An awesome lady I Adore......

Hi Bhargavi,
Sorry to drop in so late. An awesome tribute to an awesome lady! :thumbsup Hmm, just going down my memory lane to see when I met her first - ah, the aathichoodi in our Tamizh classes. In the true sense, she is the one who taught us the basics of Tamizh via the Aathichoodi. And then, my first fancy dress costume was that of Avvaiyar - you know, its such a simple costume - all you need is one white saree, some white powder, a bowl and a stick. My tryst with her started at the age of 4. Apart from her simplicity, what attracted me more towards her was her devotion to Lord Ganesha - my fav God is Ganesha too and many a times in my childhood I have prayed to Him to make me as He made avvaiyar. :hide: And who can forget the simple prayer which is taught to kids:

"Paalum theLiThEnum paagum paruppum ivai
Naangum kalandhunakku naan tharuven - kolamsei
Thungak karimugathu thoomaNiyE nee enakku
Sangath tamizh moondrum thaa."

A rough translation :
"Oh purest of gems, the Lord with the Elephant face!
I offer thee this mixture of
Milk, clear(& pure) honey, jaggery and cereals
Grant me in all your Grace
the knowledge of the 3 Sanga Tamizhs [Iyal, Isai, Naadagam]."

Her Kural on Thirukkural:
"Anuvaith thulaithezh kaladai pugatti kurugath tharitha kural" - To split the atom, pour the vast ocean (of knowledge) into it and formed in its essence, that is the Thirukkural. How she has explained the brevity and depth of the Thirukkural in so few words!!!!

I can go on and on about our very own Tamizh grandmother Avvai Paati, but let me close this post with a personal favourite of mine:

"Nellukku iraitha neer vaaikaal vazhiyodi
Pulukkum ange pusiyumaam - tholulagil
Nallaar oruvar uLarel avar poruttu
Ellarkkum peiyyum mazhai"

Which roughly translates to:

The water which is being watered to the paddy fields, flows in excess through the drains and nourishes the grass; Likewise, in this Old world, if there is even 1 good person, then for that person's wellbeing, the skies would open up and shower Rain for everybody.

Thank you for such a lovely thread, Bhargavi! :thumbsup

 

Bhargavi, I didnt expect that you end up with our avvaiyar..she is such a respectable woman..
I came to know some extra info about her from your sweet writings..thanks for a great post like this..
And I too join with you in praising her..Hats off to that lovely lady..
BTW, whenever I think abt Avvaiyar, KB Sundarambal face would be flashed in my mind

 

This s my favourite too Kottravai..

Sorry Bhargavi, for barging in...

 

Bhargavi
Thank you for writing about this great lady. I admire her too not only because she was a visionary but according to me she was one the women whom Subramani Bharathiar would have called, "Pudhumai Penn" (modern woman)- very broad and forward thinking in her outlook, yet not crossing the line of good behaviour that every woman should possess.
If only we can follow her teachings and live, life will be much meaningful.
That lady had class!
Thank you for writing about her.