A Cottage in Swami Hills *
Radha Mama
When I need to refer to the life in Kumbakonam in sixties, it is not possible to ignore Radha Mama. Radha is the abbreviation of Radhakrishnan but actually his name was Sahasranamam.
Sahasranamam means thousand names but Radha mama had thousand roles to play. I knew him as clerk in my grandfather's office. He was the communicator to various people with whom my grand father had contacts. he was the person to engage transport for us to go anywhere. he was the person to be contacted for any emergency. In short, he took care of the every day practical things without which we cannot live.
His day started at 7 30 AM when he used to enter the house and loudly open the cupboard to take out the case papers scheduled for that day in court to be kept in my grandfather's table. I do not know when his day ended as something or other came up in the evening for him to handle.
"We have to give milk to the temple", " We have to send rice to Pollachi by TVS" , "we have to get Horlix from Raghavendra shop" are the statements which mean that Radha Mama had to get them done. He never told excuses nor flinched from carrying out the tasks whether they are samll or big. He just did them.
He used to say proudly that he carried my father and uncle across the flooded river once after their concert. he could easily carry a 25 Kg rice bag and walk briskly for a KM. There is nothing which he could not do.
In was in ninth standard and we had school excursion. But on the same day morning I had essay competition. I was neither willing to sacrifice excursion nor willing to forego the chance of participating in the essay competition in which I had a very good chance of winning the prize. Radha mama came to the rescue. He told me to complete the essay competition and come to the house ane he would take care of the rest. Accordingly, I reached the house at 10 AM. He took me and my friend Ranganathan in his cycle and pedalled all the way to the Valayapettai Water pumping station which was about 10 Km from the house. We reached the excursion spot at 11 AM and we were over joyed. That was the capability of Radha mama.
Once my grandfather and myself were going from some shopping in Bazar and we were accompanied by Radha Mama. As a matter of respect , he was closely following us and not walking along with us. When we turned from a lane, a cyclist came at top speed and almost collided with my grandfather. he did not hit my grandfather but my grandfather had to side step and avoid him. In a moment, Radha mama came from behind and lifted the cyclist and the cycle together and threw him from the road at a distance. The cyclist had no chance of retaliating but he could just manage to get up and before he could get on his feet, Radha mama was there on the offencive. "Do you think we are just paruppu (Dal in Hindi) eaters? (Brahmins are derisively called paruppu eaters in south) ". The shop keepers nearby, who were known to us, jumped in saved the cyclist and pacified Radha Mama.
Radha Mama kept a tight leash on the visitors to the house and shooed away those not wanted by my grandfather. He often went to the client's place and on his return kept the bus tickets on my grandfather's table as a proof that he had gone there. Once, my grandfather suspected that he had actually not gone and mentioned it to others. Radha mama came to know this and stormed into our house and fell at the feet of my grandfather. "Vakil sir, I am a dog fit to lift your chappal, will I tell lies? How can you say like this?" His honesty and trustworthiness was without any blemish. Many occasions, after a judgement was delivered, he would shout from the road, "Vakil sir, decreed with cost" and vanish in a moment. That was his way of announcing the result with a dramatic impact.
He used to frequently reverse the way we address the males and females. He would, for instance say to my father, "ennamma" and to my mother "ennappa" sometimes I have seen him calling my sithis "ennada" also. Of course, it was out of affection and no one paid any attention to the deviation. In fact, if one person was trusted by all daughter in laws of the house it was Radha Mama.
His salary was a princely sum of ten rupees per month. He had a house to maintain and a daughter too. I have seen his house and he had in fact a grand son from his daughter in the time I was studying. His wife was a very proud lady and would not show any sign of poverty.
His service continued even after my grandfather passed away and officially the "Vakil sir's office " did not exist. In 1969, when I joined Annamalai University, I applied for National Loan scholarship also called Means and Merit scholarship. It was given for those students who were in need and who were also meritorious. (The second condition seemed a little difficult for my case as I had not obtained high marks in PUC). We had to get the application signed by a Magistrate or a Judge. My father told Radha Mama to get this form signed. he agreed and both of us (in separate cycles now) went to my friend Shanmugasundaram's house and from there we got the information about the Judge 's whereabouts and then went to the Judge's house. He seemed to know our family and so signed the form, affixed his seal and in a month I was sanctioned Rs 5000 as the Loan scholarship to be disbursed in five installments of 990 Rs each year. Actually this amount was adequate for my tuition fees and some academic expenses.
I did not meet Radha Mama after that incident. I heard that he was not doing well and I saw him briefly for a few minutes in 1982. Time flew and soon he was forgotten in my newly acquired duties and aspirations.
Today, we meet so many people. But no one would come close to Radha mama for loyalty, dedication and sincerity.
