On the long journey
back to Calcutta, Vaithy and Thangam would have time to go back to their
childhoods in the village. Thangam had found a cache of old photographs in a
wooden chest, lying in the 'pathayam' (granary or larder) and they had brought
her memories flooding back.
Vaithy had grown up in
the village with his periappa's extended family, after his parents passed away.
He recalled attending school in the 'oottuperai' (communal hall, used for
feasts and as schools), where his periappa was the headmaashu. After that, he
would go to Mission School. Later, he would move to Trichnopoly, to attend
college. Those were lonely years, living in rented rooms and surviving on food
from Chettiar's home mess. He passed with a B.A., second class from Madras
University. The first in his family to become a graduate.
 |
|
Vaithy's periappa (standing), who was headmaster of the village school.
|
NACHUPPA & AKKA
Thangam scarcely
remembered her parents, try as she did, as they gazed at the photograph.
Thangam, less than a year old, is seen sitting on ammangaL's lap. To their
right, a young Vishalapatti, still in her teens, already widowed. Behind them,
are Nachuppa and Akka, her parents.
Nachuppa was an
educated man. A munshee at the Diwan's court, he was away from home most of the
time. One day, he returned, seriously ill. The vaidhyan was called, but to no
avail. He was wasting away. A 'prasnam' (an oracle) was held, and the message
was clear. The 'kashtha kaalam' had just begun, and there would be more to
come. There was no 'parihaaram' at this late juncture. Within a year, the
plague would take both Nachuppa and Akka with it. Along with hundreds of others
in the village and in surrounding places.
 |
| Thangam on ammangal's lap. Vishalapatti, young and widowed, is seated, to their right. Standing behind, Thangam's parents, Nachuppa and Akka. |
All this from
Vishalapatti. She had arrived in the household, a few years ago, when she was
widowed at fourteen. Her husband, a tax collector, had died of snake bite. Her
in-laws blamed his death on Vishalapatti, and wanted her gone. She was
Nachuppa's youngest chitti. AmmangaL would join the house-hold, along with
Aachu mama, after Nachuppa and Akka passed away.
In a few short months,
Aachu mama and Vishalapatti would take charge of the household, after ammangaL
too, left for her heavenly abode.
AACHU MAMA
Aachu mama would turn
out to be a hard-working, diligent man. He took charge of the family's
'paadams' (rice-fields) and 'thengunthoppu' (coconut grove), as though he was
born to it. Actually, his and Akka's family were poor journeymen, descendants
of itinerant "thorthu" sellers and money-lenders, or 'pandi brahmins'
(so called, because they used to travel from areas of the old Pandian rajas, to
sell cloth in Kerala. Even today, pandi samoohams exist, separate from the
grama samoohams).
The 'paadams' had been
neglected while Nachuppa was still alive. He had no time to spare, and had handed
them over to share-croppers. Over the years, the paddy fields had deteriorated,
as a result of neglect and carelessness. Aachu mama threw himself into the task
of rejuvenating the fields. He dug new wells and had the ditches cleared. He
made sure the best plots were ploughed and the soil mixed with cow dung and
mulch, much before the rains came. He tried new saplings from Malabar, and when
they did not give good yields, brought seed from his village.
He had coconut trees
cut down, whenever he suspected any of carrying the blight, and planted new
ones. He bought Kurup's land and planted mango and banana orchards on it. Milch
cows were purchased for use at home, and bullocks to work in the fields were
brought from Pollachi. Aachu mama's diligent husbandry paid off handsomely.
There were years when the rains were too little or too much, but with careful
planning and hard work, he managed to do better than most.
 |
| Nambisan and Aachu Mama. |
A HAPPY CHILDHOOD
Looking back, Thangam
remembers her childhood as a happy one. She recalled how Aachu mama always had
'injee mittai' for her when he came back from his trips to town. How the
'thattan' (gold-smith) came at regular intervals, to measure or fit her with
new bangles or kunjalams, for each growing year. How she always had new clothes
for Vishu, Karthigai and Deepavali.
When she attained
puberty, Aachu mama coralled a nadaswaram troupe that was on a visit to the
neighbourhood. They led a procession from the pond, where she was ritually
bathed, through the village, and to her home, with all the women-folk in
attendance. It was her first rite-of-passage she could clearly recall.
VISHALAPATTI
Vishalapatti would not
let her set foot in the 'addakalai' (kitchen), until well after Thangam had
entered her teens. From then onwards, she rapidly learnt the intricacies of
'chamayal'. The house always received a steady stream of vegetables and rice
from their fields. The rest, Vishalapatti would pick from the 'kollai', their
back-garden. Chembu, koLli, kavatthu, vaazha, matthan, eLavan, paarikai - they all
flourished in abundance.
Apart from being a
cook, Vishalapatti was a curer of maladies. She would boil herbs and make
'kashaayam' to treat every symptom. Thangam remembered hating 'kaDakka moru',
really hating it, whenever she was made to drink it as a laxative. But
Vishalapatti could be firm, and Thangam would be given a small piece of sweet,
newly-made 'vellum', to chase down the bitter taste.
Thangam was sent to
school, until she finished IX standard. At home, she received music lessons from
Anantha Shastrigal, and was tutored by Kunjaan Namboodiri, who taught her to
read Bhagavatham and Parameshwara Iyer's epic poem 'Umakeralam'. For a while,
she even had Nambi maashu, as her tutor in English and Civics.
In later years, her
school and music lessons over, she had time to indulge her new-found interest:
the newspaper. Sitting by a lamp in the evenings, she would devour old issues
of 'Kerala Patrika' and 'Madras Standard' and divulge their contents to
Vishalapatti. News from the western front, of Roosevelt's meeting with
Churchill at Yalta, and Gandhi's call to "Do or die." Vishalapatti
would listen patiently, before she went to warm up tumblers of milk for her and
Aachu mama, in time for bed.
A GROWING HOUSE-HOLD
Their home saw steady
a stream of visitors. Some came and went. Others stayed for years on end. When
she was around five, Chomukka came on a visit, and stayed until well after
Thangam had finished school. She was a distant relative, one among many who
made their appearance, and presence, felt in the house-hold. Chomukka kept
mostly to herself, spending the evenings reading 'Narayaneeyam'.
The house-hold
continued to grow, even in later years. Alamelu virtually became part of the
family, after her husband abandoned her and went to live in Kadappa. She would
get on with Vishalapatti, assisting her around the house. Eventually, Aachu
mama too, would draw her close to himself.
Nambisan had been
helping Aachu mama in the fields. He too moved in, and remained in the house.
 |
| Chomukka. |
A HOROSCOPE AND A
PERFECT MATCH
As she approached
sixteen, Aachu mama had to start looking for an alliance. First, he had to
overcome a stumbling block. No one could trace Thangam's 'jaathakam'. After
much discussion with the 'thirumeni', it was decided that she was born on a
pournami in Medha maasam, five days after Thrissur Pooram. That meant she must
have been born in the year 1111. Accordingly, 'panicker' was asked to draw up a
horoscope. It would show that Thangam was born well within Swati nakshatra.
When Vaithy's periappa
broached a match, the following year, their horoscopes were a perfect fit. The
wedding was a three-day affair, presided over by Rasanga vadhyar.
 |
| Rasanga vadhyar. |
Thangam had not yet
turned eighteen, when she would set off for Calcutta.
Text: Shankar A.
Narayan Photo credits: Photo credits: Kamini, Madurai A.V. Iyer and Manoj P.
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