A Cottage in Swami Hills - 25. Lighter moments

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS*

25. LIGHTER MOMENTS

We had our own lighter moments and this invariably had been woven around incidents which took place some time due to which the key words when repeated brought mirth and laughter  to us.  When I was in sixth standard, my teacher told about an incident which took place in jagannatha Pillayar Koil street where a donkey bit a gentleman, This incident was a great event for me and I used to repeat it in front of every relative and friend who visited our house at that time. It became a joke that when some one repeated anything immediately one of us would say "jagannatha pillayar" and every one would laugh.

My grandfather had a great capacity for using the words slightly different that it would be a joke. for instance there was a song "அழகுள்ள துரை இவர் ஆர டி?"   My grandfather would sing this song as "அழ குள்ள துரை இவர்  ஆறடி ". For the heroes who danced in the films he had one line comment ," ஒட்டகம் டான்ஸ் பண்ற மாதிரி ".

He used to appreciate about MLV

" வசந்த குமாரி இல்ல ஒசந்த குமாரி"

For people who boasted that they could have done this or that , he used to say

" ஆசையிருக்கு  பல்லாக்கு ஏற... ஆனா  உந்தி ஏற சக்தி இல்லை".

For those with empty words and braggings,

சோத்தில இருக்கற கல் லை எடுக்க முடியலை சொக்கநாதர் வரிக்கல்லை புடுங்கப்போறான்"

It is all money finally. Who will not dream of a more comfortable life. But where are the resources?
In the two liner "aiveju" is Tamil for "High wages".

  "அதுவும் செய்யலாம்  அதுக்கு மேலயும் செய்யலாம் ஐவேஜு இல்லாததுக்கு ஆரென்ன செய்யலாம் "

For people who complain that others do not help

  முன் கை நீண்டாத்தா னே   முழங் கை நீளும் ".

We had a maruthuvar whose name I do not remember but we used to call him as "kabamsu". he prescribed that my grandfather should take a herb called காக்கரட்டை .  As we do not know where it would be available, he said that he would bring it. For many weeks, he did not bring this herb. My grandfather said " காக்கரட் டையும் இல்ல  மூக்கரட்டையும் இல்ல. அவன் வெறும் வாயரட்டை"

 My grandfather knew many languages. He said that he learnt by buying a book called ஏழு பாஷை ஒக்கப்பிலேரி "  He could converse with cobbler in Telugu and with the Advocate jamluddeen in Urdu. He knew French and in fact liked French people more than English.

In Telugu he would say that astrologer is supposed to tellonly good things if he has to survive.

 சுபம் பல்கு ரா தல்லி  கொடுக்கு ரா"   was his joke about how an astrolger advised his son to behave.

About the sastrigals who told lies to get more money he said they we doing "வை- தீ -கம் "  that is light the fire and keep quiet.

To those who would say that "I was just brutally frank and nothing wrong in that", he would quote the following couplet in Sanskrit
  

सत्यं ब्रूयात प्रियं ब्रूयात् न ब्रूयात सत्यं अप्रियं

(Speak the truth, Speak sweetly, Do not speak harsh words just because you are speaking the truth).

Daily in the night he used to write accounts. He would summon my grandmother who would be half asleep and ask her :Tell me what you spent" Many days, he would exclaim "so much?" and then say

"கெட்டுது விடு கெழப்பய  குடித்தனம் ". indicating that things were going beyond his control.

He liked the puns, satires and other intelligent types of humour. Comedy scenes which induced laughter by some foolish and vulgar acts were not liked by him.

he used to carry lots of law books when he had to appear and argue. Once he left the bundle in front of the Judge and told him "Your honour may study the judgements delivered earlier in such cases". next day, the Judge told him " Mr Sarma, I have read everything and it would appear to me that you
r client is in wrong". My grandfather told him "Your honour, I wish to submit my humble opinion that your honour has not got time to go through as the bundle is sealed as it was and so let the books remain with you for one more day" The Judge thought that since the bundle is tied and kept, my grandfather was saying like this. He said, "what do you mean? Mr. Sarma, I have said that I have gone through all the books and I might have kept them back and tied them. What is your doubt?"   My grandfather said" Yes, your honour, it is possible, but I have never been in Scouts and so the knot I put is so uncommon that no one can put it the same way again once it is untied. I can identify it here right now the same way I put it". The Judge was embarrassed and said " Ok I will study today".
 
My grandfather would go to any extent to let the children be happy. When my brothers and myself were studying, he arranged the table with cloth on the top and with flower vase and lights etc just because we wanted to have dinner in the table one day. During summer, he used to put vettiver ( a kind of plant which when dried would keep the room cool) and fill up the office room with water just because we wanted to experience the Air conditioned effect. He would buy a loaf of bread from Perix shop and get it sliced and toasted just for us to have a change on a sunday. He would even compel every one to organise a Kolu (though there were no girls at tha time) because we wanted it.

EPILOGUE

People lead their lives some way or other. But, if I can recall these events and moments and write enthusiastically about them after 50 years, it is because of my grandfather and my grandmother, the environment they created and the values they followed.
We live today in their shadows and are proud to be a part of them.
We breathe the air they breathed, think the thoughts they thought and we smiles at the mere mention of their names.
We are truly the living part of our ancestors who left this world.
We are in reality "them" in parts, may be, but still we are inseparable from them.
There lies our consolation for the separation which the nature has created between us.

*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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

  

A Cottage in Swami Hills- 24 Temples and temple trips

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS*

24. TEMPLES AND TEMPLE TRIPS

My grandfather was a trustee for KasiViswanatha swami temple and I had the occasion to enjoy the privilege of being the grandson of trustee. One Nayar was the temple watchman and whenever we went, Nayar used to come and take me for a round. he had a parrot. It was very cute and it could speak some words.  I accompanied my grandfather in his tour around all the deities of the temple. He had a special attachment to a Lingam on the outer periphery of the temple. he believed that the Lingam had some powers. it could grow and when it would grow more than the temple wall, the world would perish. I think he was the trustee for three Mahamakams ie 1932, 1944,1956. he resigned from trusteeship in 1956 after he was questioned  by the Executive officer about some hundi collections.

He was the trustee of  Bhagavath Vinayaka swami temple also. After every special alankaram, the tusks and the silver kavacham would be brought to our house for safe upkeep. there was so much trust those days that the costly things were kept in our house without any record what so ever.

 Another religious institution he was connected with was "periya Madam" near mahamkam tank. It was a veerashaiva mtham. We had gone there and witnessed the swamijis performing so many rituals including the ceremonious preparation of vibhuthi. I remember they gave us one big sphere of White shining vibhuthi as a compliment when we visited.

In 1962, my grandfather, as the President of the Bar association organised the Biksha for Kanchi paramacharya when He was staying in Ilaiyaththangudi. All of us started by bus early in the morning and reached Ilaiyathangudi by 10 AM. It was very memorable to have dharshan of both Senior Acharya (Maha Periyava) and then newly appointed Pudhu periyava. About 20 advocates and their families travelled together in the bus.

We had very closely seen both Gudali Sankaracharya and Andavan Swamigal when they came to Kumbakonam. Once we went to Karaikkal and had Dharshan of the Karaikkal Ammaiyar temple. We had been to Swamimalai couple of times. Except these, my grandfather was not much of a temple hopper nor he went to temples every week as some did. Probably, he believed more in his private worship at home.

he used to quite this tirukkural frequently which probably summarised his value system very well,.

