Vasu Ramanujam's Blog

“Emden”- That was how my mom  and my aunts used to call me (or any kid who was mischevious). Ofcourse, this was in addition to the hajar meanlingless mumbo jumbo of names that included  ”bablimaas”, “paapoo”, “Ajli-bijli” et al… 

My mom, ofcourse, like anyother mom of her times, had no clue how or why this word came about.  For her, it was just another way of chiding me..that’s all. Probably, because of all the mischief, she was thinking i was a reincarnate of  ”yama” and from “yamaden” it become “emden”…

However, I was always curious to know what Emden really meant. As any good researcher with lots of time on hands would do, i started looking at the etymology of the word….and guess what..Little did I know that there was a German/Japan/Madras connection to this word, that went way back to the 1st World War. Wow, mysterious are the ways that some words transform/mutuate themselves. 

Sept 22, 1914. While the city of Madras was preparing for yet another tranquil night by the Marina beachside, the German cruiser SMS Emden suddenly woke up the denizens of chennai port with bombardment of relentless shelling. While the physical/property damage itself was minimal, it left a deep, physicological scar on the people of chennai.  So much so that lot of people starting packing their bags and moved hinterland. Oh well… More info in this interesting blog

Here is another snippet from the NYtimes…

Emden cruiser_NYtimes

So, my mom, all this time, was comparing me with the “terror” that this Emden cruiser brought upon the chennai vaaz makkal?( Chennai denizens!) ..oh well, not a bad accolade to have, i suppose.

Ofcourse, I am doing my bit by calling my little nephews/nieces “emdens” whenever I spot them doing mischief. A family tradition, one might say, but also my way of ensuring “emden” stays in the tamil lexicon… I am sure, there are many more such words that we have lost track of ( What about the word “O.C”, which meant “Free?”…Maybe, that can wait for another blog?)

When I was a kid, auto rickshaw was the popular mode of transport to and from school. Even today, you could see hazar autorickshaws packing little kids along with their  even heavier school bags/lunch boxes, as if packing sardines in a tin box.

Honestly, I don’t think the kids mind this at all. Infact, my hypothesis is they look forward to this jolly ride… I remember first being introduced this wonderful vehicular contraption when I was in 2nd grade ( Class 2, section c, to be specific). Mathews, the auto driver, was an enterprising chap. Like his collegues, auto was a ‘part time’ job for him. Infact, for most  auto drivers, it is still a part time profession. Rest of the day was spent either in political party offices or in wine shops ( Atleast, this was the case in coimbatore…). 

But Mathews was not your ‘typical’ autowallah. He was anything but! Mathews, as you might have rightly guessed, was a christian and a devout one at that. He would proudly sport the cross across his chest, did not smoke or drink ( though he worked in a wine shop, part time) and maintained good physique, along with a great sense of humor. It was probably his squeaky clean image that made my mom consent him to take us ( me and my niece) to and from school. School was hardly two kilometers away, but then with the heavy duty bag and the ugly thing that passed on as a shoe ( I think it was Bata’s, it always was Bata’s as my dad’s friend ran the Bata store and there was no choice getting around to the neihbouring Minerva’s !) , it was going to be a difficult walk. Further, it was a matter of pride that  parents had to send their kids in an auto and not let them walk to school… Anyways, I did not complain one bit…

So, Mathews really loved his auto and had specially modified his auto to carry all the extra baggage. He even had speaker systems installed. The front panel of his auto was a ‘shrine’ in itself. It had  christian symbols (Mother Mary/The Cross), a “oodubatthi stand” and a photo of his favorite movie star – MGR.  There were mirrors on either side and were ‘tastefully’ ( depends on how we define taste..but still..) decorated.

It was a matter of pride as to who would sit adjacent to Mathews in his front seat. While initially, it was a first come, first serve basis ( i.e, whoever boarded the auto first would claim the rights to take the front seat), slowly, I projected  my ‘seniority’ ( You see, I was in 2nd class, while the others were UKG/LKG ‘bacchhas‘) to claim my territory and banish the other kids to the back seat to sit along with the ‘girls’…. The driver’s seat view was fantastic, as I got to see the ‘potholes’ and big rocks before the others did and it was as if I was the one driving the auto…. Further, I would get enormous pleasure in honking the horns when we stopped at the next pick up spot… I would keep honking it, even after the kid would board. For a long time, I used to wonder why the kid’s parents were annoyed at me . Maybe, they found at that at such a young age, i was a tad too…horny ? 

While Mathews was sportive enough to let me touch/feel the auto and its parts, it would annoy him no end, if i tried to adjust the knobs of the audio system. How was to know that the entire wiring system was intricately put together (in a messy way) with much time and effort by Mathews himself and by experimenting with the knob, I was somehow disturbing the equilibrium… Well,  I magnanimously ( and very reluctantly) let go of tinkering with the wires. I will record the spanking and the ‘loud and clear’ message I recieved from Mathews that led to my magnanimous decision, as minor aberrations that need no mention in this blog. chapter closed.

I believe I was using Mathew’s services till I was in 7th grade, by which time, my folks wisely decided that I could ‘monkey pedal’ my Grandpa’s Raleigh cycle to commute to school. Thus ended my tryst with Mathew’s auto and I let my  future generation(s) to take up the favourite front seat and hopefully, improve upon my pranks..

Mathews, by then, had become a great family friend, who duly registered attendance at my wedding reception… The last time I saw him, he still maintained a great physique and had not lost his sense of humor. He, however, was not driving autos any more and was content working in a bakery shop.