All
my childhood memories have traces of granny's presence. Like all fond things, I could gauge her worth only after I lost her. Her tenderness has seeped so deep into
my being that I can still feel her touch, I remember the earthy fragrance
around her, I can recall the taste of the many varieties of food she prepared for
us with love. All this even after 10-11 years of her passing away! Every
evening, she used to take me to madhwasangha for pravachana. While she listened
to profound discourses inside the hall, i used to stand near the gate and dream
away to glory. I used to first finish all the toffees she bought me and plan
the possible escape routes if someone kidnapped me. I used to run to the main
road only because I was forbidden. Ajji came out often to check on me. I had
calculated the gap between each of her visits. The calculations went horribly
wrong at times and I used to get caught wandering on the road. It always ended
quite dramatically. She would drag me inside; I would cry aloud drawing all the
attention there. That meant I could break the queue at the end of the session
to reach the speaker and was of course blessed with an extra kallu sakkare
(sugar crystal?) most often.
Ajji
didn’t go to madhwasangha to while away her time. Nothing that she listened to
disappeared in thin air. She put it all down in words. She read extensively.
She compiled all the information she knew and gave it her own colour. The 10-11 books
that she wrote speak for themselves. She started writing very late in her life.
Not many knew that she could write. She didn’t undergo schooling. After all the
hardships she underwent and emerged victorious; she wasn’t compelled to write.
She had already proved her point as a woman. But she set her own standards. She
has earned praises from eminent scholars. I didn’t have to go looking for
ideals. There she was, in flesh and blood; here she is, still alive, in my memories.
Books, plants, and children – they all earned a special place in her heart.
Her
very first book just got reprinted. It is titled “Sri samanyarige Mahabharata”.
