An unsung hero

 


When I was the Secretary of the cultural organisation "Apsaras", in seventies, I had the opportunity of meeting Raa. Ki (R.K. rangarajan, Kumudam ) few times. He was always kind to us, and used to talk to me and appreciate the way in which we were organising the programmes and encouraged us a lot.. Our posters were continuously published in KUMUDAM as the best poster of the week. Of course all those posters were designed by Mr. Bharani.

My cousin Nataraj, advocate and other Secretary of Apsaras organised the marriage of Ms. Sujatha, the leading actress of 70s with Mr. Jaikar. It was the most sensational marriage of those years, in a most dramatic way. Since I was very close to Nataraj, Raa. Ki  talked to me to write in Kumudham about the whole episode, with full details of twists and turns. Even though I was interested, since, it was a matter of great sensation at that time, I subsequently dropped it in the interest of our fiend Jaikar and also as per the advice of my cousin.. Raa. Ki would have casually talked to me and pumped out lot of information and written on his own. He fully understood our feelings and did not pressurise me. He was a thorough gentleman, and very soft spoken. I was always a fan of his writings. I also always felt that he was not properly recognised by the people in power. When I wrote about Mrs. Y. G Parthasarathy, in this blog about not recognising her services by Central Government, within few days She got "Padma" award. I only wish that sentiment works in Raa. Ki's case also.

When I read about him in THE HINDU, I wanted to share with you all, this article, since many might have missed or not read it. Here is that article. Please read it without fail to know something about an unsung hero.

He wanted to be a writer, would not settle for anything else. He achieved it and how! Ra.Ki. Rangarajan's body of work is simply amazing. Novels, short stories, translations… there is nothing that his pen has not explored. Social, mystery, period, ghost – Ra.Ki. adopts a different approach for each genre.

“You know, I wrote under at least ten pseudonyms,” chuckles Ra.Ki., who served Kumudam for over 40 years. “Those were golden years. We -- Ra.Ki., Punidhan and Ja.Ra. Sundaresan -- formed a trio that churned out whatever the editor S.A.P. Annamalai wanted for the week,” recalls the octogenarian. He repeatedly thanks SAP for everything – for making him read high-end literature, for nurturing his talent and above all for the trust he had in his writer. “He had such faith that he didn't bother to read the script before it went to press. This continued until his demise,” observes Ra.Ki. A huge portrait of the Kumudam editor occupies a prominent place in Ra.Ki.'s room at home.

“It was a close-knit family,” supplies wife Kamala. “To them, Kumudam was everything. Even family didn't matter,” she adds not without pride. “The editor's wish was their command.” In a notebook, she maintains a list of his books and contributions.
“Any good book - fiction or non-fiction - that SAP found worthy, would be on my table. The benefit was immense,” says the veteran, whose journey began as early as his sixteenth year.

“My father, R.V. Krishnamachari, was a great Sanskrit scholar, whose students included such illustrious persons as Devan, K.P. Rajagopalan and T.S. Parthasarathy. The world of letters beckoned and I responded, too young to weigh the pros and cons. I had my way after initial resistance from the elders.

Ra.Ki. joined Sakti Kariyalayam (where the Music Academy stands today) as sub-editor. Vai. Govindan, the editor, was a voracious reader, who inculcated in him the habit of reading, a trend that happily continued when he moved to Coimbatore to join Kaala Chakkaram, thanks to owner Pollachi Mahalingam, who brought books in suitcases. This stood him in good stead when he joined Kumudam. He had written short stories for Ananda Vikatan and Kalaimagal before his four-decade association with Kumudam started. ‘Avan,' a biographical work written in third person, vividly describes this phase.
Born and raised in Kumbakonam, the agraharam and the people provided ample fodder for the writer. Themes emerged endlessly, treatment fluent like the Cauvery. In fact, the river, its banks and the groves it watered make the backdrop for many of his stories. The narration, subtle humour running as a silver thread, brings alive characters -- chauvinistic men, gentle women with steel in their heart, children with their dreams, etc. ‘Kudumba-k-Kadhaigal' is a study in human psychology, the stories captivating the reader with their effortlessness.

   

Did he ever sweat it out? “Yes. For ‘Naan, Krishna Devarayan.' It was Kamal Haasan's wish that I translate ‘I, Claudius.' Instead, I chose to write a historical in first person.” Why Krishna Deva Raya? “Because not much has been written about him or the Vijayanagar Empire. He was one of  the greatest kings with many dimensions. It involved extensive research
visits to libraries, and discussions with historians and artists.”
Palace intrigue, adventure and romance make the novel racy. “I'm an admirer of Kalki and tried to emulate his style,” Ra.Ki explains.

How did translations happen? “Again it was SAP's brainwave. One day, he placed ‘Pappilon,' the English original, on my table and said, ‘This is first-rate literature. I want you to read it and translate it into Tamil. Let our readers get a taste of this marvellous account of adventure.' I was dumbstruck and my protests fell on deaf ears. Translate I did and it became a popular serial and was later published as a book.”

‘Pattampoochi' is absolutely riveting, the protagonist touching the reader with his innocence and air of intimacy. That Ra.Ki. went on to translate Sidney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer is another story. He regrets that he did not get to translate ‘Agni Siragugal' of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

His occult stories? “It was SAP, who coaxed me to try the genre. I spent days at the Theosophical Society library, reading up on the subject. ‘Angumingum' is a collection of essays.

Writers who inspired him?

Charles Dickens, Alexander Dumas and Jeffrey Archer in English. Kalki in Tamil. Ra.Ki. based his ‘Twist Kadhaigal' on Archer's famous short story collection.

What is this prolific writer doing at present? “Writing. But not stories. I lost that urge with the demise of SAP. Mention a theme and the story would be ready within hours. These days I contribute essays to Annanagar Times, the local weekly. And I watch cricket up to midnight.”

Recognition (even Kalaimamani has not come his way) for this prolific writer has not been commensurate with his talent or output. Ra.Ki. becomes serious. “What can I say? Sometimes I wonder whether it was a mistake to have written under so many pseudonyms. Perhaps that diluted the impact.”

In this context he has an anecdote to narrate. “Director Bhagyaraj visited me and just as he was leaving, expressed a desire to meet writer T. Duraiswamy. He was surprised when I said it was the name under which I wrote detective stories.”
The moment passes. “I enjoyed what I did. It was heady. The work was its reward, I guess,” he signs off cheerfully. A statement wife Kamala endorses with a warm smile and vigorous nod.

