Big and Small

The question popped late one night during bed time, “Mumma, which is the small-e-est living thing?”

Being his Mumma for five years now I could quite habitually understand that he intended to know nothing but the truth. No fantastic creatures, no imaginary tales because this was a serious question being asked.

So I said, “It has to be some micro-organism.”

“What is that?”

“Something that you cannot see, but it is still present.” I elaborated, “A kind of a creature that lives and moves and eats and has babies, but is so, so, so tiny that you cannot see it the way you see me.”

“Hmm,” he murmured. After a little thought though he said again, “But I can see them.” Excitedly he twisted on the bed to face me. “Really?” I asked with genuine interest.

“Yes,” he replied. “See, when I am sitting on the couch in the morning, light comes from the window. I can see tiny, very tiny, the tiniest of ball like things floating in the air. Aren’t they mico-ogani sm?”

Stifling my laughter I corrected him, “M-I-C-R-O O-R-G-A-N-I-S-M-S, but what you see are not microorganisms. They are just minute dust particles.” Not crushing his enthusiasm entirely I also added, “There might surely be microorganisms around, but as I said, they are so tiny, you can never ‘see’ them just like that. You need to have a very powerful microscope.”

“Let me show you,” I said raising my hand and showing him the palm. “At this minute, I have at least 500 bacteria here.” “Bacteria are micro-organisms?” he asked. “Yes, they are.”

“Are they the tiniest living things?” he asked again.

 “Yes, one of the tiniest; there are others like virus and fungi too.”

 The sleepy eyes were struggling to shut down. So, I planted a kiss on his forehead and said, “We can talk more about microorganisms tomorrow. Now, sleep, alright? Good Night.” Reluctantly the eyes closed and soon took him to the land of dreams.

“Mumma,” he shouted the next morning while taking his shower. “Didn’t you tell me that the blue whale is the biggest animal in the world?”

I said yes, rushing to grab a towel as he came out dripping. But the little curious head was more interested in getting his science right. He ignored the puddle he was creating and continued excitedly, “You also told me that a blue whale is equal to at least 10 to 15 elephants.”

“Hmm,” I said, the mother’s dextrous hand working furiously to dry his hair.

“Okay, so blue whale is the biggest, and bacteria the smallest. If 500 bacteria can cover just my palm, can you just imagine how many bacteria can cover an entire blue whale!” he said his eyes sparkling with the newly made discovery.

I paused and tried to imagine the analogy he had just made – a simple statement and yet so fascinating.

“Millions, and trillions..zillions..killions..hillions…” he went on and on with a bemused grin on his face.

I smiled at him, gently stroking his hair, giving an affectionate peck on the cheek.

Thomas Huxley had once said - The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity.

With a silent prayer to let him carry this same spirit all his life, I said out loud, “Come, get ready fast, then I will show you some bacteria pictures.”

(Winner of the My Science Story blogfest by Tulika Publishers)

Cowherd. Visionary. Immortal..maybe not.

Book Review: Govinda by Krishna Udayasankar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We always seem to think that stories that are passed on from one generation to the next, are all the same. But in reality, each story teller adds or substracts certain things to the story, giving it individuality, making it new and yet retaining the age old essence.

This book I think, is just that. A rendition of the age old story of Krishna and Mahabharata in a new dimension that would suit the temperament of the young generation. The generation that has easy access to all the information in the world but are seldom served the history of their own land in a logical way. It is for those who want to question everything around them, even things that are passed on as myths and mythology in our society and therefore above reasoning.

Govinda is not a book for those who believe Krisha to be the Immortal God. It is a story of a mortal cowherd with an extra-ordinary intellect. A visionary.

Being the debut novel of Krishna Udaysankar, traditionally, one would give leverage to certain flaws. But that is where the reader might make a wrong presumption.

When I read the book, I too began keeping in mind that this was after all written by a first timer. But surprise awaited me at every turn of the page. The book does not come across as the first-time attempts of a novice at all. It is the work of a researcher, a scholar who surely seems to have rigourously sifted through buried ancient manuscripts, some legible, some difficult to decipher, and presented to us the readers, a very thorough and precise glimpse of the times of Aryavarta. She is a master story teller, because she has her facts correct, which unquestionably have been gathered after much toil and perseverence.I eagerly look forward to what she puts on our plate with her next work.

This book is history, myth, fiction, thriller, and all in all a very logical and consistent narrative. Read if you want to know the what and why of the tale we know as Mahabharata.



View all my reviews

Grandma’s Tale

There was a girl of 15 who wrote a novel. It was the year 1930. A time when it was unheard of, for little girls or even women to portray their feelings in words or verse. And so, while her father praised the creativity of her dear daughter and promised to pursue a publisher, the matter of the novel, was slowly, perhaps deliberately forgotten.