 தவம் செய்வார் தன் கருமம்  செய்வார்  மற்றெல்லாம்
அவம் செய்வார் ஆசையுட்பட்டு.

  (Those who do penance are people who do their work. Others (who claim to be doing penance) are doing needless things due to their own desires (to be noticed).
  

*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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

  

A Cottage in Swami Hills 23 Nandavanam called Nandivanam

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS *

23. NANDAVANAM CALLED NANDIVANAM

Unlike typical kumbakonam brahmins, we never had any land near Kumbakonam as our asset. My grandfather had some small piece of land in Melavalavu near Melur which he inherited from his mother. He did not sell it for a long time and he was receiving an amount of a few hundred rupees which he used to show us proudly as his mother's gift. When he came to Kumbakonam to start his practice, he came with his suit case and according to him he even had to buy "a broom" from his own earning.

He bought the house which we lived in 1933. (that is what the document says though he might have been the defacto owner a few years earlier.). He also bought some land near Kumbakonam in a place called Nandivanam. nandivanam was a very small village the only reason why it was famous was that the genius poet Kalamega Pulavar belonged to that place according to some reports. 

I had been to this place a few times with my grandfather. we had to go to chakkottai by no 3 town bus and then walk a few kilometres to reach the place. There was a lady who used to live in the midst of the land and she was looking after the land. When we went there, she treated us with coconut water and fruits. Then we marched through the land which was totally green. Coconut trees lined the land and a small stream flowed in the middle of our land. My grandfather was very proud of the land. We did not get much from it but we were happy to eat the rice from the land we owned.

By evening we would return and on the way back, we could see some people keeping the earthen pots full of some creepers but kept upside down. Ponnan -the person who accompanied us- explained that the people kept freshly plucked ground nuts and smoked them for eating. I had some and it was very tasty. 

As the darkness spread, we could see fire flies in the trees. It was like a starlit sky with all the fire flies flitting about. Truly, it was a paradise. I never was willing to leave that place. but, after lingering there for some time, we caught the  local bus from Chakkottai and we returned to the dusty town.       

We lost the Nandavanam.  as days progressed, Ponnan rebelled and joined Communist party. We could not make out the once docile servant was now a political leader in that village raising the flag against the landlords. The party took over our land or atleast the rights for the product if not the actual land. The lady's husband Sivagnanam died. My grandfather passed away. The paradise was lost forever.

I remember Wordworth's poem

"For oft when on my couch I lie 

In vacant or in pensive mood

they flash upon my inward eye

which is the bliss of solitude

and then my heart with pleasure fills

and dances with the Daffodils."

In my case, it is not daffodils but the fire flies of Nandivanam.  . 

*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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

A Cottage in Swami Hills - 22. Bangalore Krishna Bhagavathar

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS *

22. BANGALORE KRISHNA BHAGAVATHAR

One day when I came from school, I saw an elderly person sitting along with my grand father and discussing things in a loud and authoritative tone. i was told that he was a Harikatha exponent and his name was Bangalore  Krishna Bhagavathar. He was to perform at the Venkata Rayar Chathiram for 15 days every evening between 7 to 9 PM. his stay was arranged in the frst floor and from next morning, he became friendly with me. 

He was a born storyteller. He would attract every one's attention in a few minutes. During day time, he would practice for the evening lecture. By 6 PM , he would get ready for the katha kalakshepam and all the three of us would depart by 6.30 or so. Soon, his co artistes a violinist and the Mridangam player would arrive. He would clear his throat and say his prayers. The crowd would start arriving by 7. He would be in full swing in five minutes. 

He was good in Kannada and he used to intersperse all events with the Dasar nama or some Bhajan. This was liked by the Madhwa crowd. By 830 or so, I would take a plate and go around the crowd. Some would put 1 Rupee and some would put half a rupee. By 9 PM, he would perform arathi and close the lecture. The entire collection would be counted and given to the Bhagavathar next day.

He would draw me into some argument or other and sometimes quote my words (without revealing my name) in the katha. For instance if I told that Rasam was "pramadam" you will find that he would somehow bring the incident in that day's kathai and say ," என் கொழந்தை பிரமாதம்  அப்படீன்னு சொன்னான் ".

Bangalore krishna Bhagavathar had fantastic memory. He performed fluently for three hours without referring notes and that was commendable by any standard. He was of the view that Katha is better than music in terms of its mass appeal. I did not agree with him on  this point but he was a great artiste.

It seems he visted Kumbakonam earlier when my younger uncle was in school. During that trip, he went to a drama where my father acted in a girl's role and  it seems he came home and asked my grandmother whether she had a daughter. I am sure he must have said it on purpose to appreciate my father's acting but my grandmother related this incident many times as if krishna Bhagavathar was not aware.

Krishna Bhagavathar with his splendid kacham and silk angavasthram and garland performing while standing and with the chapla kkattai  is still green in my memory. One day he completed his Rama pattabhishekham and packed his bag and hold all and left for Bangalore. I thought that we would meet some time later. We did not. not atleast till now. I salute him as an artiste without parallel and one who mesmerised the audience for three hours every day.

I recall an  occasion when my grandfather gave a talk appreciating the then upcoming speaker by name Thiru. Keeran. he had then just passed out of Karanthai Tamil College and was looking lean. He used to speak very clearly and with a lot of articulation.

My grandfather at that time told that Veena was the most ancient instrument and soon after he finished, a person came and argued that Mridangam was the most ancient because mridangam was made of animal hide and for veena one required metallic strings.(so, it must have been more recent). Even after my grandfather gave him some explanation through Vedic references, He kept on arguing and in the process came to our house along with us and was in no mood to go till some one accepted his thinking.
 

ottage 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

A Cottage in Swami Hills-21. A Vaidyar, a Maruthuvar and a Doctor

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS*

21. A VAIDYAR, A MARUTHUVAR AND A DOCTOR

Thiruvisanallur Vaidhyar came once in a month to our house. He was dressed in immaculate white Dhoti worn in traditional way with a Gandhi cap and carried a big bag slung onto his shoulder. He was an Ayurvedic Doctor. He chatted for a while with my grandfather and in between read his pulse rate by keeping his hand on the wrist. then he would take out a couple of small bottles containing different coloured powders and poured some of the contents into paper packets. He then gave them to my grandfather prescribing when the powder is to be taken (invariably with honey) and what should be taken along with that and what should not be taken, My grandfather had a lot of faith in him. After a few years, I did not see Tiruvisanallur Vaidhyar. He might have grown too old to make house visits.

He was replaced by a Maruthuvar whose name I did not know. He was a siddha Doctor. He was dressed in simple Dhoti and a half shirt. He did not look commanding like Thiruvisanallur.Probably some one might mistake him for a person doing odd job at home. He was intent while reading the pulse. He did it for more time and spent a lot of energy in it. Sometime, it looked as if  he was getting some messages along with the pulse.  After a couple of minutes, he would very elaborately explain the problem. "kapamsu" he told once. So, that became his name. He would say "Aiya, Kapamsam is dominating and naturally you feel breathless. Stomach burning. eyes burning...... all because of Kapamsam." Then he would give some medicine sometimes liquid stored in a bottle. Generally, kapamsu gave too much lecture about the evils of something or other. This went on for some time.

