PEACE OF HOME - SANTHI, CHITTUR

                                                                                         July 2-4, 2013

Chittur is a village 10 kilometers from Koduvayur. My paati’s childhood home where she grew up with her three siblings is called Santhi meaning peace. It actually consists of at least four buildings, a 50 foot cement courtyard, and over 20 acres of field. Big, BIG, or BBBIGGGG!? Many people live there still which is the best part. First is Thatha anna. He is the wise one. He is a patriarch who is a retired headmaster and still has a way to put any naughty child back in line. He is a Sanskrit scholar who is fluent in many languages and people come from far away to listen to his lectures. The accompanying photo shows him in his cosy room with his altar of gods. I look up to him also because with all his wisdom, he is still exciting and can produce a story off the top of his head. The two key individuals who keep the entire home running are Radha Mami and Usha Mami. They clean, cook and take care of everything in this huge home .But, instead of being ruff-tuffs they’re quite the opposite. They are fluffy sweet aunties who are quick to cram in sweets into my mouth. Ram Mama is a literature professor who has read everything under the sun and is always ready to read more.  He calls me the Englishman.  Prasad Mama, who looks like a jolly old Santa Claus, is the brilliant engineering pioneer in this home and also knows all the prayers from Hindu scriptures. He also has a nice fluffy beard that I like to ruffle.  Ramesh Chittappa used to live in Seattle. He works for Microsoft. He is actually possibly the only off-site Microsoft office in the state of Kerala.  He is quite a genius. In his free time he plays sports, watches TV, and builds Mindstorm robots. He used to be obsessed with the game of Cricket and still joins the local boys for games. He is developing a new love for farming just like his dad, Ram Mama. He is special to me because he had driven up to Syracuse, New York from Kennedy Airport with my grandpa, Appuppa the day I was born.  One more important person is my paati’s elder sister, Lakshmi Periamma and she is a retired math teacher.  She loves to teach math, singing, art, and most of all, she loves to laugh.  I can’t wait for her grandchildren, Ashwin and Akshaya from Washington to join us for summer holidays soon.  What a party, huh!

VISITS TO WADAKANNCHERRY

We drove through some really scenic landscape of hills and paddy fields to reach a neighboring township of Wadakanncherry, just a stone’s throw away in the USA but takes about an hour’s drive just because the roads are narrower and shared by every kind of vehicle you can imagine.  There we met Dhanya Akka’s maternal grandmother, and also, an entire family of Thatha Anna’s late sister. Dhanya Akka’s maternal home was really big and quiet. It was traditional with a wooden swing that I enjoyed tremendously. There was a big backyard. I mean BBIIIGGGG! It had over 15 different fruits growing and a rice field in the back. The paati who lives there is kind and wise. Also, she has good taste. I was given Chocolate biscuits!

It was raining heavily and I couldn’t believe how nicely my thatha drove through the rainy streets in the evening.  One time, we were stuck in a narrow alley and a jeep came toward us so we had to back out to let it pass.  Then as we went back into the alley and almost crossed it, another car came hurtling toward us.  At that point, thatha waved his arms telling them to GET OUT.  Then we made our way to a very traditional family home in which, once upon a time, nearly nine children were raised.  Now there lives Balan Thatha and his wife, Raji Paati, daughter Dhanam and Jai Sree Akka, who cannot speak like us but is still a chatterbox.  We met some of their children and grandchildren who were all so fluent in English.  I talked a lot to an eighth grade boy named Vignesh about American life and Indian life.  Jai Sree Akka gave us a deluxe tour of their historical home with a narrow wooden staircase leading to a corridor with more rooms upstairs.  My mom and Jai Sree Akka were having a full conversation with their hands and facial expression.  Balan Thatha, the aging grandpa who was not very mobile and used ropes tied to the ceiling to hoist himself up, was so cheerful.  He predicted that my sister with her big shining eyes would be a scholar and that I was destined for greatness.  Am I?