Bharathi Amma

75 years later, as the girl turned to a granny, her children discovered the dust covered manuscript. Written on ledgers, it was a fantastic blend of mystery, romance and drama. Surely not scribbles of a child, but thoughts of a mature individual. And then the unbelievable happened. As a gift to their gifted mother, the children published the novel.

It is called Nandavanam, a Malayalam novel by Bharathi Amma.

How I came to know about this grandma and her tales is sheer coincidence. I was conversing with my sister-in-law who informed me about the sad demise of her ammoomma’s (grandmother) sister. She told me that even at the age of 98 this grand old lady was full of life. Generous words and a generous smile never parted ways in her case. She would always be in touch with her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts and the extended family in all of Kerala. Even the day before her passing, she was happily calling relatives, gossiping, wishing them the best always.

And it is then that I learnt that this lady was Bharathi Amma, someone whose teenage year novel was published when she turned 95.

Intrigued by her story, I found an interview published in The Hindu newspaper, in 2010, the time when Nandavanam had been published.

Bharathi Amma unfolds her story so beautifully in that interview.

She says, with a smile,

“I started writing the novel when I was 15 years old and completed it when I was 16. I wrote the story on scraps of paper. I didn't let anyone see the story when I was writing it as I was afraid their remarks may affect my thought process for the story and also my interest. When the novel was ready, I transferred it into ledgers a relative gave me.”

“After I finished the novel I showed it to my fatherParshati Parayum. He showered praises and said he would see about getting it published; but he didn't. I guess it was because women who were well educated and accomplished were not considered good wife material in those days,” says Bharati Amma who was a topper in her school at Neyyattinkara in those days.

“I wanted to be a doctor, but like I said, women in those days were not supposed to be more accomplished or educated than men. Very few women went to school in those days. Thankfully, my late husband, Kulappuram N. Parameswaran Pillai, wanted someone who was educated. Even then, I was married at what was then considered way past your prime at 20. Women in those days were married at the age of 15,” says Bharati Amma, who used to write poems in her youth.

With time, bound by the duty of a wife, daughter-in-law and mother Bharathi Amma the writer took a back seat. It was only years later, when her children found the jewel that had been hiding behind household chores, that Barathi Amma’s first book was published.

In a book titled Ammayum Maganum three of her poems – Elam Poovu, Ammayum Maganum and Charitharadhyaya Sarmisitha, were published by her eight children to mark her 90th birthday. And with no publisher showing interest in publishing the work, they did it on their own.

Says Indira Devi, her daughter,

"My mother was a prolific writer in her younger days. Writing took a backseat after her marriage. I guess family ate up most of her time. While going through her novel and poems when we were adults, we felt they were good. That is why we brought them out ourselves. We did approach various publishers but they cited various excuses.”

Speaking about Nandavanam, her actual first piece of creative writing, Bharathi Amma said it was woven from real life instances she saw around her.

Nandavanam, revolves around two brothers. The younger brother tries to kill his brother for money and believes he has succeeded. The elder brother who has been mislead into believing that it his wife who is trying to kill him leaves for Kolkata. In the end, all is well and the moral – good triumphs over evil.

Bharathi Amma said, “I was observant as a kid. There was this woman in Neyyatinkara who pretended to be blessed by a divine presence in order to get her daughter married off to a neighbourhood lad. She said the gods had ordered her daughter to marry him.”

The scene is incorporated in the book.

While the books are distributed amongst family and friends, many who heard about the book through word of mouth have approached the family for a copy.

“For a 15-year-old to write a well- crafted story and tying all the ends neatly is a remarkable thing. We haven't put a price for the book; it is given free to all those who would like to read a good book. It is a labour of love from us to our mother,” says Professor Indira Devi


Bharathi Amma passed away last December and I wish I could have met her, just to revel in her presence.

I was reminded of her life story, quite abruptly, while reading Krishna Udayshankar’s poignant debut novel The Ayravarta Chronicle Book 1 Govinda.

In one of the chapters, Queen Gandavati of Panchala surmises the role of a princess or a woman rather to Panchali (Draupadi),

It reads,

...Like it or not, no matter how much you fight or what you say, you can’t change the decision made around you, for you. You cannot even begin to alter the life that’s laid out for you. All you can do is choose whether you will resist the occasional happiness that comes your way or be tormented by your own hatred and self loathing, or you’ll spare yourself your own judgment at the least and take what you can get....

There are innumerable Bharathi Ammas around us who still cook n clean without a hint of dismay, their self-expression tamed and living the life decided for them. One of them could luckily escalate to the position she deserved at the age of 90, but who’s reading about the hundred others? Is 2013 really so very different from 1930 or for that matter the second millennium BCE?