Mikhail James was born in 1958 in Nedumangadu, Kerala. He has one of everything – one mother, one father, one elder brother, one elder sister, one younger brother, one younger sister, one wife (whom he has married twice) and the only exception, two sons. His life story made interesting hearing. Whom am I talking about? Oops! Sorry! Perhaps you know him differently – J MIKE – the LOUD guy – that’s who I am talking about. Now that we are on the same wavelength, read on.
As a child he was very sickly and was not expected to survive (if I don’t believe him, I will get thulped). So his aunt took him away to Trivandrum and there he was brought up as Michael. He did all the house work in his aunt’s house as well as studying. By the time he was in Class IX he was fed up of the routine. So when he heard that he was to be sent to Madras to be an apprentice in a shop, he was ecstatic. However, his aunt changed her mind and refused to let him go. Mike is not one to give up so easily. He decided to go home and convince his parents of the scheme. No bus fare – 50 paise was a lot of money those days. So he walked the 50 kms home. His family meanwhile had panicked and was in mourning by the time he reached, late at night. But it ended well with young Mike being sent to Madras.
There his mudalali (employer) was kind, but did not keep any of the promises regarding wages and things. Just as Mike was beginning to get a wee bit frustrated, the mudalali was admitted in the hospital and Mike had to take care of the shop. This he did, but not knowing how to replace goods that were being sold. By the time the mudalali was discharged, the once bustling shop had a barren look about it. And the mudalali was furious. He ordered Mike to lock up the shop and follow him home. A terrified Mike gave him the slip, came back to the shop and took the Rs.375 that was there in the shop till.
He spent the night at Egmore Station, not wanting to return home. Next morning, he wandered around in search of a job. Two young men, who must have watched him, approached him and started talking to him. They warned him of cheats and pickpockets in the bad city and offered to pack his money properly for him. Unsuspecting Mike handed over the moolah (money) and was given a neatly tied up bundle in return. They even offered to find him a job. Asking him to wait near the LIC building, they went in saying that they knew somebody there who would give him a job. After some time, a policeman came up to Mike and told him that he had watched the whole scene, and the two young men were known cheats and would not come back.
Mike had suspected as much by then. His stomach, empty since the previous day, had also been demanding some attention, and hence he went into a kaka hotel. He ordered himself a biriyani and was waiting for the meal when he realized that the neatly tied up bundle might not have any cash in it. Sure enough, it was just wads of paper. What could he do? He told the hotel owner that he would not be able to eat as he did not have any money and was about to leave when the hotel owner called him back and asked him to eat first and talk later. Thus Mike joined up the hotel as a cleaner.
He moved from hotel to hotel till, with callused feet and palms, he joined Hotel Dasaprakash. Life at last seemed to be settling down at the ripe age of 19. Mike obviously enjoyed this phase of life.
One day he was doing waiter service, when one particular vellaikaran (foreigner) was being particularly irritating. He ordered a wide variety of dishes and proceeded to eat them with great relish. But as he emptied the dishes, he would not allow Mike to clear the table. Slowly the dishes piled up. The head waiter called Mike and gave him one clout on the head. But what could Mike do? He silently cursed, till he saw that the cranky man had left a ten rupee tip. A lot of money twenty years ago. The next day they met in the lift and the third day in the room as Mike’s duties changed every day.
Then the vellaikaran offered Mike a job. Would he like to come and work in Bangalore? The man – Chris Stocks. The organization – yours truly. Chris said that he would send somebody to bring Mike and left. A month passed by and Mike was sure that he had been forgotten when Bhaskar arrived asking for Michael. The other two Michaels were produced before J Mike appeared. He was then whisked off to Bangalore the same day.
There he joined as an all-in-all – the first employee of ACTIONAID – India. The office moved from Hotel Airlines to Langford Road, where he was the king. One day he was having his bath, when there was a knock on the door. He wrapped a towel around him and went to the door to find a young girl standing outside. She had been asked to join that day and typically Chris had neither given her the office timings nor told Mike about her. Barking as usual, Mike asked her to wait while he finished his bath. When he asked her to come in, Sandra preferred to wait outside rather than be alone with this surly man. One of the first people whom Mike frightened in AA and certainly not the last.
Meanwhile he had made progress in his personal life. One of his friends offered him his sister in marriage. Mike had seen a little girl running around. And he assumed that it was her that his friend was referring to. Then one day, in their house, he saw a girl running inside with long, beautiful, black hair. Mike fell in love. And he promptly told his friend that he would not be able to keep his word. His friend laughed and called out the same girl – his sister. The wedding took place within a month.
Being Mike he got married again – to the same girl. Something to do with religion. And what a girl! If you have not eaten food cooked by Krupa, you are really missing out on something in life. Soon the sons arrived – Christopher and Ashwin. The proud father showed me a photograph of both of them in the newspaper last week. They had represented their college in basketball and won. A long way from Nedumangadu.
Mike has some interesting tales about AA. After all he has seen all of us join. From Narayan to Biraj. Talk to him next time you are in the CO for the real masala of AA.
He misses the old days of camaraderie in AA. Nostalgically he told me that in the old days everyone did everything. If it was child letter time and they were running behind schedule, even Chris would join in to ensure they were not delayed. While now everyone has their job description and sticks to it. The larger feeling for the organisation seems to have gotten lost in the race for personal gain. This sometimes saddens him and he wishes that this would change. Being a realist he also knows that it never will.
Mike – the only person who can make Juliana empty her lunch box and one of the most helpful people in AA.
1996