Brush with celebrities

Early years of journalism and writing won Rangarajan the acquaintance and friendship of many celebrities. Rajaji, C.P. Aditan, Periyasamy Thooran (remembered for his erudition, affection and soft spoken nature), Kannadasan, Valampuri Somanathan… the list is long. The late Sujatha held Ra.Ki. in high esteem, his foreword to ‘Pattampoochi' making it evident. “Kamalhaasan and I would spend hours discussing stories and scripts. He is a man with fertile imagination, only not all of it gets transferred to screen,” says Rangarajan.
G.V.
Pseudonyms
Surya, Hamsa, Duraiswamy, Krishnakumar, Malathi, Mulri, Vinodh. these are some of the names Ra.Ki. assumed.

Hemalatha said...

Dear Sir, Yes, Let us hope and pray that Ra. Ki. Sir also gets the honour that he well deserves. Thanks for bringing out the article for this generation. Regards

March 11, 2011 11:00 PM

An autobiography of a middle class man - 14

Kalaignar in 1970

Of late, Tamilnadu Chief Minister Mr. Karunanidhi's craze for publicity, is being discussed elaborately. in the media. People of all walks, except his "fans" feel sick of this attitude of shamelessly accepting accolades from everybody who speak in front of him and Psychologists even coined words for this phobia.

This reminds me of one of my experiences in this connection which I feel like sharing with you all. In the beginning of 1971, I accidentally became one of the founder secretary of a cultural organisation called "Apsaras" . In other words, it was a "Sabha" which was giving monthly three progrmmes to its members. It was a glorious period for Sabhas at Madras, and each one of them were competing with each other in giving the best performances in a month. All the programmes were conducted at Music academy and we had about 1500 permanent members. Our membership was going on premium and people were kept in wait list to get filled, if a member goes out of station. All the members were allotted permanent seats with numbers and if a seat becomes vacant on account of a member leaving the station, and if that seat was in the centre of the hall, people were prepared to give more money for that.

Within a short span of time "Apsaras" became the leading Sabha in the city, and it became a prestige for anybody to claim that he/she is a member of "Apsaras". Even the artist of various drama troupes and from cine field were eager to perform in our Sabha, and we were getting the dramas as second or third to be staged after they were inaugurated at Mylapore Fine arts Club, which had Mr. Rajagopal as secretary. On those days all the drama troupes from M/s. Manohar, K.Balachandar. Cho, Y.G P, Major Sundarrajan, Seshadri, Poornam Viswanathan and every body were inaugurating their dramas sentimentally at Mylapore Fine arts Club, because Mr. Rajagopal was the secretary. We used to get either second or third show, depending upon the availability of our date.

Apsaras was popular more because, we were giving innovative programmes to our members, apart from dramas and so all the cine artists were also interested in any programme we were organising. Many ministers, and politicians were regularly attending our programmes, which were novel and "something for the first time type." in the city.

Me introducing Vani Jairam

It was during this period the Hindi film " Guddi" was released and the song "Bol re pappi hara" was a big hit. The artist Ms. Vani Jayaram who rendered this song, happened to be sister in law of our Treasurer Mr. M.S. L. Narasimhan and so we jumped into the idea of presenting her and singing in Madras for the "first time". We knew the programme will be a big hit and we wanted to make that a big hit commercially also and so we organised for two days continuously: one day for our members and the other day for outsiders. The moment, we announced the programme, the response was so good; we decided to cash on the programme and get a big name for our organisation. We printed posters,designed by the then famous artist Bharani in 40x30 sizes and pasted them all over Madras City. I think this poster also got appreciation from Kumudam, the then very famous tamil weekly with a title " Indha vaara sirandha poster" (this week's best poster), which they started publishing every week, after we came with novel posters created by Bharani for all our programmes.

Ms. Vani Jairam honouring Bharani

Mr. Rajesh Khanna, the cine actor from Bombay who happened to be at Madras just 10 days before the programme and went back to Bombay and told Vani Jairam " Vaniji, the entire Madras city walls are with your posters from the Airport and wherever I went, I saw your face".

Observing the overwhelming response, we wanted to boost the image of our Sabha, by inviting Mr. Karunanidhi, who was the Chief minister then also, to preside over the function. Mr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy who was our President, who was also close to Kalaignar, talked to him and convinced him to preside over the function. Mr. Karunanidhi readily accepted to preside over "a function which is organised to felicitate a Tamil lady who took Bombay by storm and made Bombay to go mad with her fantastic voice."

Since the publicity for the programme started a fortnight before, we released two posters. one fifteen days before the programme and the second in 30 x 20 size, just before five days of the programme with added information that the Chief Minister will preside over the function. In our enthusiam and in anticipation of the success of the programme, we forgot one most important thing, specifically, because it did not strike to us.

On the early morning of the previous day of the programme, I received a call from Mr. M.A. M. Ramaswamy. "Hari ! What is this blunder you have done?" His tone was very annoyed and angry. I was surprised at his call at that early hour with such hurt and  asked him "What happened sir?" I also became nervous that something has gone wrong  and the whole programme is going to be affected.

He said, "There is no photo of Kalaignar in the posters pasted all over the city and only Ms. Vani Jairam's photo is there. Kalaignar is very upset and he refuses to come to the programme tomorrow."  I became terribly nervous, and my legs started shivering and I could not stand. I fumbled, " Oh ! I am terribly sorry. It did not strike to me. What can I do now sir?"

" I do not know what you will do ! By tonight posters with his photo should be pasted in the important points of the city."

"Oh ! I should design the posters and print it before 2.00 P.M and pay the fees in the corporation and get their seals on the posters. It is very difficult sir."

 " I do not know all these things. Do it immediately !" he banged the phone.

Artist Bharani who designs the posters, works through out the nights and goes to bed only after  4.00 A.M. He will never get up before 12.30 P.M. And he will never work on pressure. He does not care for any body, however big they are in cine field.  He used to dictate terms even to Mr. M.G.R. about the designs he make in the poster and once when he designed a long poster with matters on the top and in the bottom with vacant space in between, M.G.R asked him what should be done in the blank space. Bharani simply retorted " You lie down there !". Since M.G.R knows Bharani's talent and as he was indispensable in the field of designing, simply smiled and went away.

