<<< Rama Navami & Granny

Its an extended weekend for me and this day started little bright after a poised and calm weekend. I had been to Besant nagar beach with my fren in the early hours and enjoyed watching the Sunrise wondering how many things we miss out in a day being part of these cut throat schedules and cocooned homes. I never knew there was something bigger that I missed today.

The daily ritual call from mom in the morning made me remember that today happened to be Rama navami which catapulted nostalgic thoughts and fond memories of my growing up days in Vizag. Sri rama Navami, a festival widely celebrated as birth Thithi of Lord Rama which had almost lost its fervor and significance in these times and life styles.


A little lookback into my childhood - I have been brought up with all the norms and rhymes of a typical traditional south Indian family but what topped it all was that my upbringing was mostly in a Joint family framework (until I completed 2nd year graduation). So I feel lucky when I think today to have enjoyed all the fruits of being a part of joint living , sharing and caring , delaing with contradictions and conflicts and ofcourse pampered being the youngest (okay! being the youngest for a long time until my lil cousin(bro) arrived;o) There are tons and tons of fond memories when I look bak today and dont feel like calling it a day without talking about my Grandmom who was a gem of a person.

I got reminded of her specifically today since this festival was celebrated in her presence in a unique way in our house. Its a tradition in our house to worship the age old wooden Idols of Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman and perform thier wedding( Yes!! in a small scale though :-) Sissy and me used to sing songs for any occasion under amma and granny's supervision ;) We were fondly referred to Lava & Kusa on Rama navami ;) Its a real feast to be a part of such proceedings and I feel there is so much meaning in blindly following what was taught to us by elders. I confess that for me, following any ritual or performing pooja was exciting just for the fact that it involved lot of color, flowers, music, great fooood and ofcourse new dresses:-) But guess that's the first step where we start understanding our culture and as we grow up, we season it with logic and reason and mature as a complete person. Don't ask me which stage I am in now thouh he he ;))

Coming to granny, There are many spectacular charecterisitics about her but what defined her the best was her dignity, perseverance, foresight and ambitious nature which is not so likely to be found in a person of that era. She was with us until she was 82 in her full spirits and is still remembered by everyone on any given occasion. I have not really seen anyone so popular from her times who is thought about so fondly and so often. A big eyed beautiful lady who was multi faceted in her own ways be it be cooking, dressing up , Poetry or literature - both Telugu & Sanskrit , so on so forth and more than anything the broad outlook towards life. Sometimes my parents were way way beyond at the amount of understanding and sensitivity with which she dealt issues. Never nagged or brooded about conventional norms and marvellously adjusted herself to vivid generations. She would narrate all the mythological stories with great penchant and patience to a band of monkeys like us when we all used to sleep on the terrace in the night which is a very important and fond part of my upbringing. She had almost seen 4 generations and surprisingly she could easily connect with all effortlessly. I remember my elder bro's ( first cousin) frens from Btech and Mtech streams on thier visit to our house always used to discuss with her without any inhibitions on any given topic. She was just adorable by all her grandchildren specially.
There were some very strong and ambitious charateristics like any Mom-in-law in a joint family which were once again specific to her which led to contradictions and conflicts. But surely nothing in comparison to the bigger picture to which she belonged.

There have been many instances when I would have felt not so good about the way she handled certain things but it all look petty to me now since its her wonderful persona which has helped me inculcate so many good things and this day would just be incomplete if I dont shed a tear for her. I hope she was near me today and blessed me :-)
Having been a part of such cozy and wonderful childhood amidst people, today was mostly spent at home in solitude watching two great mythological telugu movies ( My all time favorite Lava Kusa & Seetha Rama Kalyanam) which triggered such wonderful memories :) Guess this is what I could do most belonging to these times :-)
I strongly feel that a part of me is always with the History that has made me and its inseperable.

~$,04/14/08,9:45pm