SARDINES' HEADS
“Go
back; don’t throw back.”
Darnell
Lamont Walker
Many
years ago, I had attended a wedding of one of my cousins in my hometown,
Mangalore. A couple of years ago, I happened to see a picture shared by this
cousin on FB… It’s the traditional ‘family picture’ captured on the belief: ‘Bigger
the size, the better the picture!’ So, they would stuff, in one frame, almost a
few dozen… parents, grandparents, great grandparents, cousins – first, second, third…
uncles and aunts, both, from dad’s side and mom’s size… Imagine the size, if
the families of groom and bride both made to fit in!
So, my friend Joe, who is
known for his wicked humour, commented on the picture shared by my cousin. He
wrote in Konkani:
“Maplyacha kaantinth tharlayaso
mando!”
‘Maplyacha’
meaning the Muslim fish vendor’s…
‘Kaantinth’ meaning in the huge fish-basket…
‘Tharyaso’
meaning of Sardine fish…
‘Mando’ meaning
head…
All put together, my friend
wanted to tell me this: “I can see the top portion of your head… It looks like
the Sardine’s (Tarli fish) head in vendor’s big fish-basket.”
What on
earth makes me think of this ‘Sardine’s head’ episode?
As many of you know by now (thanks
to FB), 24th of this month was my b’day. There was a time, I would
personally acknowledge, like and thank each and every person who greeted me.
That came from my innate belief, that responding to each message made me look
like a civilized soul – a gentleman. But, imagine saying, ‘Thank You dear ….. Means a lot. Love’ some five hundred
times!
I learnt to go easy on my own
self-created belief… “It’s okay… They understand.” Thus, I just started
pressing the ‘Like’ or ‘Love’ button and finished it with a single common ‘Thank
you dear all…’ reply.
Just like the newspaper, after
a day or two, nobody remembers who wished whom, and who replied to whom…
Raat gayi, baat gayi!
But, some like my dear old-student,
Tarun*, wouldn’t let the night go in vain. “Sir, you haven’t replied to my b’day
greetings to you.” He messaged to me, today, sounding a bit upset.
I quickly pacified: “Hello Taurn,
you are my most faithful well-wisher. Your wishes mean a lot to me. Old man
forgets sometimes, you see. Loads of love.”
‘Old man'?
Well, back in my hometown, my
mom, who had just entered her 87th on 3rd of this month, apparently,
was planning to surprise her son in Mumbai on his 63rd b’day. She was coaxing
her grandson (my nephew) Macklin, to do some jugaad and create a picture,
in which, her five sons (one is no more), she and our late dad (expired in 1983!)
– yes, they all would be posing as one happy family. Bravo! Young Macklin did
pass in his jugaad… Interestingly, in this jugaad picture, mom
and dad looked some fifty/sixty years younger than their five sons!
Macklin shared the picture on
my b’day and narrated the story behind it!
So, while replying to my dear
old-student, Tarun, saying, ‘Old man forgets sometimes, you see,’ I remembered
my mom, who hadn’t forgotten to surprise her son…
All the b’day greetings might
have looked like Sardines’ heads in the big basket of a fish vendor, but, every
head counts, my dear friends… It takes some five-hundred Sardines to make the
big fish-basket…
Honestly, it means a lot!
*Name changed
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic’s: pixabay
Video: Ultra Bollywood
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