My Dad's Legacy

Cheeniya · Mar 6, 2019

My dad's life saving advices

I do not know if you have heard the songs of Cliff Richard who was quite famous in the early ‘60s. The lines of one of his songs are something like

‘When I was young my father said
'Son I have something to say'
And what he told me I'll never forget
Until my dying days

He said ‘Son you are a bachelor boy
And that's the way to stay
Son you'll be a bachelor boy
Until your dying day’

Please do not jump to any conclusion that I am ruing my married life after 50 odd years. On the contrary, I am as satisfied with my life as a cow chewing the cud. I quoted the above to drive home the point that dads are known for giving sound advices to their offspring. I want to share with you some of my dad’s advices which are packed with sound common sense.

‘If a dog suddenly decides to chase you in the road, stand still and look at it eye to eye. ‘

I am giving precedence to this advice of his as it has saved me in many an awkward situation. My habit of standing and looking at the eyes of the dogs charging at me has earned me great accolades. I had a friend in the Bank who once got scared and started running for his life when a street dog started chasing him. At the end of this duel, my friend was just left with his under garments the rest having been torn off his body by the ferocious dog. We told him that his expensive pants saved his life and that he was fully justified in spending lavish amounts on his life savers. We laid emphasis on his ‘expensive’ pants because he was always proud of his garments. He was an example of Bertie Wooster who wrote on ‘What the Well dressed man is wearing’

‘Keep cats at arm’s length and never try to be chummy with them’

My dad’s respect for cats dated back to generations. It seems that his grandma would often tell him that if he became the cause of a cat losing a single hair, he would face disastrous consequences for his next few births! He would emphasise that we should never feed them with anything in general and milk in particular. His warning was based on sound common sense. We had a neighbour who once offered a cup of milk to a cat which was mewing in hunger. Next day the cat brought a few pals and started mewing in chorus for the milk. My neighbour on seeing the number of cats offered twice the quantity of milk that he offered the previous day. The cats jumped over each other and emptied the milk in seconds. On the following day, the number of cats was even more and it appeared as though the feline population of the street would outnumber the human population! Some of them even went up to the kitchen to see if proper arrangement was being organized to feed them. Some cats had brought some indescribable things as side dish for the milk! The impatient ones even started mewing ferociously. The family, it is needless to mention, shifted their house in the following month!

‘Lizards may be structurally capable of taking a stroll across the ceiling but never lie down under a lizard on the ceiling’

My dad, being a man of the previous century (born 1903), had great respect for lizards. He always avoided resting in places where there was a likelihood of a lizard falling on his head which forewarned of death. My own healthy respect for lizards is a family legacy passed on to me. It’s a pity that, like all family values, lizards also have beaten a retreat in the modern life style. Lizards may appear very tardy in their physical mobility but when it falls from the roof, it can not only reverse its position from its back to tummy but also move of at the speed of light from where it lands.

I try to pass on my dad’s golden lessons to my progeny but they are simply not interested!

Viswamitra · Mar 6, 2019

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

Now I know the secret of your love affair with the Lizards! So, that love is inherited from your Dad! When I was in Neyveli as a school going child, I used to intensely watch the Lizards catching the insects and used to rush to see what happened to Lizards falling from the roof. You are right. They quickly turn and run and nothing happens due to free fall.

Regarding Felines, they are a clever specie. They are smarter than we think. Sometime back I learned that they make a cup from their tongue while drinking water or milk so that they could take in large quantities of milk and water. It is funny to know that the Felines caused relocation of the house.

I know you are a dog lover and naturally the dogs will not bite you. Your friend is a smart man to run away with undergarment to save his pound of flesh. I remember an incident in Gandhi Nagar when we were running a Sabha called Keerthana. We went to collect subscription door to door. In one house, when we entered the gate, a dog was quietly sitting and intensely watching us. We thought he had a leash. As soon as we entered the house, he reached us in less than 5 seconds and luckily the owner of the house came out quickly to restrain the dog. He also was apologetic and in order to fix the mistake committed by his dog, he decided to take annual subscription. It won't be an exaggeration if we mention that we were ready to give our life to have this Sabha up and running!

Viswa

Novalis · Mar 6, 2019

Cheeniya,

The legacy of your father's animal instincts is incontrovertible.

I assumed that dogs, cats and lizards feature in your blogs in starring roles for a compulsive cause. But today you disclosed that such prevalence is for a bequeathed cause. That does not weaken the measure of your passion but only bolsters with a 'like father ..but more than father is the son'.

Do you know, your animal studies challenge that of Darwin. Eyeballing those finches and monkey, he declared that evolution is at play. But ...psst . ttt..the discerning hooligans that these animals are: seizing branded clothes, mobilizing a milk camp and prophesying death with free falls, I theorize in the past a brood of clever humans backtracked and devolved into the tree-swinging monkeys of today rejoicing the opportunities and impunity secured by being an animal rather than a pitiful human. The enterprising charm of these 4-legged animals in your blogs would upset any human ...esp ...me ...on why all humans didn't regress into monkeys.

