A Tribute to Paatti -Grandmom

A Tribute to Paatti-grandmom

Lovingly as I call Paatti and our home as forty two ninety nine (that’s the number of the home)- I remember you as an Aishwarya Rai in that navy blue double side bordered parrot green silk madisaar which you willingly bought from one of the oldest shops in Chennai with your slim and tall stature and the eight -anna size kumkum adorning your forehead.. How gently and carefully you used Saibol before placing No.4 Sugandha Kungumam..

Will I ever get your gentle nature paatti.. ?

With house full of your sons, daughters, grandson and granddaughters you shouldered up all the chores and the only job that you gave your ‘pethis’ (my sister and myself) was to collect pavalamalli (I remember you shaking the tree with your tender hands) and chembarathai and colored December flowers for us ..in two large baskets and the patience to part it all with your audent neighbour as you refer as ‘doctor aathu mamikku kudu’.. I used to wonder why Paati should share the flowers as she has all along taken pains to water, dig pits for natural manure and clean around.. But now I realize how considerate you have been..

Before Diwali and before all of your heirs could arrive, you welcome them with tins of homemade savories just like the flowers blooming welcoming the Spring your handmade savory-filled ‘thookkus’ hanging on the String of bar in a row safeguarding from ants! We all know the first two small bronze (vengalam) thookku would contain sweets and the rest full of thenkuzal, ribbon pakoda, kai murukku, manoharam (thanjavur pattern) and thattai..Not to tell of the diwali Leghyam prepared by you and the plan executed by collected all the “saamaan” for leghyam well before..

Will I ever get that energy?

I cant forget the incident before a Diwali wherein the Bombay halwa which you attempted took avatar of Mysore Pak.. and the blush which you got when all of us laughed..

Summers are fun with yourself busy making vadams using riceflour, sago, ulundu mavu etc.. Ourself anxiously waiting for those delicious half-dried vadaams and eating it all in a jiffy only to have a terrible stomach upset waiting for your kashaaya marundhu. I still think of your possessiveness towards your son (my dad) hiding a ball of ‘vadaathu maavu’ fortified with extra chilli paste and lemon juice..

Remembering one more funny incident..

My paatti used to prepare kadalai urundai for which she has dried up the groundnuts in the courtyard.. Paatti had a habit of taking rest sort of nap in a palagaai (wooden board) drying her long grey hair spreaded over the palagaai with a copy of bounded old edition of “Kanaiyazhi”. She was doing so that day and suddenly she heard noise of somebody breaking groundnuts. For she knew my mom liked those raw groundnuts she kept on saying “Seetha do not eat them. It will upset your stomach”. But the noise continued and she rose only to find two mischievous monkeys right above eating those dried groundnuts. She screamed in panic and my thatha (who has just been from his court) rushed with a stick and it seems the monkeys ran as soon as they saw my thaatha (grandfather) and my Paati used to say “even monkeys are afraid of your thaatha”.. My thatha used to be a terror and he would know even if 1 anna is missing from the cups which he used to place on his round office table..

Will my son ever have such funny experiences?

Paati your kaivaidhyam is kankanda marundhu for us.. Once we all gathered for half-yearly holidays and being December all of us caught terrible cold. All the cousins were sleeping together with jute sack covering each one of us.. Early in the morning I didn’t get sleep and waked up my cousin and said “I felt something hot on my head in the midnight” Immediately she said she too have felt it. We were talking in the dark for sometime and went fast asleep when we heard my thatha waking up by 4 in the morning to start of the veneer (hot water) vembaa (boiler). Once dawn all of us woke up only to find a “herbal pathu” glued hard to all of our foreheads.. and It was then we understood that it was my paatti who made us feel something hot on our heads..

Now my head and heart too feel hot for missing you paatti..

Paatti if you have been with me today I will for sure made you logged into Indusladies.com and become an active ILite paatti..

I pray God should be much more considerate with all the paattis who are our living legends..and the real treasure of experiences..

Tributes
Lakshmi

Dear Lakshmi,
It is very encouraging to see a Peythi paying tributes to her Patti. Hats off to you. She will be proud of you..wherever she is!
I wonder if I will ever be able to be as energetic as your Paatti or mine..
Regards
USHA

dEar lakshmi,

a nice tribute to your paati...brought back memories of my grandmom too...her enthusiasm and cheerfullness in the midst of so many hardships is worth writing...we will never have that kind of energy...

MINDI

Dear Lakshmi,

A beautiful, heart warming tribute from a Pethi to Paatti. Your Patti is really blessed to have you as her Pethi.

A beautiful narration taking us back thru the memory lane.

I pray God should be much more considerate with all the paattis who are our living legends..and the real treasure of experiences

These lines are very true Lakshmi. Keep more coming.

Originally Posted by Ushakrishnan64

Dear Lakshmi,
It is very encouraging to see a Peythi paying tributes to her Patti. Hats off to you. She will be proud of you..wherever she is!
I wonder if I will ever be able to be as energetic as your Paatti or mine..
Regards
USHA

Dear Usha

Thanx for those words but I feel sorry to say she has reached the heavenly abode of God..

Thanks
Lakshmi

Originally Posted by lalitha shivaguru

Dear Lakshmi,

A beautiful, heart warming tribute from a Pethi to Paatti. Your Patti is really blessed to have you as her Pethi.

A beautiful narration taking us back thru the memory lane.



These lines are very true Lakshmi. Keep more coming.

Dear Lalitha

I thank you for these and I think all the granddaughters will have such sweet memories with their beloved grannies.. I wish I could read all of them..

luv
Lakshmi

Dear Lakshmi,

Lovely splendid tribute to your Patti. Loved it.
Remided me of my Ammumma .I had a very nice rapport with her.I was closer to her than I was to Mom.

Thanks for sharing it here Lakshmi.

Love,
Devika

Originally Posted by Mindian

dEar lakshmi,

a nice tribute to your paati...brought back memories of my grandmom too...her enthusiasm and cheerfullness in the midst of so many hardships is worth writing...we will never have that kind of energy...

MINDI

Dear Mindian

I just wanted to kindle those memories about their grannies of all our friends.. Of course they did have enough patience like that of Bhooma Devi Matha to bring up so many children of their own (while we struggle for one or at best 2) with strict financial borders.. gr8

thanks
Lakshmi

Originally Posted by Devika Menon

Dear Lakshmi,

Lovely splendid tribute to your Patti. Loved it.
Remided me of my Ammumma .I had a very nice rapport with her.I was closer to her than I was to Mom.

Thanks for sharing it here Lakshmi.

Love,
Devika

Dear DM

I have succeeded in my purpose of this write up.. I am glad that it reminded you of the sweet rapport that you had with your Ammumma.. The very thought would have made you feel warm.. right.. Dwell on with that wonderful feel friend..

luv
Lakshmi

Dear Lakshmi,

A beautiful tribute to Paatti. thanks for sharing it here.

love,
anu