Matriarch(grandma’s oldest sibling) celebrates her Golden wedding anniversary (50 yrs) today. As I picked up the phone to wish her a very happy anniversary, I couldn’t but help travel back in time to the many childhood years of summer vacations we had spent in her house. She has to me always embodied patience & endurance that does not come easily to most. This milestone for her is extra special given the challenges and hardships she has encountered in her path to this day. As my mom recounted tales of cruelty she had endured while we were little children, all our little minds could conjure was the calm and caring person who always had the door to her heart & hearth open to us.
Spending time with her during our holidays was especially fun since she lived in the suburbs that had still not been influenced by the facilities offered by the city. At the entrance to her house was the sight of cows being milked. My sister & I would tiptoe into the little bathroom petrified of the little frog that would sneak up on us the minute we entered. Many a night was spent up in the terrace with a slew of cousins chatting away and attempting to lull ourselves to sleep while fighting the dinosaur sized mosquitoes trying to make a meal out of us. It was always a big party with all the cousins visiting at the same time. Food was cooked in bulk and balls were placed on our palms to be gulped down quickly. Perimma, as we call her, is an amazing cook. Her talent at making the finest pieces of edible art was at it’s best when she was called upon prior to each of our weddings to make the most delicious sweets and savories that needed to be displayed as work of art. Recently I found this picture* of something similar to some of her creations in one of my favorite food blogs. Vividly do I remember those days when we (the kids) were dressed as the various Gods & Goddesses during Dassera to be taken to the various households in the neighborhood.
Married away at the young age of 19, she has lived and faced some of the worst ordeals we have probably only seen in celluloid. Little support did she get then from her husband against his family. She turned around in later years to love & care for the very same people who had caused her much harm in her early years of marriage. She to this day treats them all with no malice. Today she is a lot more independant given that she has fulfilled all her responsibilities and is able to spend her time doing what she enjoys the most – visiting temples and reciting slokhas. Even today her passion takes second place to caring for her husband and attending to his needs.
I was shaken off my reverie as I heard the warm voice of perimma at the other end of the phone. Pleased was she to hear my voice and happier to get my wishes. Eager to ensure our well being and wanting to know when we will be making a trip back home to visit her. As I enquired the plans for the special day, she detailed that all my cousins were visiting to spend the day with perimma & perippa to celebrate their special day at the temple in the morning & at a dinner party later in the evening with family & friends. She wished we could be part of her special day and said she was looking forward to seeing us when we visit home later this year.
Perimma, wishing you a very happy Golden Anniversary and wishing you many many more happy returns of the day. May you stay healthy and spread your love for many years to come. We look forward to seeing you and spending time with you this year when we are in Chennai.
* picture courtesy of http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/
