Down the Memory Lane.....

Pettavaithalai days.....(2nd instalment)

I can imagine the difficulty that a "serial" (Thodarkathai) writer will have...after writing "Thodarum" at the end of the last posting, I am expected to continue and post the next post within a week...What about the guy who was writing "Sindubad" in Dhinathanthi...of course for him one sentence was sufficient for one day....of course I cannot compare myself with those fertile minds and versatile writers...with this handicap, I thought I should continue, in spite of being termed as a bore....(mun vaitha kalai pin vaikathe thamizha !!!).


It appears that many things happened during the Pettavaithalai days......


Apart from Trichy, Appa used to take us to Mahadhanapuram, a small village on the way to Karur from Pettavaithalai. Mahadhanapuram is a beautiful village with an agraharam (where Brahmins used to live) on the banks of Cauvery and has the Samadhi’s of quite a few Sanyasis. One of the Samadhis is that of Sri Ramananda Saraswathi, my great grandfather (Sri Ramachandra Iyer, in his purvashrama). Ramananda Saraswathi attained moksha at Kollimalai, on the other side of the river Cauvery. His Samadhi was built at Mahadhanapuram, alongside his guru, the Nelamavu Madam Swamigal. We used to visit Mahadhanapuram for the Aradhanai festivals…an elaborate festival with daily Pujas and Pravachanams and music throughout the day for two weeks or so. Even though I did not know anything about music, philosophy, religion etc., at that age, it was exciting to be there among the bhaktas yearning for the blessings of the elders and to eat at the community lunch/dinner.

Another place where where we had been more than once was the Ramakrishna Thabovanam at Tiruparaithurai, a village on the way to Trichy from Pettavaithalai. The Thabovanam was run by Swami Chitbhavananda, who, if I remember right, was, in his purvasrama, an uncle of Sri C. Subramaniam. The Thabovanam took care of hundreds of orphaned children, giving them food, sheter and education. Whenever I went to this place, I used to feel blessed...at least my parents were with me....

Pettavaithalai Sivan Temple was famous...but I had been there only twice if I remember right; once we had been there to listen to the musical performance by Amma's cousins (daughters of Papa Chithappa)...I still can not figure out why we did not visit the temple often.

We also visited Kamanayakan Palayam a few times, when Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi, then the head of the Kumbakonam mutt visited the place. Somehow, I did not have much reverence for him or the mutt or for his successors...there was no specific reason except that I happened to hear some heated debates on the Kumbakonam mutt at our Pettavaithalai house when thatha stayed with us for a few days. My irreverence got strengthened later when I read "Kumbakonam Mutt - Oru Vimarsanam" and when I had a chance presence (as a young boy accompanying my thatha) at a meeting of elders at the house of Modern Stores Sattanatha Iyer at Triplicane, Madras, many years later.

I remember once Jayaraman (our servant and a DK member) took me to a public meeting addressed by Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker.....he was dead against Brahmins....I don't know as to what made Jayaraman to take me there...I remember Periayar's first sentence: "Enda, ella mutta pasangalum inga vandhu okkandu irukkinga...vela onnum illaya ?"..I was shocked...how people could be humiliated and still be made to follow ...this is an art that DK had perfected and DMK had used later...they committed (are still committing) all atrocities on Brahmins, but Brahmins were the ones who first helped them to form the government...shameless people (I am not debating the right or wrong of things here...in my opinion it is a matter of giving respect to other human beings..especially, later I came to know, that Periyar used to call even a child with respect).

Four trips out of Pettavaithalai (appa, amma, cheena and I) are still green in my memory.

The first trip was to Sringeri. First we went to Bangalore by train and then took a car to Sringeri via Chikmagalur and Shimoga…Sringeri is a serene and sacred place on the banks of the river Tunga, where Adi Sankara established a mutt. Sringeri is full of temples, the foremost being the Sarada Temple; then there are marvels like the Vidyaranya temple, Rishyashringar temple etc. We visited Sringeri during the Navarathri festivals; the acharya (at that time Sri Abhinava Vidyathirtha Mahaswamigal) used to conduct Chandramouleeswara puja in the morning and in the evening he used to appear in a dress which was a combination of royal and feminine dresses. He used to wear a Kreedam and sit on a throne. There used to be exponents of Vedas and music exhibiting their skills in front of him every evening. This was a memorable occasion. My maternal thatha Sri Krishnaswamy Iyer and patti Sundarambal were there at Sringeri at that time. Thatha was closely attached to the Sringeri mutt and it made out stay at Sringeri that much easier, with good dharshans and meeting with the Swamigal. I enjoyed throwing Pori (puffed rice) into the Tunga river to watch “big” (at least one foot long and fish rushing to catch the pori; I was told that Swamigal did that every day and he admired and loved the fish in Tunga at Sringeri. Swamigal was living on the other side of Tunga, in Narasimha Vana and it was fantastic to see him cross the river in a Parisal. The water level in Tunga was really high and the current was dangerous…still Swamigal had a daily routine of crossing Tunga many times. We had an opportunity to cross the Tunga once to visit the Samadhi of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal. The place was calm, quiet and divine. We sat for about an hour in front of the Samadhi of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal; it was a good experience for me, who had never kept quiet for such a long period anytime in the past.