Sahasranamam means thousand names but Radha mama had thousand roles to play. I knew him as clerk in my grandfather's office. He was the communicator to various people with whom my grand father had contacts. he was the person to engage transport for us to go anywhere. he was the person to be contacted for any emergency. In short, he took care of the every day practical things without which we cannot live.
His day started at 7 30 AM when he used to enter the house and loudly open the cupboard to take out the case papers scheduled for that day in court to be kept in my grandfather's table. I do not know when his day ended as something or other came up in the evening for him to handle.
"We have to give milk to the temple", " We have to send rice to Pollachi by TVS" , "we have to get Horlix from Raghavendra shop" are the statements which mean that Radha Mama had to get them done. He never told excuses nor flinched from carrying out the tasks whether they are samll or big. He just did them.
He used to say proudly that he carried my father and uncle across the flooded river once after their concert. he could easily carry a 25 Kg rice bag and walk briskly for a KM. There is nothing which he could not do.
In was in ninth standard and we had school excursion. But on the same day morning I had essay competition. I was neither willing to sacrifice excursion nor willing to forego the chance of participating in the essay competition in which I had a very good chance of winning the prize. Radha mama came to the rescue. He told me to complete the essay competition and come to the house ane he would take care of the rest. Accordingly, I reached the house at 10 AM. He took me and my friend Ranganathan in his cycle and pedalled all the way to the Valayapettai Water pumping station which was about 10 Km from the house. We reached the excursion spot at 11 AM and we were over joyed. That was the capability of Radha mama.
Once my grandfather and myself were going from some shopping in Bazar and we were accompanied by Radha Mama. As a matter of respect , he was closely following us and not walking along with us. When we turned from a lane, a cyclist came at top speed and almost collided with my grandfather. he did not hit my grandfather but my grandfather had to side step and avoid him. In a moment, Radha mama came from behind and lifted the cyclist and the cycle together and threw him from the road at a distance. The cyclist had no chance of retaliating but he could just manage to get up and before he could get on his feet, Radha mama was there on the offencive. "Do you think we are just paruppu (Dal in Hindi) eaters? (Brahmins are derisively called paruppu eaters in south) ". The shop keepers nearby, who were known to us, jumped in saved the cyclist and pacified Radha Mama.
Radha Mama kept a tight leash on the visitors to the house and shooed away those not wanted by my grandfather. He often went to the client's place and on his return kept the bus tickets on my grandfather's table as a proof that he had gone there. Once, my grandfather suspected that he had actually not gone and mentioned it to others. Radha mama came to know this and stormed into our house and fell at the feet of my grandfather. "Vakil sir, I am a dog fit to lift your chappal, will I tell lies? How can you say like this?" His honesty and trustworthiness was without any blemish. Many occasions, after a judgement was delivered, he would shout from the road, "Vakil sir, decreed with cost" and vanish in a moment. That was his way of announcing the result with a dramatic impact.
He used to frequently reverse the way we address the males and females. He would, for instance say to my father, "ennamma" and to my mother "ennappa" sometimes I have seen him calling my sithis "ennada" also. Of course, it was out of affection and no one paid any attention to the deviation. In fact, if one person was trusted by all daughter in laws of the house it was Radha Mama.
His salary was a princely sum of ten rupees per month. He had a house to maintain and a daughter too. I have seen his house and he had in fact a grand son from his daughter in the time I was studying. His wife was a very proud lady and would not show any sign of poverty.
His service continued even after my grandfather passed away and officially the "Vakil sir's office " did not exist. In 1969, when I joined Annamalai University, I applied for National Loan scholarship also called Means and Merit scholarship. It was given for those students who were in need and who were also meritorious. (The second condition seemed a little difficult for my case as I had not obtained high marks in PUC). We had to get the application signed by a Magistrate or a Judge. My father told Radha Mama to get this form signed. he agreed and both of us (in separate cycles now) went to my friend Shanmugasundaram's house and from there we got the information about the Judge 's whereabouts and then went to the Judge's house. He seemed to know our family and so signed the form, affixed his seal and in a month I was sanctioned Rs 5000 as the Loan scholarship to be disbursed in five installments of 990 Rs each year. Actually this amount was adequate for my tuition fees and some academic expenses.
I did not meet Radha Mama after that incident. I heard that he was not doing well and I saw him briefly for a few minutes in 1982. Time flew and soon he was forgotten in my newly acquired duties and aspirations.
Today, we meet so many people. But no one would come close to Radha mama for loyalty, dedication and sincerity.
* Cottage in swami hills refers to the house in which we lived in Kumbakonam. This phrase was used once by my grandfather when I asked him that some people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage and whether we would be able to go like that oneday. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) which refers to his house.
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