In continuation of your father's legacy and your animal evangelism, I would like to bring to your notice the transcendence of an uptight sloth which does not concern itself with the banality of the ground unless to relieve itself, the turtle which carries its home on its back not affected by the real estate speculation, and the whales which sleep upright with an eye open.

Brand fetish and milk wars of the street animals though discipline humans into conducting themselves to the ordains of the finicky co-species, the vaulted retreats of the sloths, the self-sufficient lifestyles of the turtles, and the acrobatic slumber of the whales disconcert humans of the inventive headway with these trans-species.

Cheeniya said: ↑

I try to pass on my dad’s golden lessons to my progeny but they are simply not interested!
Click to expand...

... notwithstanding the uninterested progeny

Your dad has instructed on how to react
You have enriched with why to observe
I have further compiled on what to learn

.... from various species.

Thus, the perpetuation lives on!

GeetaKashyap · Mar 6, 2019

@Cheeniya Sir,

Nice lessons for life!

My experience says that staring at any animal makes them aggressive. I learnt this while studying Ethology in college. Though staring at an aggressive dog establishes the hierarchial order, my legs and senses fail me ...so I don't dare try it! I believe in maintaining a studied distance from them but at heart, I am a dog lover. Maybe some day I would like to have one.

Felines, although they are cute, their hostile stares keep me away from them. I don't like their extremely independent and an entitlement attitude. I love them only in photographs or paintings.

Finally, Sir, we are on opposite sides when it comes to class Reptilia! You love them so much that you have umpteen stories weaved around them and I don't don't don't like them! I find lizards very repulsive while the SSssnakes give me nightmares! While I have Ophidiophobia my favourite God wears them around his belly!

shyamala1234 · Mar 7, 2019

Cheeniya said: ↑

I do not know if you have heard the songs of Cliff Richard who was quite famous in the early ‘60s. The lines of one of his songs are something like

‘When I was young my father said
'Son I have something to say'
And what he told me I'll never forget
Until my dying days

He said ‘Son you are a bachelor boy
And that's the way to stay
Son you'll be a bachelor boy
Until your dying day’

Please do not jump to any conclusion that I am ruing my married life after 50 odd years. On the contrary, I am as satisfied with my life as ‘the snail on the thorn’. I quoted the above to drive home the point that dads are known for giving sound advices to their offspring. I want to share with you some of my own dad’s advices which are packed with sound common sense.

‘If a dog suddenly decides to chase you in the road, stand still and look at it eye to eye. ‘

I am giving precedence to this advice of his as it has saved me in many an awkward situation. My habit of standing and looking at the eyes of the dogs charging at me has earned me great accolades. I had a friend in the Bank who once got scared and started running for his life when a street dog started chasing him. At the end of this duel, my friend was just left with his under garments the rest having been torn off his body by the ferocious dog. We told him that his expensive pants saved his life and that he was fully justified in spending lavish amounts on his life savers. We laid emphasis on his ‘expensive’ pants because he was always proud of his garments. He was an example of Bertie Wooster who wrote on ‘What the Well dressed man is wearing’

‘Keep cats at arm’s length and never try to be chummy with them’

My dad’s respect for cats dated back to generations. It seems that his grandma would often tell him that if he became the cause of a cat losing a single hair, he would face disastrous consequences for his next few births! He would emphasise that we should never feed them with anything in general and milk in particular. His warning was based on sound common sense. We had a neighbor who once offered a cup of milk to a cat which was mewing in hunger. Next day the cat brought a few pals and started mewing in chorus for the milk. My neighbor on seeing the number of cats offered twice the quantity of milk that he offered the previous day. The cats jumped over each other and emptied the milk in seconds. On the following day, the number of cats was even more and it appeared as though the feline population of the street would outnumber the human population! Some of them even went up to the kitchen to see if proper arrangement was being organized to feed them. Some cats had brought some indescribable things as side dish for the milk! The impatient ones even started mewing ferociously. The family, it is needless to mention, shifted their house in the following month!

‘Lizards may be structurally capable of taking a stroll across the ceiling but never lie down under a lizard on the ceiling’

My dad, being a man of the previous century (born 1903), had great respect for lizards. He always avoided resting in places where there was a likelihood of a lizard falling on his head which forewarned of death. My own healthy respect for lizards is a family legacy passed on to me. It’s a pity that, like all family values, lizards also have beaten a retreat in the modern life style. Lizards may appear very tardy in their physical mobility but when it falls from the roof, it can not only reverse its position from its back to tummy but also move of at the speed of light from where it lands.

I try to pass on my dad’s golden lessons to my progeny but they are simply not interested!
Click to expand...

