...Ode to dear ole Ambi

Ambi became a part of our household back in early 90s. I was still in my oily pigtail days, was living in Chennai thanks to Dad's frequent transfers, and was already in my third school in 5 years. Mana, who was hardly 3 years old then, was staying back with Thatha & Paati in Bangalore; and I was yearning for some company. Life was much simpler back then without the internet. I had seen kids playing outside their house with theirs, and I wanted one too, and come to think of it, I was not being unreasonable. I wanted what any 8-year old wanted.

 I begged Dad and Mom for this for days, and they kept shooting down my request on the pretext of the apartments’ regulations may not permit to such an addition. It will be invasive to the neighbors. Most of them do not have one at home, and we don’t find their kids asking for one, they justified.

In reality, life was going on perfectly fine for my parents, who did not want additional responsibility then. They were not sure how to handle such a circumstance. None of my aunts’ or uncles’ families ever had one. No one wanted to be the first to tread into the unknown territory of bringing such a change.

Nevertheless, after much deliberation, my parents finally gave in. We all agreed that it would be better if we had Thatha bring one over from Bangalore, instead of us finding one locally in Chennai. This way, when we transfer back to Bangalore in a few years, life would be much smoother. Thatha readily agreed to this suggestion, and so Dad went to Bangalore to bring Ambi home.

I was having sleepless nights. My folks decided to give me a surprise and refused to tell me which kind they were getting from there. I kept guessing, but they refused to give in.

Finally the D-Day arrived. Thatha made that all-important STD call from Laxmi stores to Chennai, to say that they were starting off from Bangalore and it will be a good 6 hours before they reach Chennai. They had decided to travel by the road. We were worried for Ambi. After all, it was the first trip out and such a long one too. Back then, NH-4 wasn’t that great. We weren’t sure if Ambi would hold out. Paati and Mana gave me a pleasant surprise by arriving with the entourage.

I have to be honest now. I was quite not thrilled when I first saw Ambi. He was definitely bigger than what I had expected, in a muddy brown color (not even the elegant chocolate brown). I must have made a face, because Paati immediately called me to come closer to Ambi. Guess she sensed it. I was unsure. Mana had become great pals already. She couldn’t be away for a second. Kids! I grumbled… She will fall in love with a bicycle tyre, if everyone around her convinced it was cute.

Anyways, obedient child that I was, I went nearer. I was a little nervous. Didn’t want to harm Ambi… Didn’t want to hurt myself either. But it was simpler than I expected. The moment I patted him, I knew it was just meant to be. All of us could talk nothing other than Ambi during dinner that night.

None of us still remember how the name Ambi came into existence. Guess I was looking forward to a baby brother a few years back, and Mana arrived instead. Or it was easier for the older generation to grasp the name… The fact remains, that the name stayed on.

I guess Dad was the most attached to Ambi, who was like the son he never had. He always went the extra mile to make sure that everything was just right. The best soaps and shampoos, the best scents known, only the branded ones; even I never had that expensive covers for myself. I held a private show for my friends the very next day. No one was allowed to touch of course! They were curious, but hey... I was the boss.

Life did alter soon. Since Dad and Mom were working, with the former having day and night shifts, we needed someone to help us take care of Ambi, especially with the regular checkups, and the nurturing, which was important in the early stages. We couldn’t abandon him, when we went out of station. We did not trust anyone to take very good care of him.

Mom had put her foot down saying the household expenditure had shot up ever, and was willing to take the lowest bidder. In stepped Murugan. At the age of 24, he did not have much experience. But he would be adequate, she felt. Murugan loved Ambi in a different way. They were pals. They would go on long rides together. Murugan used to hang out at our place even after he had finished the task for the day. God knows what they did all afternoon. Often we caught them napping together. We had to agree, Ambi definitely started looking better with the constant attention.

Mana started visiting Chennai more often then on. She and the other neighboring kids played weird Hide and Seek games with Ambi outside the apartment. The not-so-friendly Maamis of the neighboring flats were becoming more and more curious to know how Ambi, of all things, kept the brat pack so busy through summer.

Mana used to address (and still does) my parents and grandparents in singular. Since Ambi was also addressed in singular, I guess she assumed that Murugan could also be addressed the same way. When my mom overheard her saying, “Murugan, inga vaa...” (Murugan, Come here {Singular}), she severely reprimanded her saying that she should learn to be more respectful, and should address Murugan more politely.

We, including Murugan, did not know how to react when we heard her say the next day morning, “Murugarrr, Inga vaaa…”

Ambi got used to travelling from Bangalore to Chennai. He used to never complain, and I think he quite enjoyed these long journeys once a while like us. But he got ill once in Mulbagal, on our way to Bangalore. We were worried that he would not last till Bangalore, which was still a good 2 hours away. He was throwing up incessantly and Dad was not sure as to who would treat him in such a remote place. He left me, with my mom and Ash (who jumped in at the last minute from Chennai), in a restaurant, and tried going around town, to find out a pair of good hands, he can safely entrust Ambi with.

It turned out to be an eventful 2 hours. There was sudden commotion when I was still wondering if it was safe to dip my idly into the sambhar. The restaurant cashier was jumping up and down, ordering his men to pull down the shutters, and we saw many people cram into the hallways before the shutter came down completely. It was a lovely day in January 1996, to spark of communal tensions in Kolar and Mulbagal!

I was near to tears. My dad and Ambi were there out in the town. We had no way of contacting them (I grudgingly thank cell phone these days). After a tense 2 hours of being holed-up in the restaurant, we see my dad returning with Ambi, oblivious to the commotion that had happened. Apparently the other side of the town was peaceful and quiet. I still wonder as to really how big IS Mulbagal… But am thankful, they came back in time, intact.

Soon we returned back to Bangalore for good, sans Murugan. Ambi had become older and wiser, and we could very well manage without additional effort. Dad still had his dedicated time (Saturday mornings) with Ambi, who got a royal treatment. We took him out invariably all weekends for a long drive. Cousins would readily jump in, if they knew Ambi was coming along. The more the merrier.

We tried incorporating him into our tour programs, but there were restrictions. We knew if the place was going to be crowded, then Ambi would have a tough time fitting in. People may hurt him accidentally, or he may hurt people in the process. We did not want either of the scenarios. We tried leaving him with Chithapa sometimes, who could never manage him.

After our success story, Perippa and Chithapa(s) did not need much convincing to add Ambis to their own family. They went for a different variety though, named differently. Much smaller (easier to manage, they would say), and cuter to look at, but my loyalty stayed with Ambi.

I am sure Ambi never felt left out, or jealous, when I went out with his rivals. But I always had this guilt driving me nuts, so I tried my level best to avoid such confrontations.

Ambi was with us for over 15 years. A long time for such a friend. He was getting older, and more difficult to manage. Two girls together could not handle him. Mom had given up on him long time back, in her Chennai days. Dad was the only one who could get him to obey. But he was also getting older. Thatha himself had often suggested that we give him up for good. People were still willing to adopt him. We could not bear the thought of his deteriorating health, and preferred he go elsewhere soon. But as the arrangement came nearer, Mana and I would back out. We still did not want to give him up. He was family! And we had way too many memories with him.

After constant nagging from mom and Paati, Dad decided to get tech-savvy (now??) and placed an online advertisement. The response was overwhelming, but we did not want Ambi to go far away. We wanted to visit him (Just in case, we added). We had promised ourselves that we would not, under any circumstance, but we still wanted him to be somewhere closer. We finally sealed the deal with a Mangalorean family, who came on 12 March 2009. That is the last day we saw our dear Ambassador Nova KA-03 N 945.

We did not go out to say good-bye.