In 1966, my grandfather suddenly became ill. I do not know what exactly happened but he was almost in bed for a week. I had never seen him lying down like that earlier. We contacted Dr M K Subramanian who had a big hospital opposite Vani Vilasa Sabha (later known as Vijayalakshmi theatre). He sent his nephew Dr M R natarajan to look at my grandfather. Dr Natarajan was a no nonsense new generation Doctor. He was very modern. He would arrive in his car at 6 AM sharp. He would sit by the side of my grandfather and open up his bag ( which would have been carried by me as he alighted his car) full of gadgets. he would read the blood pressure and check the pulse and reel out some medicines. Sometimes, he wrote them down. We had never seen Doctor telling so many different tablets at a time earlier. Dr P V Ramaswamy Iyer at the most would give one tablet. Here, this Doctor was reciting " Lasix 2 times, Have you taken neurobion Ok," and so on. He would say " No Cofee tew. Only take complan ". then he would leave charging full 10 Rs which we would have given Dr PVR probably for the whole year.

My grandfather realised he had diabetes.He did not understand how he got Diabetes as he was not a great sweet eater and he regularly walked. He was not obese and looked fit. then he bought some test tubes and some chemicals and started performing the test at home to check sugar in the urine. I also learnt to perform the test. One had to put urine sample and some chemical and heat it in the burner and look at the colour. It was easy to perform but interpretation was very subjective. 

My grandfather  never liked Dr Natarajan. One thing was Dr Natarajan had no time to talk. He only commanded. My grandfather wanted to talk but he just did not bother about his wish. Second, he said "NO" for everything. Last but not the least, my grandfather loved his coffee and he hated having "that stupid complan" which according to him was just "clay"..

He got better though our visits to the Dr MKS hospital continued for frequent medical check ups. we had to wait in long queues and had to put up with the brusque behaviour of medical staff. My grandfather went through these as he had no choice. He said "I have VDH (Ref 1) - a dilated heart which was revealed even while I was in college. Why do these people make a big fuss now?" was his question. he said "I don't mind dying. But let me die in my own way, not by taking these tablets and not taking anything I want and not going out and living like a kill joy to others."  

He had a strong belief earlier that he would live up to 100 as he was doing Yoga and living a well regualted life. But, his spirit was broken by the restrictions imposed by the Doctor. My grandfather loved freedom and independence and would not compromise it. But, he found every one supporting the Doctor and telling him"Take rest", "Don't do this" "Don't do that" etc and he felt let down.

He said , " I pray God to live a life without poverty and die a death without pain" quoting a famous couplet.

அனாயாசேன மரணம் வினா  தைன்யேன ஜீவனம் .

He achieved both in his life.

Ref 1

It is defined in the Medical Dictionary that VDH is Valvular Disease-Heart. This means that one of the valves in the heart either was not closing (which was highly improbable in his case) or was "leaky" in which case some blood flowed back into the heart making it to work more.
He told me once that when he went for selection to University Cadet corps in Presidency College, it was found out. It is not clear how without ECG they found it out at that time.  He also said Dilated heart and he used to say he was a "large hearted'" man. It is not clear whether this is related to valvular disease.

* 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

  

    

   

A Cottage in Swami Hills- 20.The friendly neighbours

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS*

20. THE FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURS

To the west of our house lived Sitarama Iyer, an advocate by qualification. However, I have never seen him going to court. He normally stayed in the house most of the time going for evening walks dressed formally in coat, turban and shoes. Most of the time, he walked up to the nearby post office to post a letter or a packet consisting of his writing about a topic. His wife, Meenakshi Bai, used to call my grandfather "guru" (which was his pet name in childhood) as she claimed to be his sister by her choice.  There was a third person in the house by name Lakshmi Bai who was the sister of the afore said lady. I recollect there was a fourth person who was the mother of the two sisters but since she was very old, her movements were restricted to the back portion of the house. The sister duo looked imperious with silver rimmed spectacles and a command over the language. They were the daughters of an ICS officer who named them thus because the suffix "Bai" is reserved for Maratha royalty and not for common womenfolk.  Our conversations happened mostly in the terrace or in the front thinnai. They rarely came to our house. Even when we had gone it was always a very brief visit. Sitarama Iyer was reported to be an intellectual and a congress supporter to boot. He also wrote many articles on Hindu philosophy. Some of his concepts could not be understood by me. Once I remember he showed an article to my grandfather for review. I recall the illustration in the proposed book which he was trying to explain to my grandfather. "See, Guru the Brahman above, the man in the middle and the tiger at the bottom. This represents the entire spectrum of the spiritual experiences." My grandfather listened to him with a puzzled expression.

To the east of our house, there lived  many tenants some constantly changing their residences. It belonged to Kallur family. It was headed by a gentleman about whom I remember only one thing. He used to go to Arya Bhavan for his breakfast. "I am going to Arya Bhagawan" used to be his announcement in the morning. His loyalty to Arya Bhawan and his description of the Dosa he ate was a topic for discussion among us. I never went to Arya Bhawan. We patronised Venkata Lodge nearer to our house.

In that house, as I said earlier, there were many tenants. One of them was Venkatrama Sastri. He was a Telugu speaking man. He had two daughters. Ammalu and Chelli. Ammalu was much elder to me and we had limited interactions as he got married and left. Since Chelli was nearer my age, we used to interact more. Both sang very well. They were frequent visitors to our house. My grandfather spoke in telugu and so he had a soft corner for them. He had one son my name Muthu. In the night after 9 PM, he would go to the terrace of the house which was only covered with some palm leaves. he would sit there and practice in his flute. I remember he used to play "Telisi rama chinthana tho namamu" by Tyagaraja. In the quiet nights, the sound of his flute wafted soothingly across the walls and reached us. My grandfather liked this song very much and translated it to explain to for me.

Just one more house to the east, we had Dr Kasiviswanthan. His son was the famous Mridangam player Umayalpuram Sivaraman. I used to be a permanent visitor to his dispensary as I had a chronic problem of cold, cough and fever when I was young. Once he refused to treat me unless I had a hair cut. He poked fun at me saying that I looked more like a "girl" with my long hair. As he was very stern, we preferred "The Pharmacy" over Dr kasiviswanathan. Of course, I started having hair cuts regularly afterwards.

Just opposite our house was a very big house but with multiple tenants. All of them were almost at the poverty level. Fights and quarrels among them were common. Sometimes, they reached our house for judgment. I remember one of  the ladies used to come to my grandmother for advice saying that her husband had hit her in a rage. My grandmother would call that man and tell him, " தென்னம் தோட்டம் சாஸ்த்ரிகளே, அவ பின்னலை ப்பிடிச்சு இழுத்து அடிச்சேள். அது  தப்பு தான் "

Diagonally opposite our house to the west was Satagopa Iyengar's house. I have never met him as he passed away some years before I was born.. But, his son's brother-in-law Chellappillai was my class mate for some years in The Native High School. Satagopa Iyengar's widow lived in poverty after her husband passed away. I was  able to see the pain in her face as she was reduced to that stage after being the wife of a famous lawyer. If money goes everything goes. Her son was a loafer. All the time, he sat on the swing cursing his mother and his wife for everything. Athamma as she was called  tried her best to improve the conditions of the house but she was unable to do that. she once called my grandfather and asked for some loan for rebuilding the back portion of the house and my grandfather did not give that amount. Still, our relationship continued.

One of the prominent lawyers P Sundaresa Iyer lived near our house. My grandfather and he were probably class mates because they were in very friendly terms. Both could exchange jokes about the colleagues or the other lawyers freely. Next to his house was the "Kumbakonam Arts School." Mr Krishna Rao was the principal of the School. They conducted exhibitions of paintings and sculptures done by their students once in a year and my grandfather invariably visited the school during that time.  

There were two large houses built very tastefully some distance away from my house. They were named Gopala Vilas and Shri Vilas. Unlike the other houses which started with Thinnai, these houses had a garden in front with a beautiful arch on which the names were inscribed. i was told that the family migrated during the First world war from Madras and they were highly connected with the elite. I recall the lady of the house "Bhavani ammal" used to call my grandfather as "Thambi" as she also belonged to Madurai like my grandfather. My friend krishnan visited the house daily apparently to do some odd jobs. he brought several nagalinga flowers for Puja from the garden. Evan after the demise of Bhavani ammal our friendships continued.

With all the contacts and visits, my grandfather did not consider himself to be a "proper" Kumbakonam citizen. He talked about himself as a person belonging to Madurai or Pudukkottai or Tiruvallur but never Kumbakonam. He spent almost 45 years in Kumbakonam and spent less than five years in each of the places mentioned above but he somehow had an attachment to those places.

According to a verse, Kumbakonam was considered to be a place which could grant Mukthi even for those who had performed sinful acts there. This is due to the significance of Mahamkham which happens once in twelve years.My grandfather made a parody of that verse which is slightly irreverant to Kumbakonam and its fame for eradicating sins.

Original verse:

சர்வ க்ஷேத்ரே கிருதம் பாபம் கும்பகோணே வினச்யதி
கும்பகோணே  கிருதம்  பாபம் கும்பகோணே வினச்யதி

Parody by my grandfather

சர்வ க்ஷேத்ரே  கிருதம் பாபம் கும்பகோணே வினச்யதி
கும்பகோணே கிருதம் பாபம் கொட்டையூரே  வினச்யதி
கொட்டையூரே கிருதம் பாபம் ஒரு கை முட்டையோட  வினச்யதி

Kottaiyur was a village few miles west of Kumbakonam towards Swamimalai.
"Muttai" in Kumbakonam Tamil is the dried cow dung used for burning.

* 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

 






 

     

A Cottage in Swami Hills- 19. Under the moonlit sky

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS *

19. UNDER THE MOONLIT SKY

We always slept in the terrace. We slept just under the open sky most of the days. When it rained, we adjourned to the rooms in the first floor. Those were wonderful days. After hearing 9 PM news, the preparations would start for going to the terrace. This included a pot of drinking water, torch , some towels etc and last but not the least my grandfather's betel box . (வெ ற்றிலை பெட்டி). Some times, the journey to terrace was delayed due to the concert which was broadcast in AIR. My grandmother would obviously not miss MS or MLV or Musiri. I would have slept on the sofa on those days and it required three people to pull me and take me to the terrace. We never slept immediately on the terrace. Sometimes, my grandfather would talk about the stars and planets. Sometimes, he would show the ring formation around the moon and  predict rainfall. He used to say 

"கிட்டக்கோட்டை எட்ட மழை  எட்டக்கோட்டை கிட்ட மழை". (If the ring has been formed closer to the moon then the rain will not be immediate. But, if the ring has been formed away from the moon, then the rain will be imminent. )

My grandfather would sit at an elevated place and do the Japa even while my grandmother would have slept. On some days, my uncle would arrive from Trichy and both of them would discuss so many things till late in the night.  Sometimes, we would listen to the shrill whistle of the train and tell ourselves "Boat mail has come". Surely, in another twenty minutes, bullock carts would go in the street noisily and we would say "some guests seem to have come by boat mail". It could be any body's house.  

I recall the lunar eclipses which we saw from the terrace. Some were full eclipses and some were partial. My grandfather would advise all of us to pray at that time. Sometimes, I used to wear the palm leaf on my forehead. The sastrigal gave it to me and asked me to wear it to protect against the Rahu or Kethu who would have been gobbling up moon during the eclipse. I hoped that Rahu would be ale to read it because I was not proficient in Grandham - the language in which the message to Rahu was written.

In the winter months, we slept inside the rooms on the cots. In the early mornings, one could listen Thiruppavai and Thiruvembavai sung by children and broadcast in the loud speakers. My grandfather would get up and tell some slokas. I would get up but would remain inside the blanket while reciting as it was very chill.

I learnt the true meaning of the riddle sitting under the moonlit sky in Kumbakonam.

எங்கம்மா புடவையை  மடிக்க முடியாது
எங்கப்பா பணத்தை எண்ணமுடியாது

The answer to the riddle is sky and the stars. Today, we can see so many neon lights but we cannot see the stars in the sky even if we try. We have lost that enjoyment forever. In spite of having such a beautiful setting, we rarely had நிலா சாப்பாடு. My grandmother probably did not believe in bringing all the food items to the terrace and making a mess there.

Once or twice we saw a jungle dog (மர நாய்) climbing the coconut tree. Of course, we saw many rats and some bandicoots criss crossing the terrace. Till late 60s, we never felt afraid but slowly, the robberies started happening and neighbours started advising us against the reckless practice of sleeping on the terrace leaving the entire house to the care of the cook.

The fear instilled by the people put a stop to our wonderful nights in the terrace and we became "normal" people who sleep under the ceiling fan with one dim light to keep company instead of the moon.

  * 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

A Cottage in Swami Hills -18. Dasara Days

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS*

18. DASARA DAYS

My grandfather was a Devi Bhaktha and he worshipped the Devi through a form of worship called Sri Vidya which is a highly respected and admired path of worship. He got initiated into Sri Vidya when he was  a student in Presidency and he started performing Pujas to the deity (a picture of Rajarajeswari) in the hostel Later when he shifted to Kumbakonam, he made a systematic arrangement for conducting the Navarathri Puja which is the most important festival for all Devi Bhakthas. He used to put one anna for every rupee ( comes to about 6%) earned by him as a lawyer in a silver box and he would utilise this amount for the Puja. He would spend that amount for Laksharchana Puja celebrations. He would not take the money from any one else for the Puja.

When I was studying, the preparation for Dasara would start atleast  a month earlier.  This included cleaning up of the vessels, buying Puja items like rosewater,sandal etc,informing the flowerman, organising for the daily Veda Parayanam etc.  I had mainly three duties to perform every day during Navarathri.
Every day, my grandfather would perform puja  for five kumaris and give them blouse piece. I had to make sure that an equal number of girls come every day so that the group is manageable. I took this opportunity to show my "importance". I used to sit  in the front portion of the house and attend to the young girls probably five or six year old and sometimes their mothers. I would look at my diary very carefully and tell them "Look, Mami, She can come day after tomorrow only. We are already full today and tomorrow".  I attached a lot of importance to doing this as I felt I was bringing order to an other wise informal affair. I sometimes gave them a chit with my signature and date and gave it to them with an advice."Please bring this without fail".  After some time, I noticed that this system was slowly getting diluted. To my shock, the "mamis" approached the inner circle and got things done quickly. I would find sometimes the girl who had been asked to come next day was happily sitting there on that day. Sometimes, they came for some other purpose (like they brought some flowers) and they were asked to sit for Kumari Puja without any information to me. Then, I realised that it did not matter whether I gave those chits or not. But, I did not stop this practice as it gave me semblance of some power. Every girl who came must have been laughing behind my back.

