Amma

My mother, amma as me and sister know her, is a mother with all her being and it also means that she still mothers us, strictly even though we are at the age that we are today!!

My mother, from the start of our lives has been about excellence, strength and doing every thing with a passion whether its bringing up children, studying, cooking or anything else.
When I was growing up my memories with her are of her teaching me alphabets and the multiplication tables and monitoring my homework and my tests.  She pushed me to independence when Deepti was born which only meant that I studied on my own but had her monitor my work and my marks like a lioness, a Leo that she is.

Looking back, she is the one who introduced me to various games and other hobbies. Sports, she was a throwball champion in school and college, was one of them.  When I came back from school, she and I set up our dining table as a table tennis table with a line of books ket open horizontally to form the net, and we played table tennis.  It would be a lot of fun for me even though a lot of it was about learning how to score the game!!  That is when I decided to shut a little part of my uptake and focus only on playing.

She was never one for knitting and stiching and was rather amoused when I had assignments from class to stich the various stiches in a straight line, the hem stitch, the pearl stitch, the cross stitch and so on and so forth, she made me do it more it humour me and because she wanted me to be perfect in class and school.  The same went for knitting and the booties and small vests I had to make for school was many a time made by my neighbours who were into serious knitting.  I think she happily outsourced what she could not do well to those who were interested and did them better than her.  Think of, it is very efficient way indeed.

She is a disciplinarian and has a very clear idea of how things should be done, so when I came back from school, it was eat, play a bit, homework, studies and go out to play with the neighbourhood children. This was so strict a routine that one day I decided to get off the school bus and sit there under a tree and finish my homework.  Me and my friend Bubbly were almost done when my mother appeared at the bus stop all worried because I was late.  She walked both of us home and told us never ever to do that again.

As I grew up she and I read books together, starting from Mills and Boon to M M Kaye’s Shadow of the Moon, Far Pavilions to Thornbirds to Gone with the Wind.  Many times I think she needed to know what I was reading but neverthe less we would discuss the books.  Meanwhile my sister started her school and she started teaching her too.

Amma is an exceptional cook and she has a touch that transforms ingredients into a riot of flavours.  We have always eaten well because of her and also because my father was a foodie and could make out the slightest change in taste.  Amma has the ability to use different ingrdients and ove away from standard recepies to create a more floruishing dish than the original.  Her sambar (though I still hold that my Vanajammai’s sambar is the best in the world), thorn, kuutu curry, fish fry and mutton curry and fry and the best.  Her biriyani is also A-One and my father had also made a song about it.

After my daughter Veda came she was all for her and would make her baby food and special food with so much care that when we went on a vacation and baby Veda had to eat from outside, she would fuss.  Then when Veda went to school she was put into the same routine though now Amma was very indulging and not as strict as she was with me or Deepti.  I could see the special efforts made for her evening snack and the mutliple and countless questions on what she will like and what I need to buy for Veda’s food.  When she growing up I would come back from work and spend time with Veda comforted with the thought that my mother is there with and for Veda.  Her dance classes, her swimming lessons and her playtime routine was all lovingly monitored by her, she went with Veda for all her classes.   It was with a lot of pride that she would narrate Veda’s performance in these classes.  When I came home my mother would then turn to the television to watch her programs.  Veda and I would work on her homework and lessons and if I so much as raised my voice amma would call from downstairs to know why I am scolding Veda.  Now she is with Avyukt and Advay, trying to make them sit for atlas half an hour after school!!

We also have our arguments and fights and the mandatory crying sessions after the fight, she can be rigid and stubborn and so can Deepti and I.  The Leo and Sagitarian bred two Capricornians so the result is fiery.

My mother wanted e=me to be a doctor because she felt and she still feels that I have a personality that supports the profession in that I am caring and help a lot of people.  Alas, it was not meant to be but I think we both have done her proud by being good in what we do.  Our success is her success and now I realise that Deepti and I are her dream, Veda, Avyukt, Advay and Arihant are her love.
Amen to that!