Vedavalli and her Grandchildren!!

My sister Sujata came down from USA to visit us. Here is a real-life story she recollected.

Names of all the persons have been changed and some details have been altered to protect their privacy.

And I have used a few South-Indian words. Click on them if you want to know what they mean.

Suj, my younger sis, lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a three-hour drive around Lake Michigan & northeast from Chicago.  A small town dominated by Dutch community settlers and the home town of the Famous AMWAY founders. Both the founders, Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel were born in Grand Rapids, MI.

And there are just about 10 Indian families who closely stick together observing all Indian festivals and Indian special days like Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanthi.

At one such get together my sis noticed a new elderly couple and got talking.

Vedavalli(68) and Rangarajan(75) had come to visit their niece (Vedavalli’s younger sister’s daughter) for a few days before going to meet their other niece in Washington..

V & R hail from a small temple town near Kumbakonam (South India), whose residents are staunch Iyengar Brahmins – extremely conservative and orthodox in their mental framework and way of life.

Rangarajan (Thatha) wore yellow namam (tilak) on his forehead, which signifies a couple of notches higher in the degree of ‘orthodoxity’ to the traditional red sricharnam  that we see normally.

Vedavalli (Paati) wore her saree Madisaru style (9 yards traditional style), and her face radiated the personality of an ideal Iyengar Paati who strictly followed Aajaram and every Vaishnava tradition and the diktats of the Paambu Panchangam (a South Indian Religious Almanac) to the dot! She had also undergone Samasrayanam, a process of initiation by the high priest and being accepted as a disciple.  This meant that her life will be dedicated to serving Lord Vishnu and she had to follow the strict code of conduct as set by the religious books

And the story unfolds thus …

A small girl ran up to the Paati and looked her with curiosity. And after  sometime she went back and returned with her mom and asked “woh Aunty kaun hai’.

The mom was slightly flustered, but she managed bravely, ‘Beta, woh Paati hain , Grandmother’. And then introduce herself and her family- Aunty, my name is Shabana, and this is my daughter Alisha, 3 years and my son Latif, 5 years and my husband, Imtiaz.

For a few moments Vedavalli did not know how to respond and before she could reply the little one jumped on her lap excitedly saying ‘Paati, Paati’ and young Latif joined her as well!

It was a  mild shock for the pious Paati.

And for the entire evening the two little ones were all around their new-found Patti.

And one could see Paati feeling utterly confused, uncomfortable and totally disoriented. Probably for the first time in her life she had encountered a family from another religion! And now, two young Muslim kids on her lap – ‘Hey Lord, Aandavaney, why are you testing me?’ is what she must have kept repeating the whole evening.

And her discomfort did not go unnoticed by her niece and Suj.

Later her niece explained that these two kids yearned for love and affection.

Perima, you see, Imtiaz and Shabana got married against their parents’ wishes. They thought and hoped that after their marriage both the parents will accept the inevitable and mellow down and patch up soon.  Unfortunately matters only got worse with each family blaming the other. So, they had no option than to leave the country, in order to defuse the tension.

And for the last 7 years they have not gone home, and these two kids have never seen their grandparents.

And she added, coincidentally, some other Indian couples here also have somewhat similar situation and they have not gone home after their kids were born , nor have their parents visited them here.

A couple of days later at the next Indian family get together, there was a marked change in Vedavalli and Rangarajan and they interacted with all the kids very freely.

There were these two siblings Alisha and Latif, and then there were Daljit (4) and Gurinder (6), Arpit (2), Subin(5), Mala, Kiran and one more kid.

And Vedavali instantly became Paati to all of them!

Shortly after that, one evening Shabana and Imtiaz dropped in and hesitantly asked Paati - ‘Aunty, Alisha and Latif’s school is closing for summer vacation. They are having an open day where kids bring their parents to meet with teacher and all their other friends.  My kids want you to come with them to their school.

Vedavalli looked up at her husband and then o her niece who finally said – Please go with them Perima (Mother’s elder sister). You will get a chance to see an all-American school.

So, two days later Vedavalli went to school all dressed up in a classic Maroon Kancheevaram and her diamonds dazzling from her earlobes and from her nose stud and wearing soft shoes specially bought for that occasion.

And young Alisha took over total control as soon as they entered school.

‘This is my Paati, my grandmother’   saying very excitedly as she introduced her to each and every teacher, the principal, the gardener and the janitor as well and to all her friends proudly. 

And many times, her brother Latif Joined in with ‘She came from India ‘.

Vedavalli managed to strike up some conversation and reply to some curious questions from inquisitive folks in her heavily accented English. - are those real diamonds? How do you tie this saree? And so on.

And Suj commented -  Nowhere in the entire world, except for this little town, would folks genuinely believe that Alisha Qureshi  and Latif Qureshi can have a grand mom named Rangarajan Vedavalli!!

And Vedavalli’s visit to the school was an instant success among all the children and their parents and teachers at school. Children posed with her repeatedly for Photo Opps and their parents and teachers crowded around Shabana and Vedavalli for selfies!

And this news flashed across to all other Indian families as the day got over.