On the way back we visited Mysore, Chamundi Hills (famous not only for the Mahishasura Mardhini temple, but also for the Mahishsuran statue and for one of the largest bull, Nandi, statues made of single stone), the museum (having a good collection of paintings, including those of Raja Ravi Varma) and the Brindavan Gardens (at the Krisha Raja Sagar Dam on the river Cauvery, and known for its garden, water fountains and the light show). In the evening we witnessed the then Maharaja Jaya Chamaraja Wodiyar, in his royal attire, celebrating the Dassera by being taken on a procession on a well decorated elephant, followed by many decorated elephants; at the end the procession he presided over an assembly of sevaks of the erstwhile Mysore State, outside the Lalitha Mahal Palace, giving them gifts and honours. It was indeed reminescent of the days of the Maharaja's of the past. For me, the trip was full of fun.

The second trip was to Kodaikanal. We (appa, amma, Cheena and I) went up to Kodai Road by train and then by car to Kodaikanal. The car journey was exciting with so many hair pin bends. I do not remember many things that happened there…but I do remember that we went up to the pillar rock and took a boat ride in the lake. We had been to the Observatory. For the first time I saw the fruit PLUM, a fruit inviting to be eaten but I did not like the taste.

The third trip was to Coimbatore. All of us went to Coimbatore to attend Kannan’s poonal. For the first time I met Jaya, Kannan, Jayaram, Raju, Balaji and others. We children had fantastic time playing around. Kannan, Jaya, Cheena, Renu, Kalyani et al formed a senior group not allowing us to enter their domain. We kids enjoyed our freedom without interference from “big” brothers. My memory is failing me…but I can say that Kannan’s poonal was the first family function when I could meet almost all my cousins for the first time; probably that was the first time I met (with a clear memory) Ramakrishna Chithappa and Radhakrishna Chithappa. Ramakrishna Chithappa was a successful Ayurveda doctor in Coimbatore; his home at Raja Street was really big. I learnt that he was considered to be not so good at studies and was sent to Coimbatore by my thatha Sankara Sastry, to stay with Dr. Kasinatha Iyer (my athimber, whom I revere and who had showered his love and affection on me; he is one of the three people I am fortunate to be associated with - the other two being my father and thatha Krishnaswamy Iyer) and get a job; thatha had given him the "Dhanvanthari" upadesam (my thatha Sankara Sastry, I learnt later, was not only a great Sanskrit Scholar but also an effective Ayurvedha doctor) before sending him to Coimbatore. In Coimbatore, chithappa Ramakrishnan started as a Compounder, later registered himself as a Medical Practitioner (RMP) and became a successful Ayurveda doctor. His story was really inspiring...from a position of hopelessness to that of a great success. His brother, chithappa Radhakrishnan studied Sanskrit at Annamalai University and settled at Coimbatore as a Sanskrit Pundit at the Municipal High School. He distinguished himself in sports, especially badminton and social service. Even today he is full of energy..at his age of about 90 he moves around swiftly form one place to another, and lives alone in Coimbatore. They were considered in Coimbatore as ideal brothers, one supporting the other and be together always. (the story changed later, however).