Second duty was that I should sit and sort out the flowers. The flowerman Narayanaswami brought a lot of flowers. I had to sit in the morning and evening and sort them. Maru has to be separate. Rose or Arali separate and white flowers separate. My grandfather would perform atleast five archanas (Laitha sahasranamam) in the morning and five in the evening so that he completes laksharchana by Vijaya Dasami day. He would perform Kunkumarchana for the first three or four. The last one would be with flowers. It used to be a grand sight to see flowers nicely put in different colours one by one in layers.

The third duty was to give dakshina to the sastrigals who would recite Sama vedham. They would come by 7 PM and start their parayanam. They would close by 9 PM. At the stroke of 9, I would come in Pattu Veshti take a plate with betel, Banana and some coins and give them Dakshinai and do namaskarams to each one. I also used to serve prasadhams to them. Apart from sama vedha parayanam, one sastrigal would come at 6.30 PM and start Sri Suktham. I used to call him "Gandhadhwaraam" by the line he used to tell loudly in Sri Suktham. He used to virtually mumble other lines. he used to repeat the Sri Suktham 32 times. every day. I also had to coordinate with Ayyaswamy sastrigal who would come for Ramayana Parayanam at 4 P.M by arranging some thing he would like to have as prasad for Hanuman.

It rained heavily during the Navarathri days and still the preparations went on every day for all these multivarious activities. I do not understand how the machinery worked so efficiently with no friction whatsoever. It is truly the indication of a Divine will.  

My grandfather would finish the Puja in the daytime by 10 but at night some times it would end later than 10 PM. This is because he would see all visitors and give them prasad and make them feel at home. Though he would not speak during Navarathri Puja time, he would write and show me what is to be done. This took time. Also in the night, he would ask my mother to recite either Mantra maatruka pushapamala or Chamundeswari Mangalam. He would take food without salt in those days. I also used to share the same food. I was not being religious. I just thought I should eat what my grandfather ate. My grandfather wrote about my determination to eat without salt to my uncle in US  parodying a Tamil phrase thus   " சேகர் உப்பில்லாமல்  கலக்கஞ்சி குடித்தான் " . He was always dressed in saffron colour like sanyasis during the Puja. This was intriguing to me as no grahastha is allowed to wear kashayam. My grandfather got his Kashayam (saffron dyed veshtis) from Kanchi Matham and he used to wear the dress like any other swamigal. On some days, he would finish his morning Puja and go to court. I wonder how he had the energy to go and attend to his professional work after an exhaustive puja schedule. On the days he had no work in court, he used to spend the dasara afternoons by reading spiritual articles. he wrote the commentary  to Lalitha Sahasranamam during those days. I had assisted him in referring to books at times. He did not sleep in the afternoons.

On a friday during the Navarathri my grandfather would perform Suvasini Puja. Here, I was having the least role as my grandmother selected nine sumangalis sometimes ten for the Puja. They were served the Lunch first and given all gifts and then only we used to eat. Ladies used to sing and in general involve themselves in loud discussions. During the navarathri, some of them would sing. I recall one lady Dharmaambaal wife of our clerk Iyaswamy Iyer used to sing the same song in all the years.

பொட்டி நெறய பூக்கொணர்ந்து பூசித்தேன் அம்மா !!

after the pujas were over, he would write the archanas completed with a white chalk on the back side of the cupboard. He was meticulous that he used to keep the preceding years' counts so that he could compare the progress.

Saraswathi Puja was a grand affair. We used to keep all the musical instruments, Sloka books and other books also. My brothers used to get involved and they used to bring so many books from different cupboards for Puja. In fact , the whole hall was full of books. I used to perform the Saraswathi Puja as my grandfather would be busy in the Laksharchanai. 

On vijayadasami day, my grandfather would give us the books after the Punar Puja for the goddess Saraswathi. he used to ask each one of us to tell one number. the moment we tell that number, he would open the Saundarya Lahari and tell us to recite that sloka daily some specific number of times. The final Puja used to be grand with arathi and some strange and somewhat odd ritual of mixing all coloured rice and other  condiments in a plate to offer Goddess. This ritual did not appeal to me.In my mind our Deity was Rajarajeswari, the Queen of the Universe and our worship to her should also be appropriate to Her Royal taste.
Then he took bath in the tap opposite the Goddess thus bringing the festivity to the end. At that time, some ladies took arathi and one or two times, some ladies acted as if they were "possessed" . They danced (சாமியாடுவது)  and fore told some events.  One lady said that my grandfather's mother had come on her. Ponnamma Mami, the cook used to be the person to attend to them with a disbelieving look (she used to say "oh, again she has started this drama!!) and bring them down to the earth after performing arathi or giving milk etc. (மலையேறுவது).

On Vijayadasami day in the evening, we would go and see the different temple deities being taken on procession for the "ambu poduthal"   We used to stand in front of a house in Mahamakam street belonging to one Balu and watch all the deities cross his house. One day, we got the news that Balu passed away. My grandfather felt sad as Balu must have been only 40 at that time. He said "The breadwinner for the family has gone". We lost our "vantage point"for the procession with his passing away.  My grandfather used to call this walk "Vijya Yathra" and our yathra in the succeeding years was only up to the next street.

In 1968, I was in PUC. My grandfather completed Vijaya Dasami Puja and we departed the same day  (October 24th) to Tiruchi along with my uncle (Ravi) in his car. It was ostensibly for  some medical check up and my grandfather was to return in a week. He did not return. He passed away on November 24th at Tiruchi after a brief illness. Kamalam Athai  (She appears in the blog A cottage in Swami Hills  Chapter 7 ) pointed out that had he remained in Kumbakonam, he would have lived as Devi would not have allowed him to go after all the Pujas he performed. I think she was right. His world revolved around Devi. All the rest was secondary to him.

The Veda parayanam and the names of the Goddess repeated during the archanas still resound in my ears after almost sixty years.  I remember the lines Wordsworth wrote

"The music in my heart I bore
Long after it was heard no more"

* 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

  

            

       

    

A Cottage in Swami Hills-17. Borough Politics

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS*

17. BOROUGH POLITICS 

In 1960s, Kumbakonam was a strong congress constituency and I was also a strong congress supporter. I swore by congress and Kamaraj was our favourite leader. The new breed of politicians led by Anna found no favour with us though we liked their Tamil. The main reason for our hatred was that they were anti brahmins and anti Hindus according to us.

My grandfather was a congress man though he started leaning towards Swatantra party started by Rajaji. Still,he was fascinated by Nehruji and had a lot of respect for him though Nehruji was not liked by many in our street. They supported congress more out of respect for Gandhiji and for want of better alternative. After  the Swatantra party started, My grandfather used to read "Swaraj" edited by Khasa Subba Rao. He used to like the cartoons appearing in "Swarajya" very much though the cartoons invariably criticised congress and its policies. He was also some time the Union Leader for Postal Employees and was respected as a staunch supporter for their causes. I have no inkling whether the union had any political affiliation though I strongly suspect that it could be congress.

We had Municipal elections around 1963 and in our ward, G K Venkataraman won and he was in Swatantra party. Of course, he joined congress later and died prematurely. Except that, people were leaving congress and joining DMK and Swatantra.

Even among my classmates, it was fashionable at that time to wear the black and red and claim allegiance to DMK. For instance, Anwar Batcha openly wore black and white bunian with MGR picture and showed it to us proudly. However,not all the boys were motivated by the Dravidian principles of DMK. Some were just there for the goodies. Babu summarised the feelings of many when he said," Look, Sekar, My chithappa was in congress for eleven years and what he got for his marriage,nothing. My mama joined DMK four years back and for his marriage, can you imagine, the party people gave him a big Venkatachalapthi picture (at this point of time he extended his hands to the full to show the size of the picture)." A dravidian party gifting Venkatachalapathi picture was not digestible to me.