So, it was not a surprise when young Daljit barged in 2 days later with his parents in tow. He straight went up and asked, ‘Paati, will you please come to my school also tomorrow, I want to introduce you to all my friends & teachers’.

Vedavalli needed no prompting this time.

And, no exaggeration, she went to one more school later that week!

Paati soon become the new favourite in that small Indian group.  

Moms would drop in frequently to ask for advice, unload their pent-up sorrows, a supportive shoulder to cry on, ask for home remedies and recipes. And she  became a surrogate mother to a few young moms who were struggling to manage their time and priorities between their Kids, their husband and their demanding jobs.

And folks soon discovered that thatha Rangarajan was a storehouse of knowledge on India affairs – a Wikipedia of information from pre-independence struggle to the present-day politics and he was also an expert on Indian financial systems. He had worked 40 years in State Bank of India, starting as a ‘teller’ and retired as a senior manager from SBI Trichy.

And Of Course, he was also a cricket fan. 

One time he announced proudly, “I have met and spoken to Tiger Pataudi!

I have a picture of him shaking hands with me!!”

And when he did not get the expected awestruck response, he repeated, “MAK, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, you know?” No luck again. 

Fast forward 5 years. You know Sharmila Tagore??  Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore Amar Prem Film?? A blank again.

Fast forward 25 years. You know Saif Ail Khan, Kareen Kapoor?? And now most of the moms and dads nodded.

Yes??  Saif’s mother is Sharmila Tagore and MAK Pataudi was her husband – a wonderful and stylish batsman & Indian Cricket Captain!!

And the dads dropped in frequently to have a chat with him and to offer their help – would you like to go out shopping?  or do you want us to buy anything?  etc. etc.

Suj suspected those were not the real reasons for dropping in.   

The real motivation was that plate loaded with hand-made murrukku and the sweet and salt diamond cut maida chips ( Shakkar Para )and the large mug filled with hot Kumbakkonam Degree Coffee that Vedavalli offered each time!

For the Kids, it was always fun time with Patti. And she would listen to them patiently, speak out in fluent Tamil, in bits of broken Hindi and in a heavily accented English with funny pronunciation & accent, that made them laugh and roll over imitating her. And they loved hearing her sing classical songs, bhajans and soothing lullaby. 

Thatha would chip in with stories about young Krishna’s pranks, Bal Ganesha, Ravana and the Asuras, India’s Independence, Rani Laxmi Bai, Shivaji, Chola, Ashoka and other kings and tales from Panchantantra.

And Patti would ensure a constant flow of snacks throughout these sessions – the kids favourite being Chocolate brown Shakkarai Pongal   with Dates, Crystal sugar(kalkandu) and  Cashews, Bright saffron colored Rava Kesari dotted with small brown raisins and white melon seeds, ’cactus’ murukku and fresh crispy Vazhaikka Varuval (banana chips).

And she teased the children by pouring jevvarishi (sabudana kheer)) Payasam into flat plates and making the kids eat with their fingers!

And there was a lot more left over for a couple of ‘take-aways’ as well.

She also made heavenly smelling Pulihorai, Vethha Kozhambu,  Paruppu and Thenga podi, mIlagu rasam powder and a few other exotic south Indian specialities and distributed these to every family.

And the days zipped by quickly and soon it was time to leave.

They had to go Washington to help their other niece who was expecting a baby - which was the main objective of their visit.

A day before their departure, Shabana invited the elderly couple to their home.  Suj was also invited to give them company.

As they were talking, a big bowl of fruit salad topped with Vanilla ice-cream was placed on the dining table.  Then a large bowl of yoghurt and lots of fresh uncut fruits among other dishes 

Then Imtiaz announced in a very respectful voice, “Aunty, Uncle, we know you are devout brahmins and observe a strict code. We have specially shopped for pure organic fruits. Also, we did not cook any non-veg today.  The fruit salad is prepared right here – not in our kitchen and nothing from our fridge is used in this preparation. Everything is fresh from the stores to this table.

It would be nice if you can taste some??” – he inquired anxiously.

A suspense filled silence followed.

And then Thatha Rangarajan announced, ‘I am sure even Aandavan (the Lord) will not forbid me to accept so much love and affection’.

And with that he helped himself with two large scoops of the fruit salad and started eating.  

Vedavalli needed no further encouragement. She just dug in to the strawberry flavoured yogurt.

And a light dinner soon got going in full swing!! And with Alisha and Latif constantly clinging to their new found Paati!

It was a great party, and everyone enjoyed.

And when the two elders finally got up from their chairs to leave, quite unexpectedly, both Shabana and her hubby bent down and touched Thatha and Paati’s feet.

And the next moment Shabana and Vedavalli were hugging each other.

And Suj said she could see Vedavalli’s eyes welling up and brimming with tears of joy as she fought bravely to control her emotions.

 She had acquired one more wonderful niece!!

Vedavalli had come to help deliver and take care of one grandchild.

But never in her dreams could she have ever imagined that she will land up getting 9 adorable grandchildren so soon!

Plus One, impatiently  waiting to be born and jump on to her lap very soon!!!.

Krish..