 |
The years rolled by into thereabouts 1933 when a bonnie little daughter with large eyes and curly, black hair was born to Narayani. That was Lakshmi, my mother or Echi as she came to be called affectionately by everybody.The birth of the long awaited child brought cheer and happiness to anxious Narayani and Sahasranamam vindicating Narayani from the disapproval of a patriarchal society which did not look kindly upon a childless woman.
Echi was followed by Sankarasubramaniam (Ambi) and Vijayalakshmi (Pappa) and the family was completed in a short time. Short and sweet as also the days that followed. The family lived in the ancestral house with its long, spacious rooms in Mudalliapapuram Street in Kallidaikurichi. It is intact after more than a hundred years with Ambi Mama continuing to live there. All the houses in Kallidai were joined by a common wall, such that a row of houses was contiguous. On either side of Thattha's house, were houses of his elder brother and an uncle. The topographical layout of Kallidai houses dictated social intermingling to a great extent. Walls existed only as physical, not mental barriers.
Without much of an age difference, the siblings soon started going to Lalitha Elementary School, the premier portal of primary education in Kallidaikurichi. Commonly called, "Vaikaal Pallikoodam"( the school on the banks of the canal) by the locals, it remains to date one more old building of the ancient tradition. It had classes only upto the middle school level. Here, children squatted on the bare floor and repeated, after the teacher, alphabets and tables loudly in Tamil. Next to the school, was a quaint Pillayar ( Vinayaka) shrine, with a courtyard of coconut trees and flowering plants. The shrine banked on the bathing ghat of the canal called Kannadiyin Kaalvai. It was ecstatic to bathe in the crystal clear, cool waters of the canal and have a darshan of the God before going home. So too, the young students of Lalitha Elementary School must have paid obeisance to the God before proceeding to their seat of learning.
Spirituality and cultural traditions were deeply embedded in the ethos of the Brahmin community of those times. Thus Narayani exhorted her daughters to learn Sanskrit sloka chanting, instrumental and vocal classical Carnatic music apart from their academic lessons. Narayani herself had had a great yearn for learning and knowledge and she ensured that opportunities that had been denied to her were available for her children. Amma, my mother remembers back to back classes which she hated intensely. During lunch break, when she arrived home for lunch, a music teacher from Karukurichi, some fifteen miles away, would be waiting to teach her. She would finish her class and proceed to school. After school, they would come home to a simple tiffin and then ready themselves to learn Sanskrit.
The ride to school was by bullock cart. The bullocks had bells tied around their necks which would pleasantly jingle as they walked.
Galloping gaily over muddy roads, throwing up clouds of dust
their bells jingle in merry unison, even as the girls chatter and
giggle.
Bones rattle and the girls let out a shriek, sometimes in mock alarm, sometimes in pain.
the bovines plough with steadfast pace past neat rows of houses, past the busy bazaar areas
Jingle, jingle go their bells, their heads nod in silent rhythm, their horns whirl in arcs.
They know their routine.
They know this ride.
Not a halt, not a falter in their step
Till they reach the portals of the majestic, Tilak Vidyalaya,
the tall and towering monument of education.
In this highly Spartan environment, the only relaxants for the girls were temple festivals, weddings, upanayanams etc which gave them an opportunity to deck themselves in resplendent jewellery which Appa Sahasranamam would assiduously hand out from the iron vault. Turned out in their best, the girls would enjoy themselves, mingling with relatives and enjoying the sumptuous spreads.
These simple social cum religious events and occasions imbibed in the children a strong sense of family and spirituality which formed the bulwark of their later lives.
Without much of an age difference, the siblings soon started going to Lalitha Elementary School, the premier portal of primary education in Kallidaikurichi. Commonly called, "Vaikaal Pallikoodam"( the school on the banks of the canal) by the locals, it remains to date one more old building of the ancient tradition. It had classes only upto the middle school level. Here, children squatted on the bare floor and repeated, after the teacher, alphabets and tables loudly in Tamil. Next to the school, was a quaint Pillayar ( Vinayaka) shrine, with a courtyard of coconut trees and flowering plants. The shrine banked on the bathing ghat of the canal called Kannadiyin Kaalvai. It was ecstatic to bathe in the crystal clear, cool waters of the canal and have a darshan of the God before going home. So too, the young students of Lalitha Elementary School must have paid obeisance to the God before proceeding to their seat of learning.
Spirituality and cultural traditions were deeply embedded in the ethos of the Brahmin community of those times. Thus Narayani exhorted her daughters to learn Sanskrit sloka chanting, instrumental and vocal classical Carnatic music apart from their academic lessons. Narayani herself had had a great yearn for learning and knowledge and she ensured that opportunities that had been denied to her were available for her children. Amma, my mother remembers back to back classes which she hated intensely. During lunch break, when she arrived home for lunch, a music teacher from Karukurichi, some fifteen miles away, would be waiting to teach her. She would finish her class and proceed to school. After school, they would come home to a simple tiffin and then ready themselves to learn Sanskrit.
The ride to school was by bullock cart. The bullocks had bells tied around their necks which would pleasantly jingle as they walked.
Galloping gaily over muddy roads, throwing up clouds of dust
their bells jingle in merry unison, even as the girls chatter and
giggle.
Bones rattle and the girls let out a shriek, sometimes in mock alarm, sometimes in pain.
the bovines plough with steadfast pace past neat rows of houses, past the busy bazaar areas
Jingle, jingle go their bells, their heads nod in silent rhythm, their horns whirl in arcs.
They know their routine.
They know this ride.
Not a halt, not a falter in their step
Till they reach the portals of the majestic, Tilak Vidyalaya,
the tall and towering monument of education.
In this highly Spartan environment, the only relaxants for the girls were temple festivals, weddings, upanayanams etc which gave them an opportunity to deck themselves in resplendent jewellery which Appa Sahasranamam would assiduously hand out from the iron vault. Turned out in their best, the girls would enjoy themselves, mingling with relatives and enjoying the sumptuous spreads.
These simple social cum religious events and occasions imbibed in the children a strong sense of family and spirituality which formed the bulwark of their later lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment