Thangamani ….

Don’t remember how many years back it was , atleast 5 years back when I had been to my ancestral home at Angamaly after a long gap. It’s a small village around 3-4 kms from Angamaly which once upon a time was very beautiful place with paddy fields and coconut grooves all over. Lot of childhood memories attached to this place. In last 15 years lat of things changed after the International airport came there and people stopped cultivation and real estate soared up high. And in last 15 years my visits also reduced drastically ….

So it usually for some family get together that we go now once in 1-2 years and 5 yrs back also it was similar visit , sitting at my Granddad’s kitchen having some tea and snacks and talk in general , when I happen to see a lady who reminded me of one lean, fragile lady always chewing Betel leaf in her 30’s  ‘Thangamani chechi’ from my childhood days who used to work in our grandfather’s paddy field and during the harvest season would lead the other workers and manage cooking of lunch for them at home. Getting curious I asked my Aunt pointing at the lady ‘ Is she related to Thangamani  Chechi ?’ My Aunt little surprised that I remembered Thangamani – Called the lady Geetha – and introduced me to her ‘Geetha is Thangamani’s daughter’ …

I looked at her closely and she was just replica of her mother Thangamani minus the red lips (which was because of chewing of Betel leaf) Happy to see her I asked where is Thangamani Chechi (I thought probably she is too old to work now) Geetha then told that Thangamani died previous year , she had cancer …… Oh ….  Not  knowing what to say … there was silence for few moments , then Geetha asked, ‘you remember Amma ?’ I smiled at her and nodded ….  How can I forget Thangamani with the coarse voice, who when I was a child 12-13 years old gave me my first and I guess the only experience in getting down in a Paddy field full of water and slush, asking me to pull my pyjamas up, handing me the paddy saplings, asking me to watch her plant them in the slush and making me do the same, while I watched small crabs running all around the field and few over my feet , wondering how come they don’t bite , and how cool the mud and whole experience of being on field is …. … Cancer ….. hope she did not suffer much …..