The Project Grandparents -VMKC-2

  Now ,glamourwise ,my valliammachi had an aura or charishma around her.She was on the darker side.She had a heart of gold,not very literate but very good at management. All her nine daughters ,with a gap of one or two years between them ,addressed her as ammachi.

Even if I wished to hug her  my hands would not reach the full circumfrence.She was solid stock woman.We use to see  her bhadrakali avatar also, though not very frequent.

Oh! she loved us so much inspite of us being brats to the core.(please excuse Meena and Sarsi not in the brat list).

Now my sister resembled her, so perhaps my parents thought it apt to name her Meenakshi after her ,though my sis loves to be called Meena without the kshi.

Every Saturday or Sunday I forget ,it was a routine ritual to oil our heads to the scalp and run the 'payncheap' and comb out all the louse.No use crying out in pain, her grip was solid and after the episode ,we looked soaked in oil.Next run near the well at the back and have a good bath, with that cut piece of red lifebuoy soap.

For evening snack, there was huge murukuu, if the old man selling murukku came, with the big basket on his head full of it .She would buy and give us one each and no more.We happily played with it as a bangle, as it would reach our shoulders before finishing it off.

If it was jackfruit season, then she would ask Saradamma ,the kitchen help ,to cut equal pieces and give each one of us a JJportion.Unlike today ,where we take out the cholas and remove the kurus for our kids these days,she never spoonfed us.Management lesson 1.

We were supposed to eat the bulbs and return   the seed,chagini and the outercovering back at the kitchen.It never mattered where we ate. Management instructions skills 2.If we didn't ,then we would have a earful of swear words.These days, it would be treated as Verbal abuse under Child protection act

If the lady selling kappa mangoes came, which was ten paise for a big one then we got one each.After eating it was our usual game of throwing away to the farthest distance.or Dilip would yell my name. When I come running 'andika koot pogavu' he would ask and I would get pissed off.

Once in 45 days ,Benny,the dark, handsome ,sinewy ,coconut plucker would come .He was my valliammachis righthand man.After plucking and bringing them to the kitchenside ,we would be treated to tender coconut if she was in a good mood.

So Sundays used to pass off very actively.