Wednesday, October 04, 2006
67 years Ago
67 Years Ago
My parents-in-law stayed in a village in
It was an agriculture community mainly cultivating rice in the low-lying paddy fields. Coconut trees were grown on the higher land. The labourers were mostly of the ‘lower caste’ who lived on the land of the landlords. They were paid so many measures of grain as their wages, every evening. During the lean months, in karkidagom (July), when there was no cultivation, the poor people took loans of grain from the land lords!
There was no electricity. But we had beautiful lamps, which were cleaned and filled with kerosene and lighted in the evenings.
There was a canal adjacent to our property and beyond that were rice fields stretching as far as the eye could see. During the monsoon the fields were full of water and it looked like a big ocean. How beautiful it was.
Once we, Ammachy, Sarasu and I got into the boat to go to Niranam. Our old Chacko Chettan—the boat man-- manoeuvred the boat with his long bamboo pole in to the bigger stream and from there on to the
# posted by R C @ 6:25 pm 
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Nice write up. Life was so much harder back in those days, but still much of it must have seemed simplier to learn and understand than it is today with all the new ways of doing everything.
I bet you have a lot of great recipes made with rice. I often cook rice for different dishes. One of my favorite is my Mothers cooked rice recipe,but it takes a few hours to make it. Since my mother passed away I was asked to keep making it for our large family picnic every year. I have never seen a real rice field. We can`t grow rice where I live. It must be something to see the rice fields expanding off so far. Do you call them paddy fields, or is this just an expression from some other country?
My grandfather used to be in charge of the large barge that went up and down the Canal. My Mother was born on this barge. By the time I was born they no longer had the barges, so I have never seen what they looked like. I would love to have seen the barge my mother was born on. my grandfather passed away when my mother was just a teenager, so I never met him.
thanks for telling me more about your life and your country.
I bet you have a lot of great recipes made with rice. I often cook rice for different dishes. One of my favorite is my Mothers cooked rice recipe,but it takes a few hours to make it. Since my mother passed away I was asked to keep making it for our large family picnic every year. I have never seen a real rice field. We can`t grow rice where I live. It must be something to see the rice fields expanding off so far. Do you call them paddy fields, or is this just an expression from some other country?
My grandfather used to be in charge of the large barge that went up and down the Canal. My Mother was born on this barge. By the time I was born they no longer had the barges, so I have never seen what they looked like. I would love to have seen the barge my mother was born on. my grandfather passed away when my mother was just a teenager, so I never met him.
thanks for telling me more about your life and your country.
I know this is completely unrelated to your present post mummy, but something on amma's blog about the older generation made me want to put up this verse (i dont know if i can call it that actually) which I had written to u sometime back - on the 2nd of June this year to be precise.
I love you Mummy……
1. For giving me all those wonderful times at Trivandrum which can never ever be replaced
- berry plucking (followed by you making berry juice for us)
- going to the zoo
- having flavoured milk (even now whenever I have flavoured milk I always think of you)
- buttered toast (toast made in that old toaster of yours) and yummy yummy mango preserve and chilled lassis!
- playing tolly gunge sitting in your giant kuttakams filled 3/4th with water
- singing all those hymns with you (I remember one specific time when you were frying pappadams and I sat on the kitchen counter with the golden bells and kept singing along with you)
2. For being more modern and interesting than any other grandmother I have ever known.
- reading through “Beautiful Mind” even though the book was small print and so difficult for you to read
- learning to use the computer and surf the internet
- the fact that I can even today place bets with you
- you knitted me a bright blue tube top! I must say that even most of the kids in my class were not modern enough to appreciate tube tops.
3. For always being genuinely interested in my life, and then that of Robi’s and mine, and then now of Karan’s.
4. For having a wonderful sense of humour and a great spirit in life, even when you are depressed
- wanting to wear short tops with mundu and getting them specially bought/made
- singing in the shower to lift your spirits
5. For having looked after Appachen and Ammanikochamma without ever complaining.
6. For being my Amma’s best friend (I think we share that position)
7. For being so compassionate (though stern as well) not just with family and extended family but even with house help and others.
8. For taking down the words of the song “after flying all day long…” cos I sang it in school for a school play and you liked it so much. And for recording me singing while I was pregnant.
9. And even for being stubborn as hell! (I don’t know why, but this is one of the reasons I am fondest of you).
10. For making all those wonderful ‘udups’ for Karan. They are still intact and I am saving them for my next child.
11. Oh and for buying Ro and me roller-skates and sending us for skating lessons to the zoo, and then for taking care of me when I hurt my back falling off while skating at the Shanmugam skating rink after I became good at skating!
Thank you for being so wonderful and for being you!
please give me your email id so that i can send this to you.
I love you Mummy……
1. For giving me all those wonderful times at Trivandrum which can never ever be replaced
- berry plucking (followed by you making berry juice for us)
- going to the zoo
- having flavoured milk (even now whenever I have flavoured milk I always think of you)
- buttered toast (toast made in that old toaster of yours) and yummy yummy mango preserve and chilled lassis!