Dear Cheeniya sir,
So, now I know from whom you got some of the wisdom but sad that you could not pass it onto next generation.
As Novalis said you can surpass Darwin in some aspects of animal behaviour!
I stay away from all the animals. In recent times monkeys started visiting our area often. They come in bunches. Nervous to take a morning walk.... Stray dogs at street corners howling, monkeys on compound walls.... Dare not to go for a walk. They disappear during day time! We stay in apartment. We left one balcony without any grill. Wanted to see the world open without grill in between. But now for fear of monkeys and pigeons we covered that also. I can enjoy monkeys only in Discovery or Animal Planet and not in reality.
Inside the home.... I cannot even enter a room with lizard on the wall or roof!
How limited life has become!
Syamala

Srama · Mar 7, 2019

Dear Cheeniya sir,

First things first! As far as your children are concerned it is their dad's legacy they will think of and then comes the grand dad. So where is the question of you failing and I am with them on that one, showing interest part I mean. Now I am bit lost here. I am not sure if I want to write about dad's and lessons or animals. So let me start with animals - You know I love dogs, not a cat person at all; but cats love me ...it is crazy how all of my friends' cats want to sit on my lap and as for lizards - I am fascinated by the various kinds found in the world, mom had a ton of stories - one even related to a lizard falling on her and her marriage! But the story she spoke most about was the one in Kanchi! My dad! What can I say about him - happy go lucky man. Taught us how to be happy and more importantly taught us to share emotions and love and laugh! So! There it is! As for passing on, I think as I grow older I see so much of my dad in me and without meaning to, I am sure I am passing on something about him to my children. I so wish my kids would had the blessing of having him in their lives.....it is what it is!

And I tell you, only you can do this - speak about my parents and smile Thank you!

Afresh · Mar 7, 2019

Dear Sir,

Ha ha.., i love the messages you are trying to pass on to the next generation!

But damn, Why did my dad not tell me this

Cheeniya said: ↑

‘If a dog suddenly decides to chase you in the road, stand still and look at it eye to eye. ‘
Click to expand...

I am so missing this guidance, as even now i just freeze when faced with any dog on the street or ow; it just petrifies me to come face to face with any mongrel variety! Had it been imparted at the right time , it surely would have turned me into a courageous one

Cheeniya · Mar 8, 2019

@Viswamitra
My dear Viswa
Sorry for the delay in responding. With the temperature already going past 40°C, I have become the first cousin of the Zombie! The weather pundits have predicted that temperature in Chennai will be all time high.

Viswamitra said: ↑

When I was in Neyveli as a school
Click to expand...

Which school would that be? Jawahar? I was the Branch Manager of SBI Main during 1982-84. Loved the place.

Viswamitra said: ↑

They quickly turn and run and nothing happens due to free fall.
Click to expand...

Trust God for His creative ability. If Lizards kicked the bucket whenever they fell from the roof, they would become as extinct as dinosaurs.

Viswamitra said: ↑

Regarding Felines, they are a clever specie
Click to expand...

Undoubtedly! Once a cat was becoming a great nuisance in a locality by impregnating every cat in the neighborhood. The residents convened a meeting and castrated the annoying cat. Next morning, the castrated cat was sitting surrounded by half a dozen cats. The castrated cat had become a consultant!
Sri

Viswamitra · Mar 8, 2019

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

I couldn't control my laugh when I read the word "Consultant" feline.

I studied in Tamil medium Sir and in NLC Boys' High School.

My father retired in 1982 and moved to Chennai.

Cheeniya · Mar 9, 2019

@Novalis
Hi Novalis!
Good to see you here!
Before responding to your FB, I must tell you about the movie Doctor Dolittle (1967) starring Rex Harrison in the title role. Watch him talk to all living beings worth the name. Here is a clip for you
Talking to animals is great fun. It's a pity that most of us restrict our conversation only with our pet animals. In the days of yore, it was a very common sight to see humans conversing with animals, birds and bees. It must have been great fun those days.

Novalis said: ↑

'like father ..but more than father is the son'.
Click to expand...

You got me right there! My dad seeded an interest in animals in me that has now grown into a passion. I watch them more keenly now than ever before. It is exceedingly educative. I see animals, birds and smaller insects interacting with each other a lot more meaningfully than humans.

Novalis said: ↑

Do you know, your animal studies challenge that of Darwin
Click to expand...

Quite naturally. Darwin worked on this subject more than a century back. His work is commendable considering that he had very limited resources. Like weather forecast for example. Darwin's grandma could predict rainfall only after seeing dark clouds above. But now we do it a week ahead even when it is clear sky overhead. I am better equipped than Darwin to talk about animals because of the vast resources available now. A classmate of mine in the school is a well-known animal doctor here. Whenever someone took an ailing dog to him, he would grab both its ears in his hands and ask the dog to tell him its problem! What an enduring sight it would be!