An Enchanting Tale Of Our Tour Of South India-Part 10 Of 20

 

Miraculous reunion with a family friend

 

As we came out of the temple, it was already 11 a.m. So, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant at Srirangam itself.

 

Just then, we heard some woman calling from behind, “Mama! Mami!!” (Tamil term used to address people/acquaintances senior to oneself by age). We did not glance back, as we did not have any friends or relatives in Srirangam. But then a lady came hurrying from behind and stood in front of us and with full of smiles and joyous excitement, said, “How are you, Mama, Mami?”

 

Immediately, my parents smiled and acknowledged her greeting. The lady continued patting our heads, “How wonderful to see the kids. How big they have grown.”

 

My mother said to us, “Can’t you recognize her? She is the sister of Seetha Aunty, our next neighbor when we were living in in Madurai. She used to visit our house too, whenever she visited her sister.”

 

We just smiled, but since we had left Madurai a decade back when we were very small (I was 6 years then and my sister was 8 years of age), we did not have any recollection of her.

 

She asked about our visit and my father told her briefly about our trip. Then, despite my parent’s protests, she invited us to her home for lunch. Her home was just a few minutes' walk from the temple.

 

At her home, she introduced us to her husband and two kids. The kids were younger than me. She then went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. My mother was telling her that it must be additional work for her to make lunch again for the four of us when her kitchen work must have already been completed for the day. Aunty just smiled and said it was no issue. “Meeting you all after so many years is a godsend. I am so happy. You go and get some rest. Lunch will be ready in no time.”

 

Uncle and the kids were very friendly chatting with us about our trip and experiences. The kids wanted to know about our life in Calcutta, too. We then had a game of carom. Time just flew by wonderfully.

 

We then had a sumptuous Iyengar-style lunch consisting of rice, sambhar, rasam, two types of vegetables (fried and gravy), cucumber raita, vada, sarkarai pongal, fried papad, mango pickles, etc. It was heaven.

 

After having lunch, we all sat down together and had a wonderful chat session. The topics ranged from life in Calcutta, the festivities during Durga Puja (Dussehra), and so on. There was a big swing in the living room, which used to be an essential part of many South Indian houses. For me, it was a novelty item, and so I enjoyed swinging on it to my heart’s content.

 

At about 4 p.m. we took leave from them as we had some sightseeing planned at Tiruchy and an early morning train to catch from there. Before leaving, we had a glass of delicious decoction coffee and a couple of Mysore bondas (south Indian snack). Aunty had packed some food for our dinner, though there was no room in our stomachs by then.

 

Throughout that trip, we kept reminiscing and talking about Aunty and her lovely family. Imagine meeting some acquaintances by chance on the road, and instead of just exchanging pleasantries and waving goodbye, Aunty went out of the way to invite us to her home and offer food. Even the other members of the family welcomed us warmly. I think it was an era that has truly gone with the wind. Nowadays, before calling someone even on the phone, we tend to message first and ask whether it is okay to call at a certain time. Communication infrastructure has advanced so much that they say that the world is now one big global village, but I feel that people residing in it have become distant from one another.  

 

 

In the next episode, I will share how we took 26 baths within one hour and other stories.