RIFLE RANGE BOY

Tunku and Think Big, Melbourne Cup winner, 1975. I remember a time when I was a pre-schooler. In front of the family black-and-white TV, I got all excited when a horse appeared on the screen. Maybe they were screening Mr Ed, the talking horse or something like that. I must have said something to the effect of, "I saw many horses the other day. Appa took me there!" looking directly at Amma. That is when the fight started. True. There was a time when Appa used to frequent the racing turf club for little thrills and pennies. I was brought there, only once, I presume, before I spilt the beans.  Naturally, over the years, I became convinced that horse racing is terrible and the negative association with betting. Slowly, one by one, as in an all-or-none, everything was laid upon me. The first drop of alcohol would turn you into a raging alcoholic. One deep breath of nicotine would damage your lungs irreparably. At the tender age, when all of one's focus should be on ...

My mother was dead sure 55 years ago that her predicament was induced by poverty. She blamed her father for not ensuring that education was given importance to the girls of the family.  In his case, he generally thought that school was quite a waste of time when precious time could be used in the workforce and the continuity of survival. She was crossed that her husband did not have the means to give her pleasure of sitting haughtily cross-legged on her throne as the mistress of her own home but instead had to be contended to make other people's home tidy and clean. She cursed the stars that she was born under that cast a spell that it was necessary to bring in a second source of income to her young family.  And then that happened. It was a series of maladies that were destined to happen as she ventured into her family life. After nine months of carrying an apparently normal baby boy, she delivered a stillbirth! Scrutinising the lifeless stillborn chi...

There he was standing undecided what to buy. He knew exactly what he wanted to buy. He knew how everything worked, right down to the low down nitty-gritty details. He knows where the nuts and the bolts should fit in. He knew what is the latest gizmo in town and what is the newest 'kit in the block'. And he knew how much each item costs. In short, he knew the good, the bad, the ugly and anything in between. But yet, he cannot decide on his latest gadget that he wants to lay his hands on. The Smoking Man of X Files: Are you sure you want to know the whole truth? I do not think you  can handle the Truth!  Item A is superior in one aspect which is less efficient than item B but is more pricey as compared to item C which in turn is more durable than item D and the list goes on. At the end of the day, he is at his wit's end on what to do next. The thought of losing his hard earned money to a sub-standard merchandise is unacceptable in his book. So he waits. The troubl...