I rushed to Bharani's place, and he was in sound sleep. To wake him up is an ordeal and stupendous task, since he would have consumed six to ten bottles of beer the previous night. Any amount of shaking and calling "Bharani, Bharani" did not yield any result and there was not even a slightest movement. I was also afraid, if he gets irritated, it will be very difficult to make him work. Even though he was our best friend, he was a true artist. Nothing can force him. I was in my thirties then, and was about to break down. With great difficulty, whether Bharani opened his eyes or not, I told him the predicament I am in and in a broken voice told him that the future of Apsaras and mine is in danger. There was no movement from him. I was sitting by his side in the cot and go on repeating the same matter again and again. Nearly after two hours, he got up and that gave some relief to me. Still making him to work, was not in my hand. Bharani can never work, if you pressurise him, nor he will accept any suggestion. You will have to simply tell him the matter for design, and sit with him talking all the other subjects in the world, until he finishes the design on his own sweet time.

To be short, I got the design by 11.00 and rushed to the press, simultaneously instructing the poster pasting man to go to Corporation and pay the fees, and moving with every staff of the Litho press and got the posters printed. With all my tension and anxiety, I printed the poster in 12 x 10 size, and proceeded on my other works. On the night I saw the posters pasted every where, and got more than 100 posters pasted in Gopalapuram alone.

Next day morning I went to Chettinad palace proudly announced to Mr. M.A. M. Ramaswamy about successful execution of my job. He patted me and said "good" with a smile. Evening, we were waiting at the entrance of Music Academy, to receive the Chief Minister. As the clock was ticking, no sign of C.M and even the police were only usual without extra strength. As the programme was scheduled to start at 6.30. and seeing my anxiety, my President came near me, and put his hand around my shoulder, and said, " Hari ! you go inside and start the programme. C. M. will not come."

Me and Mr. M.A.M Ramaswamy waiting at the entrance of Music academy for C.M. The poster designed by Bharani is in the background

I looked at his face with a shock and said "Why? I did the job and got the posters pasted everywhere?"

Mr. M.A. M. Ramaswamy smiled and softly said, " but, the size of the poster was small !!!!!"
                                                                 ****

It is another story that the same Chief Minister came to  another programme of Apsaras, without a poster with his name, and spent three hours with us, which I will narrate later.

Hemalatha said...

Dear Sir, Looking forward to the other story when MK came to the other programme of Apsaras without a poster ! Thanks and Regards

December 7, 2010 8:50 PM

Blogger vaishnavi said...

sir,Eagerly waiting to read the other incident ....

May 10, 2011 9:36 PM
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An autobiography of a middle class man - 12

One reader of my blog with a name "Aalayam Thozhuvon" has sent me the links of my village Pavattakkudi  Sivan temple. I think he is doing doing services of renovating temples which are in dilapited conditions. He has not given any details about himself but simply stated that he visited Pavattakkudi and Thalaiyur. I am posting these photos here, so that many like me, who have no connection with Pavattakkudi may see and have mixed feelings of sorrow and happy..

( He has since identified himself as Kumbakonam Lakshminarayan.He has further furnished the following information. "Thank u HariSir, for quick response! The LINGAMSWAMI is in your mother's village[THALAIYUR],on the southurnside of agraharam,Sorry to say, it is still in the open area, i took the fotos only 2 days back, if u have any contacts there, please help us, at least to put a shed there, thanks.
If u need more in formation pl. contact me,
KUMBAKONAM-LAKSHMINARAYANAN,
9443714218,THANKING U ONCE AGAIN " )

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February 27, 2010 8:39 PM

An autobiograhy of a middle class man - chapter 11

In life, we come across many relations. But, the relationship of a sister is something always special to many.  Particularly to me, it was something very special and my sister Saroji was great in many ways as sister. In our close circle, we are called “Paasamalar” sister and brother.

Today on 14^th December, both my sisters were born, and today I celebrate for one and mourn for the other. Similarly, her death anniversary falls on the day her grandson was born. Perhaps even after her death she did not want me to suffer/or feel sorry on any day.

She was four years elder to me, and in our childhood, we did not live together much.  Since, my grandmother (father’s mother) was a “real”  mother in law to my mother, who got married at the age of fifteen and conceived  and gave birth to my sister, in the very next year. Life was miserable to my mother, and she continued to stay with my maternal grandparents, after she came home for delivery of my sister.  Thalaiyur, which was hardly two kilometers away from my father’s place Pavattakkudi, was home for my sister from childhood.

She never met my father for four years, and so, she was very much attached to my grandparents, uncles and aunts. After persuasions by elders, and promises given by my father, my mother went back to Pavattakkudi and continued the life with my father.  In the process, she conceived and delivered me next, followed by a younger sister and brother to me.

I do not remember anything of my younger day’s life with my elder sister, since she continued to grow with my maternal grandparents, even after my mother went back to our home. Then she proceeded with my maternal grandmother to Mayavaram for her studies along with her cousins.  I also went to Mayavaram to continue my school education. There were about seven or eight of us living under the supervision of my grandmother, and so there were no chances for very intimate or personal moments with my elder sister, except that she was my elder sister. The relationship in the group was uniform and special attachments were not visible as all of us moved as brothers and sisters.

After, few years, since all my senior cousins completed their high schools, it was decided to close down the establishment at Mayavaram, since the number is dwindled. My sister Saroji, after completing S.S.L.C at Girls High School, Mayavaram went to Hyderbad, along with my aunt (chiththi – Mother’s sister) to go for some job, as we were not financially well off.

I vaguely remember, any intimate relationship with my elder sister, even though we were very much attached to each other, and she was very supportive of me in that big group of youngsters. I remember her learning carnatic music. Also I remember once she dressed like Lord Budhdha in a fancy dress competition in her school. That dress and she, sitting like Budhdha, is still in my memory as a photo, even today I can see that before my eyes. ( This pose was always in my memory,  and used to make me forget her agitated moods, by coming into my mind)

She went to Hyderabad, and I went to my native place to continue my high school studies at Peralam. So another five years we were separated except meeting in summer vacations. Even then, she used to come and stay at Thalaiyur only along with my aunt’s children and uncles with my grandparents, since she had an aversion for my father. She developed an animosity towards my father, since she felt that my father did not protect my mother from the ill treatments given by my paternal grandmother. There was also a great psychological impact in her mind that my mother left her with my grandparents, and did not keep her with herself and looked after her. The childhood turmoil of her life made her to be a revolting child towards my parents, and her behaviours on account of that towards others warranted punishments from my mother quite often. These incidents further alienated her from my parents and her adolescent life was not very pleasant. She did not get full attention from my parents, and she had to live always as second citizen at my grandparents as well as Chiththi’s house, and the deprival of love and affection in her childhood and living with others at the adolescent age have played a major role in the formation of her character

Realisation of this aspect came to me after I became sixteen, and at the age of 18 I wrote a “Kural” குறள் in this respect.

