Thank you Pallavi, for your article which shows how right we are to celebrate womans day. Womanhood has been a sad tale of oppression in various forms, but fortunately the tide is turning in most of the world.
Your article reminded me of my own paternal grandmother - Alamelu Ammal.
Alamelu was married off when she was a child and was a widow in her early teens. Childless, she adopted my dad when he became an orphan. She was a wizened old woman with a shaven head and wore a colourless grey sari in the traditional Brahmin style.
Growing up as a child in Madras, - an extremely naughty child at that - she was someone I mocked and played pranks on. She was often engrossed in prayers and made little demands on the family. I was never curious about her or her life and never really understood why my father insisted on her living with us.
She passed away sometime in the late 70s when I was at university. I guess I should have talked more with and she had surely told me things about life way back in Trivandrum in the 1930s. She surely had a treasure trove of old oral history, memories and older family members I had never gotten to see. How I wish I had taken the time to speak more to her...
Thank you Pallavi, for your article which shows how right we are to celebrate womans day. Womanhood has been a sad tale of oppression in various forms, but fortunately the tide is turning in most of the world.
Your article reminded me of my own paternal grandmother - Alamelu Ammal.
Alamelu was married off when she was a child and was a widow in her early teens. Childless, she adopted my dad when he became an orphan. She was a wizened old woman with a shaven head and wore a colourless grey sari in the traditional Brahmin style.
Growing up as a child in Madras, - an extremely naughty child at that - she was someone I mocked and played pranks on. She was often engrossed in prayers and made little demands on the family. I was never curious about her or her life and never really understood why my father insisted on her living with us.
She passed away sometime in the late 70s when I was at university. I guess I should have talked more with and she had surely told me things about life way back in Trivandrum in the 1930s. She surely had a treasure trove of old oral history, memories and older family members I had never gotten to see. How I wish I had taken the time to speak more to her...
Amazing story. Thanks for sharing.
What an incredible story!
It is!
What an interesting story, Pali. Wonder whether you've come across the book on Mary's grand mother Dr. Mary Punnen Lukose?
Yes, she wrote to me about her. Amazing!
What inspiring and truly brilliant lives of your grandmother and aunt. Thank you for sharing this.
This is such a beautiful piece - thanks for sharing 💜