CHAPTER 2- ONE UP FOR THE KALLIDAIKURICHIANS

 Around the year 1920 a lot was happening in the political landscape. The country had been seared by the bloodbath of Jallianswala Bagh. The winds of social awakening and political change were sweeping across the country. Men and women were quietly coming in batches onto the streets, braving vicious lathi charges, even firing and going about their job of waging a non violent silent battle for their motherland. But deep, down south, in the quiet town of kallidaikurichi, away from the hurly burly of politics, life went on at an unhurried pace. Men tended the land while the womenfolk washed and cooked and young girls played Hop- Scotch on the river banks.

Elsewhere in a house in Vaithiappapuram street however life’s routine had given way to more exciting things.Preparations wre underway for the marriage of two youngsters- the eight year old Narayani with seventeen year old Sahasranamam. It was to be a grand traditional wedding- Narayani’s father Viswanathan was a man of considerable means and he was forging an alliance for his eldest daughter with a scion of the most affluent and influential family in Kallidaikurichi- the RSA family. In keeping with the stature of the two families and the traditions of the times, a five day marriage with festivities and feasting was to be held. The pandal kaal was  erected and a grand pandal was put up.  Those days, marriages were elaborately extended affairs.People and priests alike took their time in  chanting mantras and completing various rituals. One early photograph of Sahasranamam thatha shows him standing near a vintage Ford car. One can imagine the young bridegroom smartly dressed in a dashing suit going around Kallidaikurichi  perhaps in an open Ford car on the wedding eve.  Petromax lamps carried on their heads by men dressed in white twinkled along with the night stars.  Colourfully  dressed and decked women carried fruit and sweets trays, their excited voices  blending into a steady clatterwith the shrill notes of the nadaswaram.All the relatives, close and not so close gathered to usher the young couple through an endless series of nichyathartham, jaanavasam, kasiyatrai, and of couse the most important ritual, the muhurtam. Seer bhakshanams were made in fragrant ghee, distributed to the sambhandhis and partaken with relish.  Children ran around and played in wild abandon oblivious to the gentle, not so serious rebukes of parents and elders. Silks rustled and jewellery glittered.  Clearly Kallidaikurichi was in a festive mood; an important marriage was taking place.

But the child Narayani was too young to absorb it all. A precocious child, blessed with a sweet, singing voice, she was probably thinking and rehearsing some note or tune while the festivities were going on.and as if a complement to her abundant musical talents, a vocal music concert of none other than the legendary Sangeetha Kalanidhi  Kallidaikurichi Vedanta Bhagavthar was organized. Elsewhere also in Kallidaikurichi, Narayani’s cousin was also getting married on the same muhurtam.  Maha Vaidyanathaier’s kutcheri has been arranged on the occasion.  Kallidaikurichians, by nature musically inclined had gathered in large numbers partly in curious expectation to hear the great man from the more modern and culturally progressive northern parts sing. But slowly the crowd at Vaidyanathaier’s concert started thinning out. Vedantha Bhagavtar’s resonant, melodious singing was drawing the crowds.

 I never found out if this was true. But the story definitely did the rounds, circulated for the most part by Gopala Thattha, a shadow character in our narrative.As Gopala Thattha would say gleefully, “ One up for the Kallidaikurichians...!”

 Along with Narayani’s trousseau and seer, Gopalan, trusted lieutenent of Viswanathan Thattha accompanied the gifts and valuables to the groom’s house. In those days this was a common practice. But Gopalan Thattha stayed on in the household, living out his life under the hospitable roof of the newly weds.

Chapter 1- THE TOWN OF BIRTH

Kallidaikurichi is a quaint little town tucked  away amidst the foothills of the Western Ghats in south Tamil Nadu. It was and still remains a thriving centre of extraordinary cultural and economic progress.Situated on the banks of the river Thamirabarani, this town with winding green fields, vividly verdant unfolds a rich ecological emerald landscape.An ever so gentle  breeze wafts through the open fields, the lush paddy sways in a dance like Wordsworth's daffodils. In the olden days, after a rejuvenating bath in the crystal clear waters of the Thamirabarani, the folks of Kallidaikurichi  walked through the fields with small kudams of water; the men balanced the kudam on top of their heads, the women balanced it on their waist, their wet garments swishing with their dainty steps in a dancing rhythm. Sometimes one did not like to hurry back from the river. Sitting on a small rock, gazing at the lush countryside and throwing small, smooth pebbles was the favourite pastime of many a village lass. But this was a luxury which many could not indulge in. On a clear, sunny day, one could even see through the clear water, the glistening brown- white sand on the river- bed.Diving repeatedly into the cool,calm waters and applying the turmeric paste rubbed on a  rock was sheer ecstasy.There were ever so many temples in Kallidaikurichi;the clanging of a temple bell  awoke these river bathing belles who hastened their steps to the Pillaiyar templel situated on the ghat of the Kannadiyan Kalvai. After a quick obeisance, their steps took them  home to a joyful routine of simple domesticity. Simple folks, who lived simply. In the evenings, most of them would troop back to the sastha, Pillaiyar or Amman temples and get vibhuti and the  prasadam, which tasted divine perhaps because it was seasoned with the sincere bhakthi of the Kallidaikurichi people.

      Agriculture was the main occupation in Kallidaikurichi. The people there grew paddy, groundnut,sugarcane and red chillies. Perhaps Mutthuswamy Deekshithar had bestowed his blessing on this village because the people had  high levels of musical talent. So it came about that Patti and thattha both were born in this wonderful town of Kallidaikurichi . Patti was born a good eight years after thattha's birth.

PROLOGUE

It all began one day, thirty three long  years after my grandmother died. Ambi Mama, my maternal uncle send a WhatsApp message that Narayani Patti's death anniversary was being observed on the following day, reminding the family to abstain from consuming forbidden food items and say prayers for the well-being of all. Every year, Mama would diligently call up my mother Lakshmi, Patti's eldest child regarding the death anniversary. Somehow this time, it was different as it transported me tin a Time Machine to the world of this remarkable woman who had remained wrapped in cloistered virtue, like many of her generation. Narayani Patti  was short and lovably rotund but her warm, fair face, adorned with her sparkling nose-ring and earrings mirrored the warmth and graciousness of her multifaceted personality. Her talents were many but she was not one to show them off. A deeply religious person, extremely large hearted and generous, adaptable to the requirements of the family that she married into, she touched the lives of us, her grandchildren and ignited the spark in us. All this from a lady who probably never went to school, whose hunger for knowing and learning was unmatched and appeased only by the intense passion with which she almost devoured books. Many are the anecdotes and glimpses that we get into her life which was an illustration of rural traditions that was observed by many rural wives of the landed gentry of South Tamil Nadu of the period from early to mid twentieth century. This, in no way is a tribute to a grand, gracious lady- she would not have liked it, the simple humble person that she was. By sharing memories and experiences within the near and extended family circles, I hope to weave a rich tapestry in  her myriad qualities and the rich, deep colours of her personality. Her greatest lesson was her great skill in finding and pursuing a purpose in life within the constraints of a socially inexorable domestic regimen without complaint, without churlishness. In the end is the beginning, let's laugh and cry with her as she cruises through the journey of life.