அருமை மக்களை அயலாரிடமனுப்புதல் அழியா

வறுமை எனினும் வேண்டற் பாற்றன்று.

( Deputing your children to others is unwarranted even if you were in most difficult poverty)

My sister Saroji, was very intelligent and industrious and she wanted to work hard and help our poor family by going for a job. She learnt comptometer ( a machine used in seventies in offices for accounting purposes) and also got a job. She was twenty one when I went to Hyderbad. She was very matured, understood the implications of our family sufferings, very much interested in helping the family to come up as she was the eldest daughter.  During the period, we lived together in Hyderabad, which was once again cut short  due to some unexpected developments, we developed an intimacy, understanding, which blossomed into a great Sister- brother relationship between us.

When I reached Hyderabad, to continue my college studies, she was already employed in a small company as a comptometer assistant. We developed lot of intimacy. After coming from college, I will go to her office and wait outside, until she leaves her office, and walk down about three kilometers. We were talking for hours together in the evenings about us, our family, and our relatives and how to come up in life. She had lot of dreams,and most important one was, that she should make our parents live very comfortably with all luxuries in life. She wanted to work hard and even prepared to work overtimes to earn more money so that she can send as much as possible to our parents. She was dreaming that once I complete my graduation, we both will work and earn lot of money to make our parents happy. The poverty, the suffering of our family on account of poverty, which she came to know only after discussions with me, went very deep in her heart, and she resolved that she will sacrifice everything to make all of us very happy. Her aversion towards my father was also changing, and she repented that she hated him and she wanted to make good of the strained relation. (Mind you she never spoke to my father until then.) She even decided that she will postpone, the marriage as many years as possible, to work and earn and make us happy. This decision created problem immediately to us, and she was forced to resign her job within two months and sent to our native place.

That was a big setback to all our plans, and we were in a shock as all our dreams were shattered. Even though my mother wanted my sister to continue in the job, she was helpless as my auntie and uncle were not prepared to keep her in Hyderbad.

In that short period, I understood a lot about her. How she suffered in her life. How much she was longing for love from us, which she could not experience due to various circumstances, was well understood by me, and I decided that in rest of our life, I will have no other  business except showering my love towards her.

Her actions, which were misunderstood by people, were perfect to me, because, I could understand why she reacts in that way under the given circumstances, which is not acceptable by others. My support and love to her was well understood by her, and she believed that I am the only person who loved her without any difference of opinion on her actions and feelings. When everybody misunderstood her, I can understand, how justified her feelings were. She, in fact, loved everybody who came across in her life, and she will go all out to help them.  There are incidents; she went out of the way to help people. She appeared, to many people as miser, but she spent all her money on those she loved. She will save money by being herself restricted on spending, but she will spend on others without any restrictions. Every pie she saved, she has seen them are converted as a jewel to my mother. All the jewels my mother was wearing at the time of her death were given by my sister. She loved me more than anybody else in her life and I never wanted to live after her death. But I still exist, by suffering her absence in every moment of our life. I always wonder, Why I did not die, the moment I heard the news of her death and how could I survive so long. I always feel guilty and feel, perhaps she would have done that had the death happened to me first.

I feel that death did not come to me, because, I should give the love, what her children are missing now. That is what she would have wished.

She was great character, and her life will be interesting for many women to learn many things, particularly, loving people without getting/expecting much from them. The only curse was, she was taken away from us, when she had every chance of enjoying her life, with what she missed throughout her life. I will be writing a lot about her in this autobiography, because she played very important role in my life through out. Saroji! I am not able to mourn on your death anniversary any more, because, your grandson Ayaan is born on this day. Now, I will cherish your birthdays always, as they are one of the very important days in our life. Because this is the day a lady was born to prove to the world, to what extent one can love a brother. And I will love to live for more number of years to spread this news.

Meenakshi Raman said...

Dear Hari Mama,Surprising to see a different dimention of saroji perima. She is really a wonderful personality. When ever i met her,I used to think that she may get angry at any time, so i must be careful when i talk to her.With this perception, probably i failed to understand her in a right way.Don't know how, Rasika used to love her too much and whenever we went to Bombay,she prefered spending time with Saroji perima only. She also read your autobiography and said, "There is a unique nature in me, my mom and saroji patti. That is.... FIGHTING AGAINST THE NATURE."With love,Meena.

December 30, 2009 11:31 PM

AALAYAM THOZHUVOM said...

Sir, nowadays we cant find such close intimate relationship!In thosedays daughter-in-laws ,, suffered, it is a pity,Just two days back i visited both paavaatttakudi &Thalaiyur!

February 27, 2010 2:12 PM

sudhama said...

uncle Hari i was thinking i know about u bot now i understand how much i don't know about u.I have seen u in my child hood days always smiling but when you r in grief due to your departed sister i have no words to console u.

March 28, 2010 1:27 PM

hvaidya said...

Thank you Sudhama for kind and nice words! I miss her 24x7 and nothing on earth is able to console me when I miss her; Not even your nice words.But your words did touch my heart since they are from your heart.

March 28, 2010 5:17 PM

slakshminarayanan said...

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July 2, 2010 5:50 PM

   

An autobiograhy of a middle class man - chapter 10

While, for thousands of people she is fondly known as "Mrs YGP," I had the privilege of calling her as "Manni" (elder brother's wife) and she used to call me with lot of affection "ennada Hari." Even though my close association with her for a short period of four to five years, there are lot of things I learned from her. Meticulous planning was the most important thing in my life. Mrs and Mrs. YGP on my son's ( the child who is in the chair) first birthday

We used to go to their house quite often for discussion on planning and execution of various programmes which are of different nature. We will be offered always to eat something according to the time, we are there, and coffee and tea will flow in unlimited quantity, irrespective of the number we are in.

She used to take lot of liberties with us and used to encourage at our adventures. Whenever there is no drama, they both will come to our programmes without fail. They used to contribute lot of suggestions before the programme and after the programme, without any reservation, offer their comments, if there was any lacuna in our perfection, so that we do not commit such mistakes again.

Normally, they were very happy with our organising skills, and making even an ordinary drama a great occassion for the troupes as well as audience. If they think of something new, they used to call us and suggest that we should do such programmes. They gave us lot of contacts for the success of our programmes, and wherever necessary Annaa or Manni themselves will talk to the concerned artists and will instruct them to extend their fullest cooperation to us. We used to advertise as " Apsaras, not a sabha, but an experience". They both will quote this after all the programmes " Dei, you justified your advertisement."

