The Man at the Window - The Beginning - 2


On July 26, 1952, Poppy was born to an English couple, in a small town in Tamil Nadu, India. Being the youngest of seven children, you would assume he was spoilt but being a part of a large family in the post British Era of India was not as cushy as we would think.

Poppy’s earliest memory was when he was five years old. His father was recently discharged from the English Army and was employed with a renowned company in the beautiful beach city of Waltair (now Visakhapatnam). They lived in a huge house opposite the beach and often his mother would take the family to visit an old German lady on an Island nearby, by ferry. “She was a queer old lady” he said, “Well, the word “queer” had a different connotation back then”, he added smiling. She lived in a mansion with only two German shepherd dogs for company. Poppy loved going to see the old lady. She would bake fresh German bread and cakes for them and then there was also the occasional British bread pudding, but more than the spread, it was a full meal and the smile on his mother’s face on having another adult for company that felt satisfying to him. His father travelled a lot for work but whenever he came home they would scramble to get his attention in the form of singing or dancing and family plays.

Being the youngest, Poppy was bullied by his brothers and sisters. “Most of the time it was harmless ragging” he said, for food or toys, but two instances he mentioned stuck out like a sore thumb. He spoke about the day his mother had sent them all to the beach to play and since he didn’t know how to swim, he was afraid of the water. His elder brothers picked him up and threw him into the sea. Shocked and horrified, he remained afraid of the water for ever after. “Of course they loved me” he said. They just had a different way of expressing themselves. Another occasion was when the siblings were playing a game of “dare” and Poppy was told to put a four anna coin in his nose, as part of that. His want, to be one with his brothers got him into quite a soup when the coin refused to come out. “Oh! Did mother spank me that day” he said heartily laughing. Well she was the one who had to run with him to the emergency room afraid he was not able to breathe!!

Poppy’s family was a large one where drama and music was the way of the day; Poppy had music in his genes. Sadly enough he could not read or write because his parents didn’t have the means to send him to school, yet. But that didn’t stop him from learning.  He would listen to songs in church and on the radio, learn the words and sing. Poppy was ten years old when his elder brother was sent to Madras (now Chennai) to join the ministry and his other siblings had been sent to boarding school in  Calcutta (now Kolkata). Unfortunately for Poppy, his turn had not yet come.




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