The following colourful incident never fails to amuse as only Kari can retell. The web team was fortunate enough to capture a written account of this incident by the man himself from a recent email thread. We can only surmise that, Kari’s Battle of The Blues experience was no match for this Battle of the Bottle encounter!

Dear All, Mano was such a livewire in his heyday & it’s sad ill health dogged his life for a long period of time . While I was at the home on Horton Place last morning I related to Seyone & a few others an experience I had which demonstrated the mischievous side in him. Mano, Dhare & Co were in the Under16 & I was playing in the First Eleven . In those days whenever free we had go to Small Clubs to assist with fielding practice & do a bit of bowling too . One day Mano said the whole batch was going back home for refreshments followed by dinner & that I was also cordially invited . When we got to that sprawling mansion Shanmugam Villa , Mano proceeded to introduce me to his Dad as the “Master in Charge “. I didn’t say a word . That day I happened to be in black slacks , white shirt , black shoes & looked the part . The boys disappeared into various rooms & maybe some went outside to pull a punt . The grand old man made me sit down & then pulled out a brand new triangular bottle I was seeing for the first time . It was a bottle of Dimple Scotch . He put it on the side stool between us & said , Have a drink young man , you are a Master “. Let alone Scotch , even to have a drink of Pol was a luxury those days . My ignorance was clearly evident as he had to open it for me . I was never going to drink that potent stuff without a chaser . Looked around me & spotted a half consumed bottle of Ginger Beer . Promptly topped the glass & took a swig with wishes for his good health . The conversation shifted from discipline , Mano’s batting/keeping skills to what I felt would be Mano’s future . Gave him a glowing account & the Old Man was visibly pleased . In the meantime the bloody stuff was sending my head into a spin(those days it was hard to take even two shots of Pol) but I kept a steady smile. For some reason , maybe to instruct the kitchen to prepare a bite , he got up from his seat . When he returned he moved to another chair . I naturally then moved to the chair next to him . The bottle remained where it was . After about a further half hour’s conversation he strode out somewhere & came back but absent mindedly or whatever , he moved to where he had sat originally & then I too moved . Would you believe it , those ingenious buggers had found a way to smuggle the bottle out & put it back without either of us knowing . One bugger might have feigned some discussion while another did the needful . The bottle now had only about an inch of spirits . Old Man stared at it incredulously & kept shifting his gaze from me to the ravaged bottle . I am sure he would have thought I was an alien. From that point onwards the conversation between us was less than cordial & then he said it was time for him to retire . I waited for the buggers to emerge from various corners & then gave Mano a bellyful . You bugger , you & your cohorts have spoilt my reputation & I will never be welcome in this house again “. Mano replies calmly , “don’t worry Kari , by tomorrow he would have forgotten it & you will be most welcome again “. I never took that chance though. Cheers Kari!

Postscript – we are indebted to PLDK for the encouragement and archive material he has shared to enhance our website and in particular the ‘Old Is Gold’ page . Concluding with these cuttings from his scrapbook & Thank You Kari.