Many executives of other Sabhas, used to envy at the intimacy they were maintaining with us and used to blame them ," Why you are always giving good ideas to Apsaras?". There are many high profile artists and people contributed a lot, for our success and to be in the top: but the role played by Mrs & Mr. YGP's was exceptional with a personal touch in it.

I was honoured when they both came to bless my son on his first birthday, and it is always in the corner of my heart, that "Manni's" blessing to him, at that age, is one of the reasons for his brilliant academic carrier.

Her contributions to the academic pride of Madras ( Chennai) city is incomparable. Starting with few students and growing as a great banyan tree with such a standard and reputation, PSBB is an example of her dedication to education. Please read this link to know more about her.

I was inspired to write about her and remembered her when I saw the news that she has been honoured with an award of The Achievement medal for leadership and commitment to excellence in education presented in Cambridge, Massachusetes by the Centre of Excellence in Education.

I regret that the Governement of India has not recognised the noble services she is rendering, which is no way inferior to Mother Theresa's services, by honouring her with highest award of the nation. Will the authorities wake up?

An autobiograhy of a middle class man - chapter 9

Kunnakkudi vaidyanathan and Valayapatti subramanian came to my memory, when I attended

Dr. Narmadha and Injikkudi Subramanian's concert on 15th August 2009 organised by www. sangeethapriya.org at Raga sudha hall, Mylapore. Kunnakkudi and myself became very close friends, after we have organised " Kunnakkudi night" under the banner of Apsaras. Apsaras was a cultural organisation started on August 17th, 1972, with me as one of the founder secretaries, the other being my cousin K.S. Natarajan, an advocate. Mr. M.A.M Ramaswamy was our president, while Ms. Jayalalitha,

(me and Ms. Jayalalitha discussing about the speech to be delivered by her)

the present General secretary of AIADMK was one of our active Vice President along with Cine Director C.V. Rajendran, T. S. Krishnan, an advocate, T.R.S ( son of Mr. Ramanujam of Shanmugananda sabha, Bombay) and Late Dr. Jagadisan as other vice presidents. Mr. M. S. L. Narasimhan was our Treasurer.

Kunnakkudi night was a light music programme with Kunnakkudi conducting the orchestra, and the special feature of that programme was Ms. Jayalalitha singing for the first time on the stage. All our programmes conducted at Music Academy and this was a full house show. Kunnakkudy was so much impressed with the arrangements of the function with stage setting, publicity etc., has treated me like a younger brother and was more or less in touch with me every alternative day.

One day, when I was talking to him, I suggested that I like to do a novel programme with him which nobody has done so far. We were discussing various aspects of this programme and finally concluded "the violin with Thavil". Kunnakkudi roped in Valiapatti Subramanian. I attended one of their rehearsals and thought this programme will be a big bang and with our press meets and publicity, I concluded that Music Academy may not be sufficient to meet the expectation of public. Kunnakkudi, me, Music Academy Natarajan and A.
V. Meyyappan. See how Kunnakkudi is respecting AVM

So We inaugurated the programme at Raja Annamalai Hall in Parrys corner, chennai, in the morning and conducted the programme in the evening at Music academy. It was a big hit, and Kunnakkudi and Valiapatti continued to do this programme for more than 3000 times all over the Tamilnadu and other places.

I am writing this because, a similar programme, went unnoticed with hardly 100 and odd people as audience, is injustice to the artists and to this great music. It might have satisfied the ego of organisers, and few people, but it is unfair, that this excellent programme was not heard by many. Perhaps, this programme will be uploaded in www. sangeethapriya.org and few more will download and enjoy this. Yet, it will not be a justification for the efforts taken by artists, if that do not reach more number of people. Any art which is not reaching as many people as possible, is becoming a waste, and it gives immense pleasure when it is shared by more number of people, not only to the artists but also to the listeners.

When I hear or see something good, immediately, I feel like sharing with my friends and relatives and I think this is the nature of many human beings. I feel sad when my friends and relatives miss something wonderful I experienced.

Kunnakkudi was not only a great artist but was also a great human being. He never missed to mention my name when ever he had an opportunity to talk about this combination and acknowledged it even print and television media. Five months before his death he was giving a violin performance at one of my relative's family function and he was not aware that I will be present. When he saw me there he called me to the stage and introduced me to the audience as the one who initiated their combination and paid encomiums to my great embarrassment. His one unfulfilled ambition was to give programmes at USA and I promised him in July 2008 that I will organise it, before my short visit to USA. He clapped his hand like a child ( which is one of hs mannerisms when he is very happy) and said "பேஷ், பேஷ், நீங்கதான் சரியான ஆளு ஹரிஹரன். arrange பண்ணுங்க. ஓஹொண்ணு பண்ணுவோம்" " You are the right person Hariharan. Please arrange it we will do it wonderfully". He had so much confidence in me. I heard the news at Sanfransisco, that he passed away. I will also die with the disappointment of not doing this in my life. I could not even pay my last respects personally to one of my best friends.

me, M.S.L, Kunnakkudi, Dr. Jagadisan, and Valiapatti after programme

An autobiography of a middle class man - Chapter 8

M.S.Subbalakshmi, Sadasivam and me(1973)


The activities encouraged by my mother and to some extent by my father has developed a leadership quality in me and that has emerged in my younger days by various activities in the village. Automatically, I was the leader and organiser of many functions in my village. If it is Sivarathri ( the birthday of Lord Siva ) or Srijayanthi ( the birthday of Lord Krishna ), it was me, who organised the sleepless night. {It means no child in Agrahaaram ( the name of the street, where only brahmins lived) will sleep during the night}. We cannot think of any money being pooled to celebrate the whole night with some entertainment. So we used to go to every house to collect rice, jaggery to cook சக்கரை பொங்கல் (rice cooked with jaggery) and oil to burn the lamps. All the housewives in Agrahaaram will liberally contribute and the sleepless night will be celebrated only in my house. My parents never thought this assembly as a disturbance to them. Since these two days will not come during the school vacations, I cannot plan dramas to be enacted. So the night will be filled with songs and indoor games and elder kids teasing the younger kids who could not control their sleep. However, maximum by 1.00 or 2.00 A.M most of us will be fast asleep, and next day being school holiday (they declare holdiay because the kids will not be able to come, because of the sleepless night) we will be discussing who slept first, and who could keep himself/herself awake. The beautiful part will be that every kid will be claiming to the kid who slept early, that he or she did not sleep whole night.

My mother used to involve us very actively during Navaraathri ( Dusseraa) to arrange the toys, and making Cardboard buildings, and welcome boards etc. Big நல்வரவு (Welcome) will be written in big white papers and cut by every letter , and transparent colour sheets will be pasted in the cuttings and small oil lamps will be kept behind each letter for the letters to glow.

A tank permanently constructed in the floor, which will remain closed all the other days except these nine days, will be filled with water and my younger brother will fetch small fishes from the village tank and put them in our tank. This tank will look like a temple tank with steps in all the four sides.

A park will be constructed, by the side of the tank with toy benches placed around the park. If the relevant toys are not availble, it will be made with paper and placed.

I am writing these things, because, even though we were not having the facilities what we are having today, the imagination and enthusiasm were not curtailed. At the age of 12 or 13 I used to construct drama stage with benches borrowed from various houses, and bedsheets collected from every actor's house will be the curtains. I used to be the incharge of story, screen play, dialogue and direction apart from acting as hero. We never had any facility for records, tapes or any other modern equipments to learn the songs and we used to hear the song only once while seeing movies, and they will be rendered in the dramas at appropriate places. My mother never fails to purchase the song book of every movie we see to enable us to memorise the songs. Invariably in all the dramas, the king will ask, the minister, "மந்திரியாரே ! மாதம் மும்மாரி மழை பொழிகிறதா?" (Dear Minister! Is it raining three times in a month?).

In the whole village only one house used to have a petromax ( a lamp with air/gas filled mantle)lamp and the owner will never refuse to lent it to us. Either my father or our servant will light it filling with kerosene and later pumping it with air.

My biggest achivement in the art of drama, was to act as heroine in a drama staged by my uncle, when I was 15 years old, with full settings and make up before an audience of more than thousand villagers in and around our village. My entry to the stage was with myself singing M.L. Vasanthakumari's famous song "கொஞ்சும் புறாவே" "Konjum puraave". which I can never forget. People were anouncing money to me for my acting, (மொய் எழுதுவது)which was a habit in villages.
Even though, I could manage some wonderful shows in Madras city, in 70s with lot of facility and help from experts, these initial training, to conduct shows with constrained facilities to make it successful and appreciable was the foundation, during this period.

,

An autobiography of a middle class man - chapter 7

Those who were born in 1930s and 40s and still living and enjoying the developments of the world are the luckiest persons of all generations, because of the experiences they have encountered in their life. This is the generation which has started mostly their life in undeveloped villages, without any facility, and seen all the luxuries and comforts available in today's world. Even those who had money could not have this much of exposure.

I was born in 1942 in a village called Pavattakkudi in Tanjore District, Tamilnadu. This village. where I was born was most under developed then, without any proper road, not even a metal road, leave aside asphalt topped or cemented. When we are enjoying air condition in every room now, we did not have even electricity on our school days. No toilets, no bath rooms, in any house. There were no taps and we never hesitated to drink open well waters, river and tank waters, where people were bathing, washing their clothes and even cleaning after toileting. Buffaloes, bulls and cows were cleaned on one side of the tank, men and women were bathing on the other side, simultaneously, washing their clothes and some were cleaning their backside after toileting and many other activities were going on in the tank, which was at the entry point of our village. To imagine those things now, may be scaring, but we were taking these things casual without any hesitations or reservations.

While battery operated tooth brushes are used today, we knew nothing about tooth paste or brush. We were mostly cleaning our teeth either with a neem tree stick or ashes from the kitchens and our index finger was the brush. We get up in the morning and walk away from our homes to the nearby paddy fields to pass our motions. If it is cultivation days, and the fields were having crops, either the ridges of the fields or some uncultivated tank bounds are used for this purpose.

There used to be lot of trees with thorns in these places and to walk there without thorns piercing your foot or not placing your foot on shit is really an exercise apart from finding a place without shit for us to sit and complete the process.

Immediately, after this we used to jump into the tank and take bath. We never used any soap except rubbing our body forcibly with our hands to clear the dust and dirt if any. This type of bath made us experts in swimming. No boy or girl was taught swimming in our village, but it came automatically to us like fish. We used to do all sort of swimming, what you see now a days in LCD TVs by Olympic champions, on those days without any effort. We used to do another special feet, which even Olympic swimmers are not doing. We will swim across rivers, when we were going to our school by walk, by holding our book bags in one hand above the water. Only one hand and legs alone were used to swim across tthe river with medium current. There were some boys who used to have his younger brother or sister on his back in addition to the book bags.


After bath we wash our half pant ( most of us will not be wearing shirts except while going to school) and walk back home. These half pants generally made in khaki or dark blue colours, will not have any buttons, after three or four washings. We used to tie the half pant with their one and half end and walk. Few of us who were trying to become sophisticated, used to borrow safety pins from our mothers and pin the button joining end.

We were not used to any under garments and do not even press our school dress (which were not uniforms). Occasionally, we used to put some heated charcoal in a vessel which has a flat base and move it over the shirt after spraying some water on it, or fold them and keep them under pillow, while sleeping to remove the shrinkage, which used to be to the worst possible condition, due to the maximum twisting to remove the water after washing. Washing the dress means only hitting them repeatedly with force on a rocky stone which was the cause for losing the buttons in two three washings.

Coffee was a luxury to many families in the village, but in our home, there was no problem for that. My father was a coffee addict, and the coffee seed is the one thing, he will get some how or the other. I used to wonder, where from he gets the money for this alone. We may not have many provisions at home, but, never without coffee seeds. My mother used to roast it and my father with lot of love in his face, meticulously grind with hand, the seed to powder in a small machine fitted in a small table.

We used to drink coffee on those days only after praying to all known Gods, by uttering their names as our guard (துணை) unlike bed coffee or with newspaper, now a days.. Most of the days the rice cooked previous day soaked in water in the night, mixed with curd will be our breakfast. (This photo was taken with my younger sister and brother at Peralam. We applied lot of powder and walked four miles in hot sun around 2.00 P.M and all the way ladies in many villages , were calling their friends to see us and cracking some jokes among themselves. See my sister's hands. She applied nail polish and thought it will be displayed in the photo not realising it was going to be a black and white photo. That was the peak of our innocence. May be ignorance also. )

With all the poverty and suffering, my mother used to make dosas quite often, since my father goes to the field after drinking about half or more of a litre of coffee. There was no problem for milk, curd and ghee at home, since we were owning cows and buffaloes. There were days we used to have ghee for chilly powder with curd rice ( this was always cooked fresh ) for lunch, since we might have not got oil at home, and I used to feel proud, when my school friends say, " Hi ! this fellow is very rich. Having ghee for "Milagaai podi" (chilly powder)."