I had a conflict in my allegiance to Congress when M. Sundaram became my friend in seventh standard. He was nephew of  O M Arunachalam and O M Irusappan of Thukkampalaya Street. They belonged to a party called கள் வேண்டுவோர் கழகம். Our friendship demanded that I support this party but the one point agenda of the party was the stumbling block for my support. Obviously, I could not be seen to be supporting a party which is for Toddy. So, I devised a new logic for not opposing, if not  supporting, that party and that was their leaders were very polite.  Unlike other candidates, Kal venduvor kazhagam candidates never came in decorated chariots nor raised slogans nor sang loud songs. They always came with folded hands in an open car and that was it. No slogans. No loudspeakers. No procession. They never took tea or milk from the houses on the road. Only thing is they never won. Sundaram never felt unhappy about the defeat of his uncles. He always said "They will win in the next election".

Within friends, politics never entered. We had almost reconciled to the effect, "They are congress people" or "They belong to DMK". But, one incident was an exception. I was in 6th standard and we had Sundaresan as our Class Monitor. The only qualification he had to become monitor was he was the eldest and the tallest in our class. He somehow developed a dislike for me and one day he asked me "Why are you wearing vibhuthi on your forehead?". I mumbled some reply. he told me "By tomorrow, I need a reply for this" and left me. I went home and that evening an expert panel consisting of my grandmother and her sister Yogakka and the cook Ponnamma Mami and other people listened to me and they told me to draft a detailed reply. It was about two pages and consisted of sections like Vibhuthi as a medicine and Vibhuthi as guard against devils. Finally, as per the panel''s advice I wrote  the song

 மந்திரமாவது நீ று  வானவர் மேலது  நீறு
சுந்தரமாவது நீறு துதிக்கப்படுவது  நீறு
தந்திரமாவது நீறு  சமயத்தில் உள்ளது நீறு
செந்துவர் வாயுமை  பங்கன் திரூ ஆலவாயான் திரு நீறே

Next day morning, I folded the paper neatly and handed it over to Sundaresan. According to some of my friends, it was a daring act and I invited trouble. They told me that Sundaresan's family was a prominent supporter of Dravida Kazhagam and they would not take it lightly. They warned me "we have to cross their house when we go to Play ground.". Nothing happened as they feared. Sundaresan any way vanished insider their house on the way to play ground for snacks etc and only once he showed me to his family people and said something. Incidentally, this was the first essay I wrote. I am thankful to God that the first essay contained Sambanthar's words. I feel blessed.    

By 1965, the congress lost its respect among many. The handling of Anti Hindi agitation spoilt their image in every town. Their leaders were ridiculed by all. One such joke going around at that time was about our then Prime Minister Lalbahadur Shastri. When he raised some prices, the cartoon said " This man is neither Bhadur nor Shastri. He is only a Lala".(I think it was picked up from Swarajya). Another joke was to pronounce Bakthavatsalam (name of then then CM of Taminadu) as Paththulaksham ( பத்து லக்ஷம் ) meaning that he has amassed ten lakh rupees.

Mr N Kasiraman who was a Mayor and a congressman frequently came to our house. He was the classmate of my uncle and so he was invited to all functions.

In 1967 elections, Congress faced an uphill task. Anna was clearly the leader among the youth and downtrodden. "The North is thriving and the South is shrinking" (  வடக்கு வாழ்கிறது தெற்கு தேய்கிறது  )  slogan was catching up among all the people. Congress roped in some learned pundits to defend themselves. My grandfather was called upon to defend and garner support for congress as a true congressman (when did congress realise that?). He and Agnihothram Thathachariar addressed a public meeting organised near Sankara matham.

I attended the meeting and good two hundred people attended were present. My grandfather did not use rhetoric nor used emotionally charged words. he was factual and pointed out the inexperience and the impatience of the DMK. However, Agnihothram Thathachariar was on the offensive. He said "  அடே   அது  உதய  சூரியன் இல்லடா !!  மலையில் சூரியன் அஸ்தமனம் தான் ஆகும். உதிக்காது.  அஸ்தமன சூரியனுக்கு ஒட்டு போடாதே !"  was his argument.

Whatever may be his political leanings, my grandfather had a great admiration for Nehru bordering on the hero worship. He had a photo gallery of Nehru from birth to becoming PM. One of the photographs showed during his upanayanam with tonsured head. When Nehru died, he was shaken badly. He wanted to cancel his shashtiabdhapurthy celebrations or at least postpone them. But I think no one listened to it.



 * 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

A Cottage in Swami Hills - 16. Porter Town Hall

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS *

16. PORTER TOWN HALL

one of the evening programmes of my grandfather is to go for a walk up to some landmark in the town. During these walks, I invariably accompanied him.One of our terminating points for evening walks was Gandhi park. We sometimes would listen to the Tamil news which was broadcast at that time around 7 15 PM from the loudspeakers in Gandhi Park. Sometimes, we went to the majestic building opposite Gandhi Park  named Porter Town Hall.  

Porter Town Hall was named after the first principal of Kumbakonam Government Arts college  Mr William Archer Porter. When he came to Kumbakonam, he was the Headmaster of the provincial School and in a few years, it was converted to a college.  probably it was the second Government college after The Presidency College in Madras. In 1874 he became the principal  of the college.
The buildings for the college started coming up in the land acquired on the northern bank of the cauvery. The construction started modelling the college building after the then famous Cambridge. The buildings might have been completed by 1880. Soon, the college became the talk of the town.  "The new college found its place even in the " Kolatta pattu"  of the young girls on 19th century and early 20th century in Kumbakonam. the song goes thus:

"காவேரி அக்கரையில் கட்டிடங்கள் கட்டி
அழகான காலேஜி வைத்தார்கள் பெண்ணே... "

In memory of Mr Porter the town hall constructed in 1883 was named after him.  Many famous speakers had come and delivered lectures here. The  most famous and the most respected person was Swami Vivekananda who visited Kumbakonam in 1897 in February. A news item appeared in the news paper The Madras Mail about his visit.

http://wikimapia.org/1894481/Porter-Town-Hall#/photo/37688


Adjacent to Porter Town Hall, Gopal Rao Library stands proudly and my grandfather was a member of this Library. We used to visit the Library and take books for home reading. there used to be a small annexe where all sanskrit texts were kept. I think this was called Sundarrama Iyer Library.   My grandfather took National Geographic books and I was amazed to read about the tribals and their customs in various continents. We also used to take the Reader's Digest books on World Wars. I read about the Luftwaffe and Goebbels in those books. I read about the day Bombay burnt.

I miss those curiosity filled days where every visit to the Library was an adventure which could unfold an unexpected treasure.


 * 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

A Cottage in Swami Hills - 15. Medical Centre Kalyanam

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS *

15. MEDICAL CENTRE KALYANAM

Till 1963, our life revolved around "The Pharmacy" in case of any ailment. Weekly visits were , other wnormal as even sneezing was considered to be a fit case to see Dr PVR of The Pharmacy. In 1963, a change happened in our street. The last house which was dilapidated and housed some Typewriting Institute was getting renovated and painted. Soon, the board "The Medical Centre" was hung and with a lot of gusto the inaugural function was celebrated. We attended it. It happened that Kalyanam who was the grandson of Ramamurthy Sastrigal (and adopted son) passed B.Pharm and had decided  to start his venture. Kalyanam (short for Kalyanaraman)  was handsome 24 year old looking business like. His shop was well lit with all cupboards neatly labelled with the names of drugs. He welcomed his customers with a broad smile. He had brought a lot of new products which were not seen so far by us.

