Friday, January 11, 2008

Dayavu seydu kadavai moodavum*

I wake up every day in London to a silence that school teachers term 'pin drop'. Silence and darkness. In Madras, each day starts with sunshine, a woman(who sounds like my class xii chemistry teacher Manoja) asking people to 'Please close the door' of the lift in the apartment next door, the watchman and vegetable vendor arguing over whether the latter did or did not close the compound gate behind him the previous day, milk cookers and pressure cookers whistling and letting off steam, vessels clanging, far off strains of sun tv (yes, that early!!) and the soft swish of a thodapam against tiled flooring. Each sound distinct in the swirling cacaphony that is our street waking up. I don't miss the silence at all.

(*Advance apologies if I have misspelled anything in the title)

14 comments:

??! said...

I wake up every day in London to a silence
Not to mention dark skies even at 8am.

Anonymous said...

For the true Tam flavor, you should insert as many as possible of the letter "h". So maybe D(h)ayavu seyd(h)u kad(h)avai moodavum ?

Jinguchakka said...

No question of misspelling when it is not in its own script.
Anyway, you didn't misspell.
:-)

Anonymous said...

tell me all abt it - the lift at my parent's home too says the same - with a repeat in Engllllish - plllease clllose the door. and then beep beep beep beep... grrrr.

Ravages/CC said...

A cousin, much younger, in total frustration at Manoja's voice, once said: Please close your mouth. Dayavu seydhu vaaiyai moodavum.

Anonymous said...

:) Exactly what I was thinking yesterday!

kowthas.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Lucky you and good luck

Shammi said...

Those noises you cant shut out - I find them annoying but also comforting in a strange way. They give me a (probably false) feeling of security, especially in the middle of the night or very early morning! :)

ggop said...

We have the same voice admonishing people in my parents' building in Chennai. Really annoying in the middle of the night.

maami said...

Nirad Chaudhuri and R.K.Narayan complained of the sounds of silence in London.
I still remember making people jump when my pressure cooker let steam off in a piercing whistle in London-gave them a fright.
The various noises are a rape on our senses in the sacred hours of sleep in the morning in Madras, but hey Londoners don't get food delivered at their doorsteps, get their flats hoovered or their undies washed.
Nothing comes for free or in silence huh?

Neha said...

I love the noise of India, this silence just creeps me out. Have a great holiday :)

Miss Frangipani said...

I wish I could bottle this silence and take it with me everywhere I go. I don't relish waking up to the sounds of traffic or horns blaring constantly. Give me a bird in my garden or the sound of the trees trying to stay upright on our hill, battling a strong wind.

If there's one thing I miss about England when I'm in India, it's the absence of raucous noise.

MW

Anonymous said...

and in a distance dollar saint yells "hellooooo" after his temple visit nearby on thursday?

Sachita said...

Whenever I return from India, I feel this absolute silence, makes it so tough to get back to the groove. The absence of the sound makes it so lifeless!