My mother used to make very soooft [ because of mixing more black gram and fenugreek seeds (வெந்தயம்)] but thick dosas with ghee ( once again due to non availability of oil) and will send to my father who will be in the field supervising labourers, not less than 25 or 30 dosas. My younger brother was always very fast and my sister will also start very quickly. Most of the days, I will be starting late, waiting for the school fee ( since I was in High school ) or for money to purchase some books or note books, not understanding that the money is not going to come, just because I stay, cry or beg my mother. After, all my efforts are exhausted, I will start very late, and by the time I just cross the border of my village, wiping the tears from my eyes, my class teacher Mr. Amirtham, who was also from my village, will be overtaking me by cycle. He will reach the school in time, because of cycling and mark me present in the attendance. I will reach school, just before the completion of the first period

We used to walk to the school at Peralam, which was about four miles away from our village. Chappals or shoes were unimaginable on those days. School had mostly thatched roofs. for the classes and only Head master's room was with tiles. The school was having co-education system, that means admission for both boys and girls. In a class of 40 students, only 10 or 12 were girls.

( to be continued )

An autobiography of a middle class man - Chapter 6

Amma, the most beautiful

Amma!

They say “God could not be there everywhere and so he created Mother. “ But to me, God was you. After the age of sixteen, when I started to think on my own, I never prayed to any God, never went to any temple, because, God was with me laughing, crying, fighting, loving, blessing and lived with me in every step of my life.

Even though you left me physically exactly two years ago on this date, even now,when the carpenter comes to do some work at home, electrician to attend some errand, you are there, and I was giving instructions to them as per your suggestions.Your involvement, in every activity of our life, continues to be there, and that is why

I do not believe that there is one thing called “death.” People whom we love and those who love us never die.

Only for those who believe in the body, not in soul, death happens.

It is from you, that I have learned to love all the human beings in the world and I will continue to do that as a legacy from you.. I will try to follow what all you taught me. But in a retired life, living with Prema alone, I am not doing anything except one lesson you taught me. That is to love everybody, whom I come across and help in what ever capacity I can. Instead of me writing about you, I wanted to hear about you this day from all your kith and kin and here are some of their comments, which we have not expressed in these words when you were with us.

This is what Prema ( my wife ) wrote:

I have lived with Amma for 37 years. I had the fortune of spending many moments with her in a happy, personal and intimate relationship through thick and thin. When I sit and think over what was my best days with her, I cannot think of any other time, except the entry of Arvind in our lives.
From the moment he was born until he was seventeen, all the three of us were dancing around him in the ecstacy of love. There was the rhyme and music of love of Arvind in what we thought, spoke and did in our everyday lives. The harmony in our actions could easily be compared to "thani avarthanam". We never came into clash with each other, on the other hand, we were always complimenting each other in the most unobtrusive manner. Amma's love for Arvind was so great, that, if she had one binding reason to strike a century here, it would be to nestle with him as and when possible. Who knows? She must be ready to charge into his and Pia's lives soon!

DearHari

after seeing your mail I had a great opportunity to go to the thinking process of all my days with amma. I cherished the entire memories . With the grace of god we had fine relationship throughout . Please excuse my english comunication if it is not up to the mark.

I admire her ambition in making me a career woman . After sslc she was very particular in me learning typewriting and short hand . She came along with me and Vijaya to Mayuram for the type writing exams . As soon as the call came from Hyderabad for the Bank Test, she became very active to start to Hyderabad and managed everything so fast . When my first attempt failed in the Bank interview, she was very upset. Fortunately Vaidheesa was there, to help me to get the job. Then only she was relaxed. In my life too, the career has helped me to achieve whatever I could . This forethought of hers has done a great deal to me .

Though there is always her warmth participation in my life, I felt this ambition of hers made my life worth.

with love

Brindha ( my sister )

This note is presented by Raj ( my sister's husband)

Abundant love she shared with her sibilings upto 4 generations

Memory power she possessed leading to small details of incidents in her life

Most loved person not only by her children and grand /great grand children but also by

most members of relatives.

Authentic in the matter of marriage, thread ceremony, religious functions and her loss left

us a deep hollow for any such consultations
*******

When I was asked to write about Paati, I thought where would I begin, how would I proceed and can I even end it. I realized it is very easy to write about oneself but not so easy to write about the most important person in your life. Yes, I said that in present tense as even today she is the most important person in my life.

Ok, where do I begin...........

There was a time(A long time) when I truly believed I could not live without her. A couple of things changed that perspective for me. The first obvious one was that life goes on and as you grow up you love a lot more people in the world than when you were younger. The second one was what Paati herself taught me and others, there are quite a few who love me and I need to live for them. For what she has gone thru in her life a lot of mere mortals like me would have given up much earlier, but she did not because she realized that there are others who needed her love and affection and will always return the same to her.

It has been two years since she has gone to heaven but for me she was heaven. Why? This is why,

As an infant I would refuse to eat or throw up after eating. Appa and amma left me with Paati and the result was there for all to see. From then till now she has always been and will be my guardian angel.

Whatever I did, however I fared in school, she never questioned me or scolded me. She always had this inner confidence that when time comes I will live upto her expectations and always believed that appa will not need to open a tea shop or I need to work for a mechanic.

All I needed was to study under her for 12 days to complete ICWAI and her magic worked on me too. A lot of people were surprised that 12 days was enough but they did not know Paati’s magic.

Not many people even today go to Chennai for Summer fun. For me that was and is still heaven.

Even the best time I would have with Appa would be linked to her. The day she goes back to Madras we would have a bonding time going to the movies(just the two of us).

Never once she hesitated to tell me stories of her life or any other story I might ask her for.

Can somebody stop these tears ……..

We all know where my passion for movies and music came from.

When I wanted to marry Renu all she did was see the photo and approve and was behind me supporting me like a rock along with Perima. Not because she liked or loved Renu(which she did later) but because it was something I wanted. During that phase when I lost weight and stopped listening to music, not one word was uttered to me, only Renu got “Yen peranai padithitea. Paatu kekkardhu koodea niruthitaan”.

Can somebody stop these tears ……..

I have never felt so happy and proud in my life as I felt when Siddharth and Paati repeated history again for one year in Belmont. That way he is the luckiest Kollu peran with Arvind being the luckiest peran. During that time I could visualize why I never wanted to go home with Appa in Chikkadpally even if I parked myself on some hot stuff on the stove.

My favorite

Movie – Mozhi

Food – Murugan Idly

City – Madras

Sweet – Sojji

Chocolate – Lindt

Pastime - Movies

Holidays – Summer

If I am reborn I would again be her grandson and may be next time from the Paternal side so that I will not need summer vacations to be with her.