The fourth trip was to Madras to attend Mani’s marriage. There was heavy floods in Cauvery on the day we started in a Willis van for Madrasi. By the time we reached Mutharasampettai, we could see breaches of the bund and water was flowing on to the highway. Our driver in his unusual act of bravery started driving the van further on the road and to our bad luck, the van stopped in the middle of water. The water level was rising slowly and it had almost entered the vehicle…we were all afraid (at least I was…having faced the drowning experience once already). None of us knew swimming and the water current was strong…any time the water level could go beyond our head. Luckily for us a few villagers around the area came to our rescue, not minding the risk they were taking, and pushed the vehicle out of the running water. We had to wait for some time before we could again start the vehicle and proceeded to Madras. Those few minutes when we were not sure whether we would be drowned in Cauvery floods were really difficult to express…I can only say that GOD was with us and HE came in the form of the villagers. In those days 16, Buchi Babu Naidu Street, Triplicane, Madras, was like Mecca for anyone in our family visiting Madras. That was Papa Athan's house, where Dr. Kasinatha Iyer (Athimber) also lived. Dr. Kasinatha Iyer was revered by one and all in the family..his life story was amazing...he was born in Varanasi and within a few days of his birth he lost both his parents and I learnt my patti (Vepachi patti, appa's amma) took care of him (a cousin of hers) in the early days...and got him married to her daughter (my peria athai) ..he studied well..did his BA in Chemistry at the Presidency College, Madras and later did his Ph.D. in Oxford...in Organic Chemistry..after returning to India, he joined the Coimbatore Agriculture College as a lecturer in Chemistry...later moved to Banares Hindu Univesity as a Reader in Chemistry. By the time I first came to know him he was already retired from service; he was full of energy though. He never tolerated mediocrity and one of his "characteristics" was "kopam". He used to get angry at anything less perfect than his expectations. Mani got married to Sarada, daughter of Dr. Kasinatha Iyer..and we all stayed at 16, Buchi Babu Maistry Street throughout our stay... I remember an incident when I ran away from Buchi Babu Naidu Street to Venkatarangam Pillai Street (where Srinivasa Chithappa lived) via the Triplicane High Road and Pycrofts Road in search of Cheena and others who left me back (you see, I was a kid and they were all grown ups!!!) when they went out..I did not have the address..there were no phones/cell phones to contact..I could have been lost in the Madras crowd...I still cannot understand how I got to the right house...if I have to do it now, I will not....age brings along with that the fear of the unknown !!! One of the finest couple I met during this trip was Gomathi Manni and Narayana Ammanji...an excellent host of Palamadai lineage.

Coming to relatives, Pettavaithalai days were the ones when I came across many relatives… thatha Sri Krishnaswamy Iyer (majestic and commanding respect) and patti Sundarambal (one of the most beautiful and graceful ladies I had ever seen) came and stayed with us for a few days. Many relatives and friends used to visit us during that time to meet Thatha. I did not know at that time the greatness of thata. I was only interested, sitting on his lap, in fiddling with the spherical mass (I used to call Seedai) on his ring finger....Later in life, after reading (not studying..which I have to do still) quite a few of his books, I realized I was fortunate to be born his grandson...I have read his "Kumbakona Mutt - A Vimarsanam" many times and admired his analytical and logical expressions and conclusions. His "Saint of Sringeri", "Dialogues with the Guru", "Sparks from the Divine Anvil" etc., were/are for uninitiated people like me. I struggled many times to understand his English translation of "Vidyaranya's Panchadasi". A highly principled person, he "retired" from his "lawyer" profession when he was still at his peak at the age of sixty...despite the fact that mama was yet to complete his education...I believed (still believe) that he had a liking and a special place for me and I had his blessings....this thought was reinforced when I last met him at Mannadimangalam, as Janananda Bharathi Swamigal, in the sick bed with tubes inserted in his body to feed and to remove things from his body...even under those conditions (some time around mid 1970s) he explained to me many things, including answering my many silly questions on Sanyasa. He also expressed his love and affection for me by specially sending his correspondences with various VIPs and "the Hindu" to be given to me specifically when he took Sanyasa.

Amma liked to invite girls in the family to spend some time with her..quite a few, Lalitha Athangar, Saradha Athangar, Rukku Akka, Chelli, Meena et al visited us during our Pettavaithalai days to spend their holidays with Amma.

Chandra Anna used to visit Pettavaithalai once in a while. For the first time I remember to have come into contact with Mani anna; he was studying at the Islamiah College, Vaniambadi and came for a holiday to Pettavaithalai. For many years I thought I had only one brother, Cheena. Slowly it dawned on me that there were two more elder brothers too who were away from Pettavaithalai. Slowly I started recognizing the larger family beyond Pettavaithalai (i.e., beyond Amma, Appa, Cheena, Patti and Ammalu Athai). Later in life I realized the need to be near the dear ones...once you are away (I am away from Chennai for over 34 years), away from your dear ones's radar, you are considered an outsider, even though you are close by blood.

Looking back, the period between 1957 and 1962 appears to be an exciting period in my life...a small kid trying to learn things, making connections with people, picking up impressions that influenced life, not polluted by politics of masses and numbers, enjoying each and every minute the natural surroundings....given a chance I would like to live that life again...again...and again.