The Faces I Chose Before I Knew Why

How many of you have had a childhood hobby of collecting things? During my childhood, I used to collect broken pieces of colourful glass bangles, mayilpeeli (peacock feather), and manjaadikkuru (a red-colored seed). Manjadi (Adenanthera pavonina) seeds were used in several games. One game with the pallankuzhi is still vivid in my memory. Back then, it was even used for learning basic mathematics.

Pallankuzhi with manjadi 

My brother used to collect stamps and coins then. I am sure no one’s childhood is complete without collecting at least something!

As years passed, those childhood pastimes became things of the past. My tastes and likes also changed.

During my school days, I happened to see a Malayalam movie named Oppol, meaning ‘elder sister’. It is the story of a teenage girl and her younger brother (who we later learn is her son born out of wedlock). The child actor who played the brother’s role was a very cute boy around 4 or 5 years old. I liked him so much that I had a collection of his pictures from newspapers and cinema posters.

Later, while pursuing my postgraduate studies at REC Calicut (now NIT Kozhikode). I was so fond of the ‘Amul’ butter girl’s drawing that I had a collection of her pictures cut out from the cardboard outer packaging. Now, when I think of it, maybe it was a childlike act from a post-graduate student!

Here’s the Amul girl and me from that time!

Around the same time, the Kuwait war took place, and I got ‘introduced’ to Saddam Hussein through the newspaper and television news. It was a love-at-first-sight kind of feeling! Though I used to joke about this with my friends, secretly I started admiring his looks! I also collected a few of his photos from the newspaper 🙂

Years passed by. I got married immediately after the completion of my postgraduate studies. When I became pregnant, everyone said that it was going to be a girl, though I badly wanted a boy. The ‘general public’ (elderly relatives and neighbours) predicted that it would certainly be a girl by observing the size of my baby bump and my general behavior and activity levels during that time.

I had no other option but to believe it. So I searched only for girls’ names for the baby. The D-day came, and the labour room doctor announced: ‘It’s a boy!’ Luckily, there were no other women giving birth in the labour room then. Otherwise, the ‘elderly gang’ might have argued that the baby had been swapped!

So then I started searching for boys’ names. My father came up with names starting with the first letter of my husband’s and my names (‘S’ and ‘M’ respectively). I was not happy with those names, mainly because in college, the practical exams are conducted in alphabetical order of the students’ names.

During my B Tech days, I had to endure high-adrenaline, agonizing waits outside the concrete labs and hydraulics labs, and survey practicals, waiting for my turn. At that time itself, I had decided that to avoid my children facing the same kind of stress/torture, I would give them names starting with ‘A’ or, worst case, ‘B’! I referred to a baby-name book presented to me by my husband, and after a lot of dilly-dallying, finalized the name, Arvind (meaning ‘blue lotus’).

Days and months passed very quickly. My son became 3 years old. I was pregnant a second time, and I was in my mother’s home from the 6th month onward, as my husband was out of the country during that time. As I had lots of free time then, I used to take photos of my son and do a lot of casual reading. In an old film magazine, I happened to see the child actor whom I liked during my school days. I could not believe my eyes at the remarkable resemblance he had to my son! Moreover, his name was also Arvind!

Real Arvind with reel Arvind 🙂

We were blessed with a girl, and this time I was ready with the name simply by using the same name I had originally selected (Devaki) for the first child when I had assumed it was a girl! She started going to the playschool nearby when she was just 2 years old. She loved to accompany her brother there. And I loved to get her ready for school with different frocks and hairstyles, my favorite being a half pony tied up. Imagine my surprise when her playschool teacher told me one day that she resembles the Amul butter girl!

Devaki with the Girl Who Started It All! From Vrindavan to the Fridge—Butter Finds Its Way to Devaki. 🙂

At this point, I am pretty sure you all must be waiting to hear about the look-alike of Saddam Hussein. Yes, you guessed it right, it is my husband!!!

I am sharing a few photos in case you think this is a cock-and-bull story.

Last but not least: During my childhood, my brother and I used to fight with each other to read the famous weekly political satirical cartoon series ‘Bobanum Moliyum’ (Boban and Molly are the lovable child characters in it). Now, when I look back, I can see a resemblance between Molly and me 🙂

Molly and I 🙂

Moral of the story: When you like/want something, the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it somehow – so beware!!

P.S.  My son is a mechanical engineer, but his passion lies in theatre and Kalaripayattu. My daughter is an architect, but she’s still the Amul baby at heart—especially when there’s butter or chocolate around

I used to collect images of Minnie Mouse, too. Fortunately, we have only 2 kids!

Luckily, the only thing my husband and Saddam Hussein have in common is that their names start with ‘S’—and a few jumbled letters here and there. [ Really?! 🙂 ]

P.P.S. When the news of Saddam Hussein’s hanging flashed on TV back in 2006, I felt a numb little pinch. I remembered the 22-year-old girl who once had a strange little crush on him, her secret diary of newspaper cuttings. To be honest, it hurt a bit—like letting go of an old, silly but soft part of myself.