As I said in the beginning I did not know where to start and where to end. I can go on and on and still only scratch the surface. For now I will forcibly stop myself so that I will again get the opportunity to write about Paati and cherish her life again.

One last word though. Whenever someone came up with bad news over the last 42 years Amma would fear that something is wrong with Paati’s health and my heart would skip a few beats. In the last two years none of this happens. On one hand I am happy that she is in heaven but on the other I would love to skip a few more heart beats knowing that she is still there for me…….

Can somebody stop these tears ……..

She was not only my Paati but Paati to all in my generation and the one after.

“We’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us”

– from Benjamin Button

As far as Paati is concerned I knew how important she was for me the moment she laid her eyes on me

Can somebody stop these tears ……..

To be continued…………

Love

Sendhil

(Her Chella Peran)

(my sister's son)

Paati to me personifies patience. Every time I loose it (and I have the time to ponder) I think about Paati. She will always remain my source of inspiration on this and many more aspects of life. ( from Anandhi - my sister's daughter)

Hello periappa,

Hoz u … thank u for the reminder. Regarding the most memorable incident with patti would be, the day she landed in chennai to attended my son’s punyajanam ( Feb 01, 2002) against all odds. It showed her strong relationship & love for her great grandson. That day she taught me that If you are right…. Fight for it boldly… no matter if the whole world is against you. Nothing is greater than Love is what she showed in action.

Last but not the least….. what ever I’m today after the birth of my son is ‘cause of her. It was her special care in seeing that I had the right diet so that I gained my physical & mental strength for take on with life further.

For sure I really miss her for Braddy’s b’day, grand old lady of our family.

With luv
Ramya.( My brother's daughter)

Dear Mama,

Here are some of my thoughts:

My conversations with Paati would always be like banter, chit-chat and always tinged with some mischief, always teasing each other and repartees on either side. I don't remember ever having a serious conversation with her! I mean it was not always like that, but for the most part it was like talking with a friend. I know she considered me to be a non-stop talker and would say that I am a big loddu – loddu. (he means loda loda) There were periods in the 90s when she would come and stay in Bombay for extended periods, which were the times I got to know her the best. Most of the days it will only be me, Amma and paati (as Anna would be working late or traveling) and the conversations between mother and daughter, especially their fights would be very entertaining!

The best part of Paati - and I would say the same for Amma - is how progressive she was in her thinking, and very open minded. And I can vouch for that from seeing other older people (like my friends parents, grandparents) who would still cling on to things from the past and let that cloud their thinking. I would say that came from the amount of reading Paati did and for that I would have to thank her. For, because she realized the importance of reading ,that it was passed on to her children who in turn inculcated their children with this habit.

Another thing that I came to admire about Paati is despite all the hardships that she had gone through in life, you would never hear her complain or whine about it even once. I wish I could be even a little bit like that. And the best part of course were the stories that she would tell me about the village and our family history, stories about her father, grandfather, some cousin who owned a shop and refused credit, another uncle who would throw chappals at his wife and many more.

Best

Abhi ( My elder sister's son )

When Hari mama asked me to write down a few things about Paati that touched me the most. I thought, that is easy, and said that I will have it out to him as soon as possible. It has been a week I think, and I am still lost as where to start.

I lost my grandparents( both mom’s and dad’s) very early in my childhood . I haven’t had the fortune of enjoying the unconditional love and caring of a grandparent and Paati filled that void with more than I had ever expected. She accepted me as her own grandchild and showered me with her love and affection.

She was engaged with me 100% whenever we had a conversation and remembered every single detail and followed up if there was a need to. She showed that she really cared with her gestures and actions.

She taught me how to cook. Yes, from the basics; Cooking 101 lessons J . She was a great cook and I soon became her Sishyaii. I soon realized I had a passion for cooking and she encouraged me and would gladly and fearlessly taste my recipes. She was my first fan and I was thrilled about it.

She was always quick to laugh and always blessed that I keep smiling at all times.

She has captured many a hearts including my mom’s and my children’s. I am truly fortunate that my kids ,my husband and I have some wonderful, priceless memories of their great grandmother, our grandmother “ Pattu Paati” – the one and only !!!

Luv

Renu- ( Sendhil's wife )

How do I even start writing a few sentences on someone who has shaped me to be who I am? For the 17 years that I was at home, she was a constant presence - staying up with me when I was studying, waiting for me with my favorite dishes as I returned from school, taking me to Hyderabad and Bombay for each vacation ensuring that even though I was an only child, I would stay connected to her other grandchildren who would be more like siblings than cousins - I could go on forever. Even after I left home, nothing seemed to change - she was always there waiting for me whether I was returning from the IIT hostel or from the US.

My last conversation with her will remain an enduring memory. I was leaving for the US the next day and as usual we stayed up late into the night, talking. It had been a rough year and I felt that my career was in a rut. I had finally quit my job and was unsure of what I would do next. I was probably depressed but did not realize it at that time. We talked for a long time and I'm not sure she completely understood what I was saying. These were problems of a different generation - one that had the luxury of an urban, middle class upbringing, one that took for granted things that she could not even dream of. Yet in her own way, she made me realize that I had to act to change the situation. No one else was going to do it for me. I guess that was her parting gift.

by Arvind ( my son )

I thank you all for sharing your thoughts with me on this day,which gave me a feeling as though I was sitting with you and discussing about her. I share some more photos, which will bring her memories to our other relatives also.

Amma with four generations: Brindha is the only child of her, who has given this honour

Amma with her two sisters and a brother. She had one elder brother and three younger brothers, other than these two sisters






She would have asked any of us, without any hesitation, to sacrifice our life for Babu's sake

The two souls ( Amma and sister Saroji) who loved me a lot with the soul I love most.

Amma with Sushil ( My elder sister's son). She was always very proud of him.

chitra said...

This is from her niece who enjoyed her company many a time during my holidays in Madras and her stay in Mumbai.I always looked up to her for the way she loved one and all from the oldest to the youngest in our huge family. Like Abhi said her progressive thinking was experienced by me and Shakti in Hyderabad when we had all got together for Diwali in 1984. It was Thalaiyur Patti's shradham and Perima and Babu Mama together had decided not to perform it that year as Shakthi was with me (nonbrahmin).Their explanation was we would make the living happy then pleasing the dead soul. I would like to live like her, enjoy life to the fullest and go the way she went enjoying every moment with all her loved ones. Truly a happy soul she is. with lovechitra ( her sister Anu's daughter)

June 6, 2009 11:02 AM