- playing tolly gunge sitting in your giant kuttakams filled 3/4th with water
- singing all those hymns with you (I remember one specific time when you were frying pappadams and I sat on the kitchen counter with the golden bells and kept singing along with you)
2. For being more modern and interesting than any other grandmother I have ever known.
- reading through “Beautiful Mind” even though the book was small print and so difficult for you to read
- learning to use the computer and surf the internet
- the fact that I can even today place bets with you
- you knitted me a bright blue tube top! I must say that even most of the kids in my class were not modern enough to appreciate tube tops.
3. For always being genuinely interested in my life, and then that of Robi’s and mine, and then now of Karan’s.
4. For having a wonderful sense of humour and a great spirit in life, even when you are depressed
- wanting to wear short tops with mundu and getting them specially bought/made
- singing in the shower to lift your spirits
5. For having looked after Appachen and Ammanikochamma without ever complaining.
6. For being my Amma’s best friend (I think we share that position)
7. For being so compassionate (though stern as well) not just with family and extended family but even with house help and others.
8. For taking down the words of the song “after flying all day long…” cos I sang it in school for a school play and you liked it so much. And for recording me singing while I was pregnant.
9. And even for being stubborn as hell! (I don’t know why, but this is one of the reasons I am fondest of you).
10. For making all those wonderful ‘udups’ for Karan. They are still intact and I am saving them for my next child.
11. Oh and for buying Ro and me roller-skates and sending us for skating lessons to the zoo, and then for taking care of me when I hurt my back falling off while skating at the Shanmugam skating rink after I became good at skating!
Thank you for being so wonderful and for being you!
please give me your email id so that i can send this to you.
Chandy, you have such a beautiful loveing granddaughter. I know you already know that, but I loved the comments she left here for you.
From her comments, I can tell that you are also a wonderful grandmother.
Lawyeramma, your amma must be very proud of you.
From her comments, I can tell that you are also a wonderful grandmother.
Lawyeramma, your amma must be very proud of you.
yes dot, my grandmom is a wonderful lady! and yes, i do hope my amma is proud of me.
mummy, how are you feeling? Based on the fact that there are no more posts from you, I presume you're not doing that good.
mummy, how are you feeling? Based on the fact that there are no more posts from you, I presume you're not doing that good.
Thank you Rupa for reminding me of the wonderful happy, joyful, memories of the days when you and other grandchildren were with me. How we used to go out in the evenings to fetch the videos of Disney movies and other children's movies and how we all enjoyed watching them together. Memories, beautiful happy memories.
yes, RC, our grandchildren add so much to our memories as do the great grandkids. All those wonderful memories we made while raising our own children are enriched even more when they start bringing their children to see us. Today one of my granddaughters stopped by to see me. She brought her 5 month old son and her sisters little 3 yr old daughter with her. Nothing like having a granddaughter and two great grandchildren stopping to visit with me for a while. While they were here my oldest daughter called me from Florida just to make sure I was doing ok. She is on a vacation in another state a long ways from home. She has already phoned me 5 times and she only left 11 days ago and will be back home late tomorrow.
Take care of yourself. I love knowing you thru your granddaughters eyes.
Take care of yourself. I love knowing you thru your granddaughters eyes.
I read your g'daughter's post and my mind is already racing to the day when mine will grow up and send mails to me.
ammachy, this is wonderful. i am so so glad that you have started blogging esp since i am so far away and often feel disconnected from what's happening back home. hugs and kisses, anandi
# posted by 
: 7:27 pm
: 7:27 pm
Chandy Ammachi,
I love your posts. Keep writing! You have so many eager readers wanting to know about those bygone days...
May Gog give you health, happiness and long life. I can understand that you have a wonderful family too!
Nice knowing you.
I love your posts. Keep writing! You have so many eager readers wanting to know about those bygone days...
May Gog give you health, happiness and long life. I can understand that you have a wonderful family too!
Nice knowing you.
RC, I just had to come back to see if you had added more posts. I so enjoy reading about your country and your growing up years.
Hope you are feeling good and enjoying yourself with lots of visits from your family. Wishing you the very best.
Hope you are feeling good and enjoying yourself with lots of visits from your family. Wishing you the very best.
I love your stories.
Please write about your time in Bombay in the early forties, just before independence. Also about the long driving trip in the blue Dodge Kingsway from Bombay to Delhi in 1960. Devi Singh the drive, dacoits near Gwalior, the Jain temple in Indore, Fatehpur Sikri, Taj Mahal, the wonderful PWD guest houses we stayed in en route (with the pankawallah) and finally 12 Akbar Road. G
Please write about your time in Bombay in the early forties, just before independence. Also about the long driving trip in the blue Dodge Kingsway from Bombay to Delhi in 1960. Devi Singh the drive, dacoits near Gwalior, the Jain temple in Indore, Fatehpur Sikri, Taj Mahal, the wonderful PWD guest houses we stayed in en route (with the pankawallah) and finally 12 Akbar Road. G
# posted by : 10:03 am
: 10:03 am
Hi ma'am - I came to your blog via Susan's - how wonderful -you should collate all your memories and maybe bring out a book - loved your posts
Hi Chandy, I just read on your daughters blog that you haven`t been feeling well. I said a Prayer for you and hope you are soon feeling better. I will be back soon to see if you are able to sit up and tell us more of your wonderful stories. Take care and God Bless you and your family.
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