime coated ones and cigarette box covers to name a few. Each game lasted a season that did not correspond with the months of the year. It is strange how the games transcend into another though not following the months of the year. Most of these games were not expensive as they were home made and required effort and hand work. For example tops were made from shaving a length of a guava tree with the use of broken bottles into the shape of a top. Kites were made of bamboo and paper though special kite papers could be sourced from sundry shops at low prices.  These games too had rules which were strictly adhered to without intervention from parents. For ...

  When I was in STD 6 we used to visit my cousins in Batu Gajah(BG). In BG we seldom stayed home in the day time. A few miles away an area known as Bemban was full of mining pools. We had some neighbours who could not pronounce my name & called me “Kanutty” , which sounds like    a young calf in Tamil. There was a pretty girl in the house who was the niece of my neighbor. We got along well and used to go out for “Ice Kacang” i.e. shaved ice with nuts and coloured sugar water at a stall in town. We used to cycle from our home in the new village to town.  One day my neighbour, a cousin and me decided to cycle from Ipoh to Batu Gajah. We took a detour from the town known as Pusing    to the mining area as it was a shorter route than going through the town. As was our practice, we ditched our bicycles on the ground and jumped into the shallow river for a swim. My partner excused herself and said she wanted to ease herself in the bushes nearby. After a few m...

We had a pretty teacher when we were in primary School. She was the heart throb of some of our unmarried    male teachers.    One day two teachers were involved in a fist fight. After a few days the reasons for the fight came to light. The pretty  teacher called up the teachers who were involved in the fight, apologised to the teachers and said, “I just heard that I was the cause of the misunderstanding between the two of you. I apologise if I had in anyway misled you.” Both teachers felt she was about to choose one of them as the victor and got ready to receive the good news.  She continued, ”I thought it was common knowledge that I    would be moving out soon.” Both teachers felt that she meant she is to be transferred to another school or another town. They still harbouored thoughts that this was not too bad as they could seek a transfer to wherever she was to be posted or at worst they could visit on weekends. “You see, my fiancee is a senior ...

Promotion interviews were intimidating incidents in the Government Agencies    I had worked in.  It became more so when one talked to experienced officers in the Department. Some come adorned with necktie and full suits. Others just wore ties. When I asked a senior colleague whether a coat was necessary for an interview for    promotion from Grade 3 to Grade 2 he retorted in his usual poetic style - From 3 to 2 a tie will do. He was right as I found even the interviewers did not adorn suits.  The next question to ask is “what are they focusing on”. This is a trick question as no two interviews are the same. I remember I had to learn the full name of the State ruler and also the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for an interview which never did focus on trivialities. This happens at recruitment exercises for civil servants. My experience is that when the Panel is comprised of retired civil servants they lack the professionalism to ask relevant questions. It would seem a...

  My brother Raj, was a great organiser of sporting activities. When he was in Form 1 he organised a football Club known as Ipoh Boys’ Club. We used to challenge other clubs in the nearby kampongs at Football and athletics. We did not try Hockey as it would have been expensive to buy hockey sticks for the team.    I was quite good at pole vault and athletics. In athletics I used to get the number two spot but always lost out to a “Jago Kampong. “ My brother recognised this problem and since he was the one who bought gifts to be given to the winners, he made sure the second prize would be more valuable than the first prize.  One day he was approached by a member of the team to ask for the sizes of football jerseys for the team as he had found a donor who had agreed to sponsor jerseys. He knew the configuration by heart and rattled it out. The team member produced 14 jerseys of varying sizes which my brother proudly offered to the kampong players with instructions they...

  In the early days of my employment when Indian Labourers abounded in the estates, officers in my Department were sought by plantation workers for a variety of disputes. These were mainly domestic issues including    division of family inheritances, marriage and divorce settlements.  A family of three brothers sought my assistance to solve a family dispute involving a plot of land belonging to the family. The Land Office assumed that disputes involving Indian Labourers were not their responsibility and happily passed it on to the agencies involved with indentured labour. The three brothers sought my help to settle their dispute involving family property. I got them to agree that they would be bound by my decision and there would be no avenue for appeal.  Having obtained their    assurance I agreed to hear them out.    The parents had acquired 6 acres of land in their lifetime but died intestate. The family composed of three brothers and two ...

  No, I am not writing about elephantiasis.    They are already suffering enough and to trouble them further would be a sin. Talking of which the old disease seems to have vanished from our country. Perhaps it is improvements in medical science and lifestyle    that has wiped them off. I am writing about actual elephant feet. I was visiting a friend’s house in a plantation when at the front entrance I was greeted by some palms planted in pots that were actual elephant feet. My host told me that in one of the plantation companies located in a rural location of the country they were engaged in a losing battle with the elephants. They tried barbed wires around the nursery,    digging shallow pits around the nursery and a few other ideas the Game Department Officers had suggested. But none of them  worked to the frustration of the managers. As a last resort they were given permission to shoo the elephants with dummy bullets. Even these did not work....