Wednesday 1 October 2008

my son


eighteen-year-old vishnu
in between lessons
pumps twelve-kg dumbbells
talks of calories over breakfast
how much ronnie coleman takes
and how much arnold schwarzenegger
what their workout schedules are
hauls big sister lakshmi’s big almirah
at her bidding
from corner to corner
single-handed
not as handsome as his pop
as mom often tells him
with a wink
so he won't feel crushed
facing the reality
but a nice-looking chap all the same
a wiry clean-shaven oak tree grimacing
as though in a bout of dyspepsia
which is misleading
has the best of digestions
takes the bull by the horns
for anybody
has more than three score friends I know of
some of them bodybuilders
others
sheer brains and wizardry
damn good chaps each one of them
bowls leg spin and googlies
mixing them with flippers
a stickler for style
with flicks and cuts and drives
or flexing biceps
the size of tomatoes
tapping the belly
six-pack cutting
can walk on hands and wriggle his ears
a great hit with all the girls
below the age of sixteen
his friend trivikram tells me
behind his back
uncle be careful
keep a watch
and don't tell i told

*****

13 comments:

Balachandran V said...

Chip off the old block, uh? :)

P. Venugopal said...

Yup. But not as handsome as his pop, as his mom tell him, with a wink, lest he should feel crushed.

chinny said...

interesting!how u see ur son...might be better understood by fathers with sons?..or,ve i put my foot in my mouth?

P. Venugopal said...

I wrote this at one unstoppable spurt as he was heaving dumbells outside when he was supposed to be studying on the eve of his exams. It needed little editing. The tempo is that of the heavy breathing and jingling of the iron, suppressed lest his mother should hear it from the kitchen. Myself and my son, we are great friends. We have many secrets between us.

P. Venugopal said...

was surprised reading this today (sept. 1, 2013)seeing how accurately i had seen my son's trejectory even in 2008, when i wrote it on my blog. he was an engeneering student then. after one-and-a-half years working in a software company, he is now pursuing an offbeat dream of building a career in fitness traning. offbeat by the standards our family circle is accustomed to.

rknair said...

Good one! We often get an inkling of their calling quite early in life :)

manasvi said...

Wow... wish i were still 16😉😉😉😉

P. Venugopal said...

ha ha ha!!! nice piece, isn't it? i want you to read it with a break at the end of each line and you can hear the jingle of the dumbbells through the window from the terrace where he is hauling the thing in and out to build his biceps. i never thought he was slowly building the muscles of a nice career too. he is passionate about what he does and we parents have not held him back from his desire to follow his passion.

sn edasseril said...

Godfather

P. Venugopal said...

no, no, no, anna! not vito corleone. another soft clan you can trace back in mavelikara. just be and allow others to be what they are...including our children.

arktimes2 said...

Very nice!! The boy, who I only remember as a cute little toddler....has turned out quite a handsome dude!! But ofcourse...not as handsome as his father or all his cousins before him ;-)

P. Venugopal said...

ha ha ha!!! he is a light lad. he and his friends used to frequent a hotel here, where they order porottas--the tough rubbery delicacy that costs rs.3 each those days. what about some dish, i asked him. accha, a chicken curry costs Rs.15 a plate. we have such goodwill there that they give us gravy free. he is one of those boys who will get gravy free if it comes to that.

sureshbabu p said...

a great father. predicted your lovely son's future correctly.