A Tribute

A perfectionist, a very passionate woman who came as the eldest daughter in law in to the traditional Iyengar family at the age of 17. She’s been a hard worker and nobody ever saw her get tired!

She willingly cooked, cleaned and even washed the clothes of all the family members, which was her spouse, 2 brothers-in- law, mother-in-law and father-in-law and later on, her 3 children. After the younger brothers got married, all the brothers lived together as a joint family.

 I was born as the first kid to the youngest brother and I remember so well, many incidents from my childhood. We stayed together till I was 10 years old and then moved to Chennai due to my mother’s transfer at work.

My parents were working and perimma would take care of me and my brother, after school. She would give us tiffin in the evenings and help us change and also with the homework. She was my Maths teacher too. I hated that subject and she made it easy for me. Her methods were unique and the depth of her knowledge amaze us!

 A compass would shy away if she makes a kolam or a murukku! A perfect circle, and it would never miss! I remember coming home to the yummy smell of murukku making, when after cooking lunch, perimma and pati would lovingly make. The vethhal koozh, the avakkai, the home made gulabjamuns, the chikkis she made instantly, the kadalai urundais, the mysore pak, the puliyore, the gasa gasa podi and the list is endless!

The cleanliness of the house, the paintings, the organized manner in which she maintains the things, the neatly packed suitcases, the crisp kerchiefs she carries, the bright vessels in the kitchen, the ring around the curtains, her artistic talents have no boundaries!

She had a passion, a favorite one, her sewing machine! She used to stitch dresses for my cousin sister and I vividly remember the dusters she made out of the small cloth pieces. She had made few dresses for me too and a pattu pavadai for my daughter on her first birthday! I remember seeing her stitching late in the nights and she would be the last to hit the bed and the first to wake up! To this day, that still amazes me where I snooze my alarm every day for those precious 5 minutes!

She’s a role model, an inspiration.

Quietly, yet determinedly she would do the tasks in hand, and the endless passion in everything she takes up, is something to be learnt from! She would stay in the kitchen for hours together but never complain. Any dish, be it upma or mysore pak, she does it with the same dedication and enthusiasm and the results show! Anything she makes is yummy and the taste would linger in the mouth when we think about it!

The first person that came to my mind after my delivery was Perimma! I so felt that had she been there with me, I would have been more confident in taking care of my twins. She couldn’t be with me then, but when we were affected by Chennai floods in 2015, the only place I felt comfortable to go was perimma’s house in Bangalore. She made food for my kids with love and my twins still remember those mini idlis she gave them!

All my cousins would agree, the love and warmth she gave to all of us. As she celebrates her birthday this March 4^th, this is the least I can give her back through my writing!

The benchmark she sets is very high and in whatever tasks we undertake, we think about her once and how she would have brought out the output! If the sweet I make come anything near yours in texture, taste and appearance then I can proudly say, my goal is achieved for the day!

Dearest Manju Perimma,

You are so awesome and we all love you so much! Thanks so much for everything you have done, you are a blessing, another Mother we all had. I can recollect how you made separate food for me when I had jaundice at the age of 7-8 years. That saltless sathumdu and parupu, you made me eat them too!

Wishing you a very very happy birthday that’s as wonderful as you are!

May God bless you with abundance in every possible way.

With love,

Vishnu