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Journey of a lifetime

From a Jack to a King And the kingmaker? My mom! In 1969 when man landed on the moon this happy-go-lucky girl from a small village in Kerala watched as MAN took his first step on the moon, on a TV sitting in a hotel room in US ! A little village girl brought up in a remote village, scaling up walls along with her siblings, picking flowers to make garlands for her Lord Krishna, found herself catering to the whims and fancies of another Lord whom she had accepted as her spouse. And then they went on a whirlwind tour of their life which ended only at the turn of the century! A story that spanned nearly the whole twentieth century. It is a wonder how a couple with such contrasting backgrounds and characters built their life brick by brick taking every opportunity to step forward supporting each other in their own way. Amma, officially known as Manjapra Varieth Madhavi( Madhavi) , a fifth grade drop-out, was from a family where children had to make do with all that was availa
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Still waters of Niagra

  After a swirl in the city of New York, Dad and Mom (Achan and Amma) were due to visit the Niagara Falls from New York city about 400 miles -  approximately six and a half hours - away to be done in a one day tour.         There does not appear to be any description or stories of the day of 31 st  December 1968. After the New York tourist bus visit a long day awaited Dad and Mom before their drive to Niagara falls on New Year’s Eve of 1969.  A Greyhound tour in the depth of a dark winter night in an entirely strange new setting would have been more than terrifying for Mom as she was always a sunshine being, a little girl at heart loving the outdoors, in sun, rain or wind. For a girly mind, who always referred to herself as a being who does not fade in the hot sun - having grown up in fire, the fear and trust in her husband were the only small cinders left in her mind…That night was a story clothed in the mystery of a long 11 plus hours journey into seeming nothingness.. but little cou
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29.12.1968 Amma on Broadway!!

  https://kalavariar.blogspot.com/    As you can see it is not just Amma on Broadway but decades later myself, Kala, and my daughter too were caught on camera, posing for a click!  A family of theatrical personalities, my daughter and her group of dance performers recently made people turn their head to catch a glimpse or click a photo of their very symbolic Mohiniattam garbs – symbolic as it embodies the female figures in Kathakali performance, a dance form of Kerala that followed the matrilineal system till the seventies of last century. Amma would be proud watching from beyond the clouds. Always a connoisseur of art, she never lost an opportunity to sing, dance or act in plays. In our neighbourhood it was well-known that if they performed around the lamp that my mother placed at the centre of the circle of dancers on  Thiruvatthira  day, celebrated on the longest night of the year to worship Lord Shiva, one will get a husband of one’s choice. I remember a collection of my sister’s f
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Remembering Madhavi, our ‘beautiful’ aunt - the words of our cousin, Jalaja, succinctly puts in words Amma's character from a retired civil servants perspective

MADHAVI, MANOHARI How many of us remember our old aunts and uncles who have left for their heavenly abodes? Mostly, none. Bur for us, Madhavi aunty (Matha Cheriyamma as we called her), younger sister of our mother, is ever-living.  Early life:   Madhavi was born and brought up in our joint-family home, Manjapra Variam. Her mother Angachi Amma was a formidable woman, but was also kind and compassionate. There were altogether nine siblings-four brothers and five sisters (they used to boast about being ‘Navaratnas’ or nine gems, a claim which others conveniently ignored!).  Manjapra Variam members are generally jovial by nature, never unnecessarily worried about anything around them. They try to make the best out of every situation and see humour in everything. Madhavi grew up in a liberal set up in the Variam.  The eldest among the four sisters, Rugmani, became a widow in early life. She was solemn and spoke less. My mother Parvathy or Chinnamma lived in another village with her foster p
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Achan & Amma in the Big Apple - NYC

It was the last week of December  1968! Achan seems to have planned to go to New York by bus as can be seen from a photo of Amma with a caption  En route to New York date 29.12.68.  Though train journeys do have a dream like quality in people’s conscience, Achan and Amma appears to have travelled by the popular interstate Greyhound lines. The available public mode of travel was the Greyhound cross country bus services since the New York - Ottawa slim train services apparently closed around 1954 which could have been the reason for his choice of the mode of transport. I am pretty sure that Achan had established contacts necessary to be in New York from India itself. Hence their stay was not with any hazards even in the middle of winter. From another picture we find that the couple stayed with the son of Mr. Mendez, probably one of Achan’s colleagues. I am not sure whether they took this humpbacked bus or the 1954 version. Whatever .. but it must have been a long trip done anywhere betwe
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