My grandfather and myself made a habit to visit The Medical Centre as a part of daily walks. Not that we had anything to buy. We simply halted there for a few minutes and chatted with Kalyanam. Kalyanam looked to me very different from the business men and shop keepers. he had a good command of English and was well versed with the current affairs. My grandfather could take up any subject and chat with him. I was a spectator and learnt many things during that time.

"Everything has been shown in our films now. Only final act remains to be shown" my grandfather would one day declare thus about Tamil films. " If you want to do reform you should take care that you do not end up with bringing up all the Kuppai on the top and leave it there to rot"   he would criticise the socialist policy of the Government next day, Some people like the Headmaster of the Banadurai High school Mr K G Krishnamurthy- with his luminous vibhuthi- on his forehead were there  to take up the debates further. 

Kittu of "The Pharmacy" noticed the visits with curiosity and once murmured when he crossed us on the road "Sarma sir, you seem to like this new shop now a days". After all, they were competitors. It is also true that the monopoly of "The Pharmacy" had to end at some time. Kalyanam was qualified , young and suave and naturally attracted lot of customers.

Kalyanam was an eligible bachelor and I think lot of proposals must have come for his marriage. In a few years, he got married and expanded his business. One of the diversifications he did was to take up sale of agricultural products like insecticides. This was innovative and new because all other Pharmacists only got into cosmetics and health products. It is now not permitted to sell insecticides and drugs in the same shop but probably in 60s it was alright. 

 After my grandfather passed away, our contacts remained unchanged. Even after he shifted his shop to new premises just opposite, I visited him during my visits to Kumbakonam. We discussed everything under the sun and Kalyanam used to spend a good half an hour. He went to the dealer meetings at Bombay and always admired the business men of Gujarat and Maharashtra. 

He was highly critical of the misuse of the pesticides and fertilisers.Often he used to tell me "Sekar, if you give steroids to a ten year old girl she will look like a fifteen year old girl but that does not mean she will lead a healthy life". 

After 1992, I did not meet him. he might have shifted to some other place. He was a member of Ramchandra mission and was doing a lot of meditation. probably, he joined them. 

Kalyanam remains in my memory as a youthful business man bubbling with enthusiasm and cheer.

  

     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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage. 

A Cottage in Swami Hills- 14. Advaitha Sabha and other such organisations

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS *

14. ADVAITHA SABHA

My grandfather was a member or an office bearer of many organisations which had nothing to do with his profession. One such organisation was Advaitha Sabha. Advaitha Sabha was operated from the Kanchi Periyava Mutt in Mutt Street. It was coordinated mainly by one Mahadeva Sastrigal, a dark complexioned, short and heavily built man from Baktha puri Agraharam. 

The meetings were held quarterly and the annual meeting was a big affair. I accompanied my grandfather for meetings but I could not understand anything as the discussions were in Samskritham, the language in which I had no knowledge. 

The discussions were sometimes very "heated" and the Pandits fought on the interpretations of the sacred texts vehemently. I remember one such occasion in which the word "anthakaranam" was mentioned almost by every one atleast 100 times. I thought it is necessary to know what is "anthakaranam" if you have to know the religion. I felt bad that such an improtant word was not known to me. The debate went on for hours together with the Pandits showing no sign of tiredness. Atlast, it was over and after taking some snacks, we were on our way back home. I asked my grandfather to explain to me the "anthakaranam" as it seemed to be very important. my grandfather did not explain it. He just smiled. 

Almost all the Pundits were having tufts and my grandfather was the only person who was having the hair cut in western style. In fact, he appeared not much knowledgeable in scriptures and did not take aggressive position in the debates except one or two occasions. On one occasion, he was pitted against a Pundit who was a Madhva and at one point of time, my grandfather told him "Your mind is just like the theertha sombu you are carrying with you. Its neck is so small. Nothing goes in it nor can it be cleaned thoroughly to make it pure". It was a very blunt comment and it was made in Tamil.

Raju Sastrigal was "Mudradhikari" of the Mutt and because of his commanding stature we called "Sarvadhikari". He dropped in many times to talk about the affairs of the Mutt. One day, he told that Periyava was getting weak as he did not have food at all. On the contrary he said," That nehru is eating Dosas made of Horlix and is glowing though he is of the same age. But our Periyava does not take anything." . It was a very imaginative statement. Making Dosa from Horlix? It must be a culinary invention straight away.

Normally, the sastrigals who assembled in Sri matham spoke in Samskritham. When Periyava or any other Sankaracharya visited the conversation was only in Samskritham. Of these, Sri Lakshmikantha Sarma (the other Sarma in our Street one being my grandfather) of Lalitha Pharmacy was a notable figure. He was the richest of the group. He had a big Institution and earned well. He looked after the Veda Patasala. He was always dressed in silk Dhotis and angavastrams and presented a picture as if Perumal had come to see us. With golden garlands and bangles, he looked very royal. I was a bit surprised that he could dress so ostentatiously even when visiting a saint or a sanyasi. I developed some feeling that he was pretending to be having great respect for the Matham and probably it was a show off.

Though my grandfather was close to the Kanchi Matham and invariably was called by Periyava whenever he was in Kumbakonam, actually we are followers of Sringeri Matham. Many people were not aware of it and this led to comical situations. Some sastrigals wrote a booklet condemning Sringeri periyava. They said "Mahasannidhanam" was travelling in car and was wearing dark glasses whereas "our" Periyava was always walking on foot and not wearing glasses. They distributed and we got one copy of it personally delivered by a Sastrigal who also gave a lecture for half an hour about the contents. When Sringeri Periyava sent a vehicle to preach about Adhi Sankara's teachings, some of these Sastrigals went around telling people not to go and have Dharshan as that belonged to the "rival" Matham.

 My grandfather was awarded the title "Adhyatma Ratna" by Swmi Sivananda in 1959 when he visited Rishikesh but he never used to mention it to anyone. It was mentioned for the first time during his shashtiabdhapurthi in 1965. I asked him why he never used the title for instance in his letter head etc. he told me that he would not deserve that title if he flaunted it. It seems Swami Sivananda mentioned that the speakers who spoke in his Ashram normally Gave a catalogue of books to be referred for understanding Vedanta. He said as as a welcome change "Sarma gave no list of books. He just shared his views and experiences". When Sivananda Vijayalakshmi came to Kumbakonam for Ramayana lectures, she was enquiring about some one in Kumbakonam who had been awarded "Adhyatma Ratna" intending to meet him. My grandfather and myself attended the lectures daily but he never gave away that information to any one. Once when a Swamiji came in search of a sri Vidya Upasakar and he told my grandfather that the message he got was that he would be tall and having his hair cut etc, my grandfather told him to go to the opposite house and speak to one watch repairer who fitted the description.

My grandfather had regualar flow of Swamijis and some genuine and many not genuine. He did not criticise any one though it was obvious that some people were frauds. I recall one Hanuman Baba who claimed to receive messages from Rishikesh. he used to stand infront of a glass pane and read the meessages like we read from computer screen. He told my grandfather "Leave the practice. Concentrate on spiritual"etc.

My grandfather believed in many paths though he was, in essence, a Devi Upasaka. This made him a Vedanti but not "sushka" (dry) like his father. For him, Upanishads are OK provided they are part of the worship. Vedas are fine if they fit in his worship. But, he would not accept any reduction of the Bhakthi to his Goddess, whether it comes in the garb of vedanta or Mimamsa.

 He was very clear about the existence of one God. I one asked him about Satan as it was an interesting subject to me in my high school. He said "Satan cannot exist at all as there can be only one pwer and no power can exist outside it." He did not believe in evolution as described by Darwin but too the view that any kind of being can be created at a moment's notice at God's will and it does not have to necessarily take millions of years. "God can and in fact created many many things simultaneously and we cannot retrofit a pattern now to creation." He said.

Our past President Dr S. Radhakrishnan taught in Presidency College where my grandfather also studied there and hence my grandfather had a lot of respect for him as teacher. But, Dr Radhakrishnan's approach did not find favour with my grandfather. He told me that Radhakrishnan leaned towards Buddhism while explaining the Indian philosophy.

 In his collection. I had seen one book titled "Civil suit" which was totally against advaitham. In that book Yama is the Judge and two advocates one for Adhi Sankara's philosophy and the other for Madhwacharya's philosophy are pitted against one another. Written as if it is a regular case, it carries out a tirade against Adhi Sankara and goes to the extent of calling him "Prachchanna Boudhdhar". (as the book equates Sunyam with advaitham). The author says advaitham is equivalent to "sasha vishanam" (முயல் கொம்பு ) and  "மலடி மகன்" . My grandfather received such books regularly but probably ignored them.


   
* 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage.  

       

  

  

A Cottage in Swami Hills- 13. Mr R S Sarma

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS

13. MR. R S SARMA

Mr. R. S Sarma was my grandfather's father's elder brother's grandson. (uncle's grandson or cousin's son). But he was almost of the same age like my grandfather possibly a year or two older. This strange relationship existed because my grandfather's father was the last son for his father and probably the eldest son got married when he was a child. A picture probably would make things clearer. The rows indicate the relationship of son to the person mentioned above.

	Venkateswara Sarma alias Kuppuswami Josier
Naganathan	Panchapakesan (Tanjore)	Rangaswami (Chennai and later sivaganga)	Narayansawami (Madurai)
Chinna Ramachandra Iyer (Pudukkottai Vakil)			My grandfather
R S Sarma

The relationship between them was not known to me because my grandfather never discussed thi relationship with me at all. My father and uncles used to call Mr. R S Sarma as "ammanji" which actually meant that he is their maternal uncle's son. I thought that it was just absurd. However, another dimension emerged to the relationship which explained the reason and this is given in the table below.
Since R S Sarma is also my grandmother's maternal uncle's son my grandmother called him "Ammanji". but, why her children that is my father and uncles followed suit is not clear. To compound the existing picture, Mr.R S Sarma married my grandmother's younger sister Jayam and so he became my grandfather's co brother. Finally, Mr.R S Sarma studied in Madras Law College and so they might have been classmates too.  

Mr R S Sarma related from my grandmother's side 

	Venkateswara Sarma alias Kuppuswami Josier
Naganathan (born circa 1820)			Narayanaswami (circa 1840)
Chinna Ramachandra Iyer (born circa 1850 died circa 1900)	His Sister married to XXX and got a daughter Nagalaksmi ammal		My grandfather (born circa 1900)
R S Sarma (born circa 1900)	My grandmother (born circa 1905)
	My grandmother’s sister Jayam

With all these, my grandfather never spoke much to Ammanji Thatha (as we used to call Mr. R S Sarma.) whenever they met. Ammanji Thatha came with his wife from Pudukkottai and stayed with us for a couple of days. During the time when Ammanji Thatha was there, he used to interact with us a lot but not much with my grandfather. He was tall, fair and was always wearing  white Jibba. A rough picture of Ammanji Thatha is given below.  

He walked with a walking stick but was quite fast in walking. He always intrigued us with some difficult words in English. He was very good in English and of course good in matters related to Law though I was told that he did not have very active practice. He could be very blunt and at times very rude. "SCAMP ......." is the word he used when he wanted to call someone who has  done a mistake. 

'

In many things, he was opposite of my grandfather. He practised no Japa nor did any Puja. He spoke in such a loud voice that neighbours could easily understand what is being discussed. My grandfather told me that he groomed my Periappa and taught him to practise law. It is said that Periappa used to read "Sexton Blake" novels at the behest of Ammanji Thatha to sharpen his brain on crime and its implications.Surprisingly,  when I was in Kumbakonam both had drifted apart. Once by coincidence or by design, both Ammanji Thatha and Periappa had come to Kumbakonam and they were speaking with each other for a long time.
Next day morning, I (with usual impertinence that was characteristic of my behaviour) asked Ammanji Thatha whether there was a rapprochement . Ammanji Thatha was taken aback. He probably did not expect a Tamil medium 8th standard student in Native High School to quietly drop that word. Then he said ," No.There is no question of re-approach". I almost jumped with joy. I clearly won over him because apparently he did  not catch that French word. It looks childish now but I was very keen to let people know that I had developed some talent in languages thanks to my grandfather.

Ammanji Thatha had clear concept of the role of Police. When I described to him that the Police had made Lathi charge against the students, (I think, it was 1965 Hindi agitation) he was vehement in reaction. he said "Police has to guide not beat the students".

In 1970, after my grandfather passed away, I was in Bombay for a month and returned to Chennai alone. My sithappa had sent a card requesting Ammanji Thatha, who by that time had shifted to Chennai. When the train stopped in Chennai, Ammanji Thatha was there standing infront of the sleeper coach.He was 70 years old then. He was standing in that station to receive me who is a distant relative, ( I do not want to go through again the complicated relationship.). That was his unconditional affection. The moment I got down, he thrust a post card in my hands. It was already written "I have reached Madras safely". I had to just sign and post it in station. We caught an auto and reached his small rented house in Triplicane. he had a royal palatial house in Pudukkottai and here he was living in a two room portion in which he, his wife (my grandmother's sister) and his granddaughter Suguna was staying. He was least perturbed by the change in the surroundings. I felt very sorry at the way he had to face this at his old age when he should have been lording over the house at Pudukkottai. I did not know the reason for that change. I never will know. After dinner, we all adjourned to the terrace and again the session was in full swing with Suguna and Ammanji Thatha speaking in King's English. Suguna was studying M.A in Queen Mary's College and so I was no match. I got caught in the word "sans'. Now, it was my turn to eat a humble pie as I did not know that "sans" meant "without".


In 1974, I was travelling to Mumbai to join IBM as a trainee. on May 14th, Indian Railways workmen announced strike and I was stranded in Madras. i was staying in venus  Colony in the house which belonged to my Sithi's uncle. One day, I went to Triplicane and met Ammanji Thatha and had a nice talk with him. Then he told me " Do not go by bus. It is a waste of money. Just walk down to Venus Colony and gave me the directions. I followed his directions and reached Venus Colony in an hour or so.

That was the last time I met him.

When I was transcribing the autobiography of my grandfather from the notes collected in Kumbakonam house, I came across many interesting details which explained the distance my grandfather kept from Ammanji Thatha.

But then, life is a strange game in which you never know who is winning at what point of time. You can only keep playing according to rules and hope that it is fair to you.

* 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 as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage.