Rangannayya (Ammamma's second sister Saraswati's son) now came to stay with us as he enrolled in AMIE course at Guindy. Incidentally, he went to Polytechnic in Wanaparthy earlier. Both the courses were at the instance and assistance of Ammamma and Tatayya. Ammamma used to read the notifications and make Annayya apply and then get Tatayya to help out with the rest. He became very fond of me and Maapi. He must have been 7 or 8 years old when I was born and he remembers coming in a rickshaw alongwith his mother and the eldest Peddamma (she was always called as Swatantrapuram Peddamma because she lived there, despite her name being so nice - Pushpavati) and also her daughter Babyakka. I believe all along the way, they ate up a whole lot of goodies that were meant to be given for Tatayya and Ammamma!
Rangannayya's arrival brought us the experience of a man about the house as Tatayya was hardly ever home, except for late in the night and upto mornings before school. Ammamma was happy that she had someone to rely on for things that she had to do alone and it must have given her relief and satisfaction. For me and Maapi, he automatically became an elder sibling effortlessly and naturally. We had great fun with him as he was quite an engager in discussions and his arguments with Ammamma on several issues kept us both entertained and educated. I used to really demand his time and attention and also got it generously. Maapi was still too young to do so and she got a lot of affection from Annayya. It was he who used to run to the doctor whenever I or Maapi was ill. I remember once I threw a tantrum as if I was so unwell that I was going to die and he had to go out in the hot sun to get me my homeo medicine. After a couple of hours, when my friend Muthulakshmi came to ask me out for a movie, I happily went with her, leaving Annayya very angry with me! Ammamma scolded me in the evening.
It is from Annayya that Ammamma and me understood how cricket was played - till then I was listening to the commentary purely for being able to talk about it with my friends - 'cool' girls did it and the 'uncool' girls did not talk about cricket!! Ammamma developed an addiction for cricket that she revels in even today. She gets the same high when runs are scored now in the IPL, as she did in Madras! I also got to listening to pop music and read up about Cliff Richards, Elvis Presley, Trini Lopez, Harry Belafonte, Jim Reeves and the like. I used show off my 'coolness' quite a lot. Surprisingly, Ammamma used to be proud of my 'ubercool' knowledge! She took me to, or sent me to English films at the then swank Saphire - a Veecumsee theatre on Mount Road (now Anna Salai). For one or two movies I dragged Annayya also, though I used to usually go with my friends with the first exhilarating whiff of freedom which Ammamma gave me with a lot of caution.
She also made me enter all kinds of contests, including a painting competition (Eagle Flasks), for which I won a consolation prize of two movie tickets for a Tony Curtis and Mickey Rooney film - It's a Mad, Mad, World. Went with Annayya and felt proud that I earned something and giving somebody older than me a treat! She also made me collect a whole pile of pictures that you get when you buy Fruitee (a candy). These pictures were of pre historic animals, which you had to stick in an album, which had a full description of the animal. So Ammamma thought it was a good education for me. The scheme was that we had to find all the pics and fill up the album and mail it to them and you would get back the album and two flowery letter pads with your name printed on them. The catch is that some of the pictures were rare and you had to buy loads of Fruitee before you got your album complete. Ammamma never lost the opportunity of making me buy Fruitees whenever we were in a new location - her logic was that the company would deliberately distribute some of the pics in different localities to make it that much harder for us to fill it up! She used to be delighted whenever we found a rare one, usually the flying dinosaurs. I got fed up with eating Fruitee, but Ammamma would not let me opt out of the competition till I reached my goal. Thankfully I finally reached it and for quite some time, I had to write letters to a lot of people just because I now had my own name letter heads. Ammamma would not be happy if I did not write!
She also made me answer the market research questionnaires and because of the responses, I was put on a panel of people who would form the basis for consumer behaviour studies! Years later, when I started teaching Market Research, I smiled at the farce of the recruitment of a 14 year old girl as a Market research panelist for household goods! Ammamma of course felt quite proud. Surprisingly, whatever I did or did not do, it was a matter of pride and wonderment for both Ammamma and Tatayya - I cringe now to think that I only basked in their adulation and felt quite conceited and superior. I also used to think no end of myself on my English vocabulary, till I once read what Tatayya wrote in his impeccable English and succinct expression. After that, I sobered down a bit.
Ammamma would not let up on my writing, a desire that remained unfulfilled in her own case. She always said that she is a bit of a writer, a bit of a journalist and a teacher for some part of the time, and she felt dissatisfied with her efforts. She would therefore pressurize me and sometimes I would respond to her, but most of the time I was wanting to only play and have fun. She would give me topics mainly around my experiences in summer holidays. One of them - on the crossing of River Krishna in floods (it was quite a feat!) was published in the Children's World and Ammamma felt very happy. She also made me collect stamps and put them in order and explain to her the origin of each one (and you girls crib for anything that I ask you to do!). I had to sandpaper, varnish all furniture in summer holidays and clean and oil electrical fixtures, because she said that I had to do everything that a man or woman could do. I had to open a bank account as well. All this held me in good stead in my later life as I grew up to face any situation in life and not be dependent for anything or anybody.
Kantakka, Ammamma's student and great friend, got married and since Ammamma did not go for her wedding in Hyderabad, Kantakka came down to Madras with Neville (her husband) to seek Ammamma's blessings! I was very surprised when Ammamma bought a saree for Kantakka (a white one with roses) and Kantakka laughed when she saw my expression. She again teased me that Ammamma loves her as she is the eldest daughter and not me! Even though I was now grown up, I still had a cold fear in my heart thinking that Ammamma did favour Kantakka over me! It was at this time that Maapi, who was running around the compound, stepped over a discarded iron rod (thin one), which pierced into her foot and blood gushed out. Ammamma and me were petrified. It was Kantakka who held Maapi, took out the iron rod with difficulty by using a firm hand and tied up her wound. Then Rangannayya and me rushed Maapi to the doctor to get her dressing done and a TT injection given. Ammamma could not bear to come with us. I am surprised that Ammamma as a mother could not bear to see her children in pain, while she herself is quite stoical and has high tolerance for her own pain! (Even when Sweety was born and I had to have a Ceasarian, she cried! This lady - who is such a daredevil, is so soft when it comes to her daughters!). The same thing happened when Maapi had a huge stye on her left eye. We had been advised by the doctor to wait for it to grow and squeeze out the fluid once it erupts. Ammamma could not do it, I did it slowly and cleaned it up.
Ammamma had a peculiar habit - even when she did not know the contact addresses, she still found out by asking around and going about it in an adventurous way. She knew that her friends Durbha Hanumayamma and Krishnamurthy were in Madras and she found out that they lived in Nungambakkam. She took me and Maapi and set out to find their house! First we found out which bus goes to Nungabakkam, then we reached there and then she asked a few shopkeepers the name of her friend and saying 'Telungu karu' and finally a watchman of a school told us that there were some Telungu kar in the next street! You should have seen the family's surprise to see us visiting them! Ammamma loved giving surprises.
The same thing happened when Jhansakka and her husband Paramatma annayya came to visit us. Paramatmannayya said he had a friend who was working as an engineer in Air India, who also happened to have married a niece of Ammamma from her paternal uncle's side (one of the Kudithipudi brothers). Ammamma went off to Air India offices alongwith Paramatma Annayya and enquired their way till they caught hold of his posting, found out his home address as he had left for the day and reached there! That man was totally surprised. He is Satish Babu - Leelakka's husband, who later relocated to Kuwait and London and with whom I reconnected in 1997-98 when I went to Oxford. Leelakka and Satish Babu were all packed and ready to leave for Bombay, yet Leelakka cooked for them and was extremely hospitable and gracious, Incidentally, Leelakka shares with us her affection for Suryavati Athayya, who was very caring when Leelakka was studying in Guntur and used to visit her almost every week. She and Jhansakka are contemporaries. Everyone always raved about Ammamma's initiative, her tenacity and her determination and confidence.
In one of the ealrier blogs I did mention Ammamma's worry regarding our future. Her attempts to get Tatayya to buy a plot for a house in Hyderabad did not bear fruit. In Madras, with her own extensive searching, she purchased two plots. She hoped that they would appreciate. However, this was not to happen - one of them sold for a low price and the other was acquired by Tamil Nadu Electricity Board in the nineties for a pittance towards setting up of their facilities. Ammamma converted the pittance into two pattu sarees for me and Maapi!
We got a wedding invitation from Bellary (Kampli) for Vanakumari Pinni's daughter's marriage. Ammamma was keen to attend as this was her sister's daughter's marriage. So the wedding party consisting of Ammamma, Rangannayya, me and Maapi set out on this adventure (of course, Tatayya never visited anyone, including his parents). It meant travelling to Gooty (Anantapur district), then change to a train to Hospet (Karnataka state). From there we took a bus to Kampli. And from there took a topless and bare chassis ox cart! We finally reached Sanapuram and after a bath, we slept and slept, much to the amusement of all the people there who were cheerfully used to their hardships, day in and day out. I was surprised that Ranakka (Ramannayya's mom as you know her now) was just 15 years old, just a year older than me. I was asked to dress her up as, being from the city, I was supposed to be better initiated into such things. I do remember that I used my artificial jhumkas (eardrops) for her, which were promptly removed by her prospective inlaws as unbecoming for a 'good' girl!
My memories of the wedding are: the very low thatched roofs of their house, where you had stoop low to get in and which I remembered for only 10 minutes, with the result that I got bruised on my back very badly by a low bamboo; all cooking being done by the ladies of the house and the neighbours - all hands were required - even Ranadheer Annayya's wife who was nine months pregnant was doing a lot of hard work including grinding of dosa and idli batters and the chutneys, the working with kerosene lanterns as there was no electricity, and being constantly worried about the snakes they had as pets till just a short while back! These were two poisonous snakes that lived with them in their house and also the reason of many not visiting them. Vanakumari Pinni's husband finally killed them before the wedding, but that still scared me. I was constantly watching out for them and would not put my feet on the ground after dark. I also remember the fall that Ranakka's inlaws had, when inadvertently someone unyoked the oxen when they still hadn't got down. I laughed a lot and was shushed immediately, though everyone was hiding smiles as the mother in law and two sisters in law, who were quite plump, plonked unceremoniously on the ground. Of course only egos were hurt.
Ammamma had an interesting snippet to share with me that she forgot to record earlier but it resurfaces as an episode in Madras. While she was earning well in Repalle with tuitions, her third brother Raghavayya, advised her and made her buy an acre of land in Swatantrapuram. He promised to share crop it and give her the money, which he neglected to do. After a couple of times, she withdrew her sharecropping from him and gave it to someone else in the village, who also did not pay. She persisted, yet no one took a woman seriously. She then filed a case in the court and she was given an exparte decree for money recovery. She then sold her field. Ammamma feels that right from the beginning, she had to struggle for land as men intrinsically are inclined either to dupe and/or not take women seriously. It is a struggle that hounds her even today at the ripe old age of 83, but of course, that would come in later years when we are back in Hyderabad. However, even against this brother, Ammamma holds no rancour and looked after his wife when she was very sick and dying with cancer.
I will close the Madras chapter with an interesting snippet - her eldest brother Anjaiah, made the surprise request for a marriage proposal for me for his son Murali! I was just 15 years old and I was horrified yet felt important and my imagination went wild (I thought that would save me from slogging at school!!!). Ammamma threw the question at me - do you want to marry? I was flabbergasted but realised that she was just joking with me. She wrote to her brother that she was not interested either in getting me married at that age or in consanguineous marriages. I believe that the proposal later went to Jhansakka for her daughter Padmaja (marriage of son with a niece or a niece's daughter are both allowed conveniently in Andhra, a practice that was aimed at keeping the family property in the family and also ensuring a known household for the girl), who was even much younger. Paramatamannayya vacillated for a wee bit on the proposal because of the large property that the family had, till Suryavati Athayya blasted him to his senses for even thinking of cradle snatching.
As I told you, Tatayya was uncomfortable being confined to the editorial desk and he leapt at the opportunity for active reporting. He was posted as Special Correspondent in Delhi and thus started our next exciting phase. Ammamma was thrilled to be going so far away and the fascination of working and living in the capital. It was convenient too - I had just finished my SSLC exams in Madras with what my parents thought were flying colours, but what the school thought of as being cheated out of one more distinction to the school record by just a few marks.
So now to Chalo Delhi!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Madras - music, mugging & managing
Madras! It was an experience, albeit a continuing one of our exposure to Brahminism. We were quite comfortable with this exposure, while many who we came into contact with, were not. It was an extension of our experience of Amrutnagar Colony, only it was far more vivid. Amusing most of the time, sometimes it got your bile. However, Madras gave Ammamma an opportunity to expose us to the best of learning in every sphere.
When we first arrived in Madras, Tatayya, as usual, assumed that finding a house will be as easy as buying his cigarettes. We first stayed at a hotel near his office (Andhra Patrika) in Thambu Chetty Street. When our train chugged into Madras, Ammamma excitedly joined Maapi and me like a little child, to take in the first sights and sounds. We of course loved the dark blue Bay of Bengal, the mounds of salt near the sea and the smell and taste of salt on our lips, the crisp air. Ammamma told us how salt was made and why it is called a crop and she also wanted to tell us about the Salt Satyagraha - I told her that I already know about it, so she proceeded to lecture Mapi on it, while I gazed out of the window. However, the moment we got out of the station with Tatayya and started towards the hotel, the stench of the River Cooum hit us solidly and churned my stomach. After the refreshing and taking 'meals' in the hotel, we rested and promptly went out in the evening to take in the sea breeze. We revelled in the strong breeze and laughed when Ammamma had to bend and hold her saree from ballooning.
We stayed in four houses in Madras. First we sublet a room and a small cooking place in a Muslim's house in Vepery, and enjoyed their quaint Urdu and their Sheer Khorma with equal relish. We stayed in this stop gap arrangement for about a month and I wonder how Ammamma cooked food with the few things we had. On my birthday we went out to a hotel for lunch. I loved sambar in Hyderabad as it was not often made at home and I was looking forward to this treat, which, as fate would have it, was served as kakarakaya (bittergourd) sambar - Ammamma was perhaps more upset than me! She tried to alleviate a little bit by buying me a trinket off the pavement store and asked for the price. The hawker said 'paanji rubya', which Ammamma understood as 5 rupees and bought it for me and was aghast when the hawker demanded more. When the hawker told us 15 'rubees', the situation then dawned on us. Such language problems were galore and we soon learned passable Tamil for survival.
Ammamma and Tatayya found a house near the school I was supposed to go to in Thyagarayanagar (T.Nagar as it is popularly called) at 17, Burkitt Road. (it is strange how I remember all the numbers and names of my childhood addresses and nothing at all of recent events!). It was the kind of a bungalow in a compound - a two storied one that are usually seen in old movies of all Indian languages. The landlord and his family lived in one portion on the ground floor, we lived in the other, and on top, lived a husband and wife who were from Nellore. This couple were childless and the man came to Madras to produce a film. I remember Tatayya introducing Ammamma, me and Maapi to C Narayana Reddy who came to visit the upstairs producer for song writing. The producer's wife used to confide in Ammamma and cry her heart out as all their money was being spent and she was worried about their future. The film's name I think was Rickshaw Rangayya. We would witness scores of such 'dreams gone sour' stories in Tollywood.
Incidentally, Andhra Patrika also had its share of Brahmins and Tatayya had to rely on them for my school admission. According to them, the best schools were the Ramakrishna Mission run Sarada Vidyalaya and Vidyodaya school. They advised that Sarada is a better school for good girls (whatever that meant), but I was taken up with wanting to join Vidyodaya or Holy Angels. However, Tatayya and Ammamma were willing to join me in the recommended school and thus I joined Sarada Vidyalaya (incidentally, the person who got me into the school was Pilaka Ganapati Sastri, who wrote a delightful series called Pracheena Gaadha Lahari - all of which I had read because Ammamma had ordered them from Emesco mail order books. These stories were free renditions of old stories in delightful prose).
Sarada Vidyalaya was a complete opposite of Rosary Convent in Hyderabad. I was given marks only if I mugged up notes and/or guidebooks and not really encouraged to write on my own. However, there were a couple of teachers who encouraged me and I am truly grateful to them. I had to go to school in chappals, remove them when I approach the teachers, wear parikini onee (long skirt and half saree) and one plait for my very thick hair. I also had to wash my hair every Friday and this promptly made me a sinus victim all through my stay in Madras as my thick hair would not dry and compounded by the heat and humidity, I really suffered. In any case, my skin had already reacted to the Madras breeze and I had contracted rash which got infected. Ultimately, only homeopathy from the famous Dr Swamy (a dimunitive and pleasant man) cured me and remained our doctor during our stay in Madras. It is the treacherous Madras weather where, us Hyderabadis, used to dry weather, became chronic sufferers of bronchial allergies. The good part of the school was that I learnt many sanskrit slokas and music. I aprticularly enjoyed the vedic slokas and their intonation, however, I was horrified by the Tamil pronunciation of some words. I also learnt to appreciate Carnatic Music - so the school and Madras had a positive effect on me after all. I also became serious in studies as the entire atmosphere was highly competitive, something which did not happen in Hyderabad.
Maapi was put in a school nearby so that she did not have to walk on the busy T. Nagar terminus area. Ammamma took us to Andhra Balananda Sangham which was on the same road for many events. One of Tatayya's friends was an Assistant Director in movies and he came home one day and prevailed upon Ammamma to let Maapi audtion for a child artiste's role in a movie. He persisted so much that Ammamma agreed to have Maapi photogrpahed by a stills photographer (very nice pictures) and took me to a studio (We saw Ramana Reddy there and I of course asked Ammamma in a voice that could be heard whether he was indeed the same. Ammamma hushed me and Ramana Reddy smiled.) In any case, since Ammamma had taken time to make up her mind, the child artiste was already chosen. The role was that of Bhakta Prahlada and the girl chosen was Roja Ramani who went on to become an actress of moderate success. (Isn't it strange that decades later, Nishu would play with Tarun, Roja Ramani's son?). In any case, Maapi's education took the brunt of all our movements. She attended a total of eight schools in her career. In the meanwhile the lady from America who had sent us all the books, wrote about adopting children from India and offered to adopt Maapi! Ammamma was so scared that she stopped all communication with this lady.
Ammamma was unhappy with the Burkitt Road house because the bathrooms were used by all and sundry and we started looking for houses again. It was interesting to note that most Tamilians desired to rent their houses to Telugus as they can get more rent than from their own ilk. We found a small but decent flat in the outhouse of a large house (which itself had many tenants) at 25, Natesa Iyer Street. Going by Ammamma's diction and looks, the landlady mistook her for being brahmin and gave us the flat. When she discovered on the day of moving that we were not brahmins, she was upset, but was polite enough to tell us that she would not retract her promise, but made a request that we do not cook or eat non-vegetarian food in the house. It was in this house that we read about the bold decision of Indira Gandhi to stand up to the old guard in the Congress and went ahead with Mid-term elections. Her resounding success was the most hotly discussed topic. Ammamma made me write a congratulatory letter to her and surprisingly, she replied in her own hand, thanking for the wishes. Ammamma was very proud of me even though it was she who made me write it. Months later Ammamma made a casual mention of this to Vasiraju Prakasam (a young journalist and friend of Tatayya) who lamented that had he known about this at that time, he would have published it. Apart from this, she also made me join veena classes at Balananda Sangham under Koka Satyavati. I really had no talent, but Ammamma never gave up to make me learn something that she herself had no interest in! In fact when Satyam Mamayya visited us, he asked to me to play and said that music was expected to soothe children and animals even and that he did not find that true in my case and on the other hand, it might upset them!
Ammamma got fed up with the landlady who was constantly checking out on us whether we had non veg or not, so we decided to move again. We moved to the other side of my school to 81/1, habibullah Road, where we stayed in late K Raja Rao's house, who had produced the film Puttillu and which was Jamuna's break into films. The family had fallen on bad times and had retained only the house. They rented out three portions and lived in one portion. Jamuna used to visit them once in a while and take care of a few odds and ends and ask about their welfare. Ammamma remembers Sridevi (who was then an emerging child artist) coming to our house compound to take milk from the buffalo man who used to milk it in the compound, in front of his buyers (a practice that was prevalent in those days). Her house was across the road and her father was an advocate. On the same road there was S V Ranga Rao's house, where all I saw was a whole load of bright white clothes were put out to dry. I believe Savitri's house was also there. Rama Naidu, Adurti Subba Rao - all had their houses there. Harnath's (a handsome and talented actor) son - a cute little boy of four also used to come to this house and Ammamma and the neighbour used to talk about how Harnath drank away his career and his life and orphaned this poor boy. I used to hear many such stories, including the beginning of Savitri's degeneration into alcoholism. I believe that a girl called Surekha, used to visit this house as her class mate was the landlord's wife, which I do not remember. Ammamma tells me that she became Chiranjeevi's wife later.
On my walk to school, I passed music directors, directors houses and also the houses of N T Rama Rao and Sivaji Ganesan. I once saw two Tirupati buses with so many shaven heads (bodi gundlu) waiting for a glimpse of NTR. I did have the opportunity to see the funny sight of him actually coming out and all these people falling at his feet and he blessing them in Lord Krishna fashion! No wonder he believed himself to be so great. Once in Nalli's, I was forcing Tatayya to buy me an expensive parikini and he was finding it difficult to say no to me. N T Rama Rao glanced appreciatively in my direction and Ammamma felt very proud of her children. Later, other people like Shambhu Prasad (owner of Andhra Patrika) and several others also were appreciative. Ammamma used to vacillate between pride and dread as I started getting glances from people around, which was but natural at that age. She used to be fiercely protective, despite the fact that she herself had braved all odds when she was my age. The cinema atmosphere of Madras also affected her as we were witness to several girls being dumped into 'call centres' in lure of acting in movies.
Among the many other things Ammamma did in Madras, one was to buy me an Agfa Click III box camera and make me click different subjects and what started as a sport and enjoyment, soon became an ordeal for me becuase of her constant critique. Fortunately, the phase passed. Then I had to participate in a radio plays for BalaVinodam. I lent my voice for stories from Panchatantra (I was the deer among the four friends), and for a play set in Varanasi of two elephants, in which I, the she elephant ultimately dies. I had to record several times for the death cry as it would always come out as laughter. I remember Dasaradhi Rangacharya (a famous author), who was the head there, asking me to stop laughing. Ammamma also took us to several exhibitions, including a defence exhibition housed in a train (!) and for which the queues were so long that we reached home at 11 in the night and our neighbours who accompanied us, got a sound dressing out from their father/husband. Ammamma took us to movies, beach, sightseeing and so many other places because Tatayya was working till late in the evening (all press people stayed late in those days of typesetting, teleprinter news flashes and typewriters. I remember Tatayya's habit of imaginary typing of asdfg and other notations absent-mindedly with his fingers).
When we first arrived in Madras, Tatayya, as usual, assumed that finding a house will be as easy as buying his cigarettes. We first stayed at a hotel near his office (Andhra Patrika) in Thambu Chetty Street. When our train chugged into Madras, Ammamma excitedly joined Maapi and me like a little child, to take in the first sights and sounds. We of course loved the dark blue Bay of Bengal, the mounds of salt near the sea and the smell and taste of salt on our lips, the crisp air. Ammamma told us how salt was made and why it is called a crop and she also wanted to tell us about the Salt Satyagraha - I told her that I already know about it, so she proceeded to lecture Mapi on it, while I gazed out of the window. However, the moment we got out of the station with Tatayya and started towards the hotel, the stench of the River Cooum hit us solidly and churned my stomach. After the refreshing and taking 'meals' in the hotel, we rested and promptly went out in the evening to take in the sea breeze. We revelled in the strong breeze and laughed when Ammamma had to bend and hold her saree from ballooning.
We stayed in four houses in Madras. First we sublet a room and a small cooking place in a Muslim's house in Vepery, and enjoyed their quaint Urdu and their Sheer Khorma with equal relish. We stayed in this stop gap arrangement for about a month and I wonder how Ammamma cooked food with the few things we had. On my birthday we went out to a hotel for lunch. I loved sambar in Hyderabad as it was not often made at home and I was looking forward to this treat, which, as fate would have it, was served as kakarakaya (bittergourd) sambar - Ammamma was perhaps more upset than me! She tried to alleviate a little bit by buying me a trinket off the pavement store and asked for the price. The hawker said 'paanji rubya', which Ammamma understood as 5 rupees and bought it for me and was aghast when the hawker demanded more. When the hawker told us 15 'rubees', the situation then dawned on us. Such language problems were galore and we soon learned passable Tamil for survival.
Ammamma and Tatayya found a house near the school I was supposed to go to in Thyagarayanagar (T.Nagar as it is popularly called) at 17, Burkitt Road. (it is strange how I remember all the numbers and names of my childhood addresses and nothing at all of recent events!). It was the kind of a bungalow in a compound - a two storied one that are usually seen in old movies of all Indian languages. The landlord and his family lived in one portion on the ground floor, we lived in the other, and on top, lived a husband and wife who were from Nellore. This couple were childless and the man came to Madras to produce a film. I remember Tatayya introducing Ammamma, me and Maapi to C Narayana Reddy who came to visit the upstairs producer for song writing. The producer's wife used to confide in Ammamma and cry her heart out as all their money was being spent and she was worried about their future. The film's name I think was Rickshaw Rangayya. We would witness scores of such 'dreams gone sour' stories in Tollywood.
Incidentally, Andhra Patrika also had its share of Brahmins and Tatayya had to rely on them for my school admission. According to them, the best schools were the Ramakrishna Mission run Sarada Vidyalaya and Vidyodaya school. They advised that Sarada is a better school for good girls (whatever that meant), but I was taken up with wanting to join Vidyodaya or Holy Angels. However, Tatayya and Ammamma were willing to join me in the recommended school and thus I joined Sarada Vidyalaya (incidentally, the person who got me into the school was Pilaka Ganapati Sastri, who wrote a delightful series called Pracheena Gaadha Lahari - all of which I had read because Ammamma had ordered them from Emesco mail order books. These stories were free renditions of old stories in delightful prose).
Sarada Vidyalaya was a complete opposite of Rosary Convent in Hyderabad. I was given marks only if I mugged up notes and/or guidebooks and not really encouraged to write on my own. However, there were a couple of teachers who encouraged me and I am truly grateful to them. I had to go to school in chappals, remove them when I approach the teachers, wear parikini onee (long skirt and half saree) and one plait for my very thick hair. I also had to wash my hair every Friday and this promptly made me a sinus victim all through my stay in Madras as my thick hair would not dry and compounded by the heat and humidity, I really suffered. In any case, my skin had already reacted to the Madras breeze and I had contracted rash which got infected. Ultimately, only homeopathy from the famous Dr Swamy (a dimunitive and pleasant man) cured me and remained our doctor during our stay in Madras. It is the treacherous Madras weather where, us Hyderabadis, used to dry weather, became chronic sufferers of bronchial allergies. The good part of the school was that I learnt many sanskrit slokas and music. I aprticularly enjoyed the vedic slokas and their intonation, however, I was horrified by the Tamil pronunciation of some words. I also learnt to appreciate Carnatic Music - so the school and Madras had a positive effect on me after all. I also became serious in studies as the entire atmosphere was highly competitive, something which did not happen in Hyderabad.
Maapi was put in a school nearby so that she did not have to walk on the busy T. Nagar terminus area. Ammamma took us to Andhra Balananda Sangham which was on the same road for many events. One of Tatayya's friends was an Assistant Director in movies and he came home one day and prevailed upon Ammamma to let Maapi audtion for a child artiste's role in a movie. He persisted so much that Ammamma agreed to have Maapi photogrpahed by a stills photographer (very nice pictures) and took me to a studio (We saw Ramana Reddy there and I of course asked Ammamma in a voice that could be heard whether he was indeed the same. Ammamma hushed me and Ramana Reddy smiled.) In any case, since Ammamma had taken time to make up her mind, the child artiste was already chosen. The role was that of Bhakta Prahlada and the girl chosen was Roja Ramani who went on to become an actress of moderate success. (Isn't it strange that decades later, Nishu would play with Tarun, Roja Ramani's son?). In any case, Maapi's education took the brunt of all our movements. She attended a total of eight schools in her career. In the meanwhile the lady from America who had sent us all the books, wrote about adopting children from India and offered to adopt Maapi! Ammamma was so scared that she stopped all communication with this lady.
Ammamma was unhappy with the Burkitt Road house because the bathrooms were used by all and sundry and we started looking for houses again. It was interesting to note that most Tamilians desired to rent their houses to Telugus as they can get more rent than from their own ilk. We found a small but decent flat in the outhouse of a large house (which itself had many tenants) at 25, Natesa Iyer Street. Going by Ammamma's diction and looks, the landlady mistook her for being brahmin and gave us the flat. When she discovered on the day of moving that we were not brahmins, she was upset, but was polite enough to tell us that she would not retract her promise, but made a request that we do not cook or eat non-vegetarian food in the house. It was in this house that we read about the bold decision of Indira Gandhi to stand up to the old guard in the Congress and went ahead with Mid-term elections. Her resounding success was the most hotly discussed topic. Ammamma made me write a congratulatory letter to her and surprisingly, she replied in her own hand, thanking for the wishes. Ammamma was very proud of me even though it was she who made me write it. Months later Ammamma made a casual mention of this to Vasiraju Prakasam (a young journalist and friend of Tatayya) who lamented that had he known about this at that time, he would have published it. Apart from this, she also made me join veena classes at Balananda Sangham under Koka Satyavati. I really had no talent, but Ammamma never gave up to make me learn something that she herself had no interest in! In fact when Satyam Mamayya visited us, he asked to me to play and said that music was expected to soothe children and animals even and that he did not find that true in my case and on the other hand, it might upset them!
Ammamma got fed up with the landlady who was constantly checking out on us whether we had non veg or not, so we decided to move again. We moved to the other side of my school to 81/1, habibullah Road, where we stayed in late K Raja Rao's house, who had produced the film Puttillu and which was Jamuna's break into films. The family had fallen on bad times and had retained only the house. They rented out three portions and lived in one portion. Jamuna used to visit them once in a while and take care of a few odds and ends and ask about their welfare. Ammamma remembers Sridevi (who was then an emerging child artist) coming to our house compound to take milk from the buffalo man who used to milk it in the compound, in front of his buyers (a practice that was prevalent in those days). Her house was across the road and her father was an advocate. On the same road there was S V Ranga Rao's house, where all I saw was a whole load of bright white clothes were put out to dry. I believe Savitri's house was also there. Rama Naidu, Adurti Subba Rao - all had their houses there. Harnath's (a handsome and talented actor) son - a cute little boy of four also used to come to this house and Ammamma and the neighbour used to talk about how Harnath drank away his career and his life and orphaned this poor boy. I used to hear many such stories, including the beginning of Savitri's degeneration into alcoholism. I believe that a girl called Surekha, used to visit this house as her class mate was the landlord's wife, which I do not remember. Ammamma tells me that she became Chiranjeevi's wife later.
On my walk to school, I passed music directors, directors houses and also the houses of N T Rama Rao and Sivaji Ganesan. I once saw two Tirupati buses with so many shaven heads (bodi gundlu) waiting for a glimpse of NTR. I did have the opportunity to see the funny sight of him actually coming out and all these people falling at his feet and he blessing them in Lord Krishna fashion! No wonder he believed himself to be so great. Once in Nalli's, I was forcing Tatayya to buy me an expensive parikini and he was finding it difficult to say no to me. N T Rama Rao glanced appreciatively in my direction and Ammamma felt very proud of her children. Later, other people like Shambhu Prasad (owner of Andhra Patrika) and several others also were appreciative. Ammamma used to vacillate between pride and dread as I started getting glances from people around, which was but natural at that age. She used to be fiercely protective, despite the fact that she herself had braved all odds when she was my age. The cinema atmosphere of Madras also affected her as we were witness to several girls being dumped into 'call centres' in lure of acting in movies.
Among the many other things Ammamma did in Madras, one was to buy me an Agfa Click III box camera and make me click different subjects and what started as a sport and enjoyment, soon became an ordeal for me becuase of her constant critique. Fortunately, the phase passed. Then I had to participate in a radio plays for BalaVinodam. I lent my voice for stories from Panchatantra (I was the deer among the four friends), and for a play set in Varanasi of two elephants, in which I, the she elephant ultimately dies. I had to record several times for the death cry as it would always come out as laughter. I remember Dasaradhi Rangacharya (a famous author), who was the head there, asking me to stop laughing. Ammamma also took us to several exhibitions, including a defence exhibition housed in a train (!) and for which the queues were so long that we reached home at 11 in the night and our neighbours who accompanied us, got a sound dressing out from their father/husband. Ammamma took us to movies, beach, sightseeing and so many other places because Tatayya was working till late in the evening (all press people stayed late in those days of typesetting, teleprinter news flashes and typewriters. I remember Tatayya's habit of imaginary typing of asdfg and other notations absent-mindedly with his fingers).
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Happy 83rd Birthday Ammamma!
Amma - May you live to be a 100! You like cricket so much - it is only natural that you should score a century! Happy birthday from your daughters, grand daughters and all the people who love you and admire you! (edit note - when I read out this birthday message to Ammamma - she confessed that she woke up today after a dream in which Sehwag and Dravid were playing cricket in our house and that Dravid got out!! She is also fighting with me that I should remove the photographs and is a bit worried that her story is becoming long winded. I told her that since nobody has yet said it is boring, she shouldn't stop me from writing as much as I want to)
These are pictures of Ammamma shot by Preeti (Laasya) this month. Ammamma's hair is still so long! Imagine how it was when she was young! How does Ammamma know her correct age? She came to know about it when she had to go to the Tahsildar's office to ascertain it. She wanted to sell her land to her eldest brother, but it was not allowed by the Karanam (Village revenue officer) as she was a minor. She then got her correct date from the Tahsildar's office records as July 17th, 1926 and sold her 3/4 acre land in 1944. In her Matric, however, it was arbitrarily recorded as September 8th. {It is another thing that the sale resulted in Rs 800 only (as opposed to the expected Rs 1200) and Rs 600 of it was used to repay Tatayya's debts!}
It is interesting to note that Ammamma got her long hair after her Aunt (Mother's sister, whom we used to call as Pallekona Ammamma) and nobody else in the family had such a head of hair that was thick and long - an unusual combination. It is still is her hallmark.
I asked Ammamma some more details about her Mother. She says that she recorded most of what she remembered as she had her mother for only 10 years of her life. She does remember that her mother slogged hard around the house when she wasn't ill. She had a swollen abdomen and used to ail off and on. However, since there were so many siblings older to her, Ammamma remembers a happy and carefree childhood, always playing games and pranks and running small errands. She does once again remember her mother's partiality to her sons and her bias in feeding them ghee cooked delicacies and also double the quantity, and even here, singling out her first born son for more attention. She had a dear friend in the village named Rattamma, and once in a while, Ammamma had to run to Rattamma's house for her mother to give, take messages/food etc. It is indeed a strange coincidence that these two friends died on the same day.
Ammamma forbade buying of any more clothes for her. I was wondering what to buy for her. In Madhukar Shukla's (past colleague at ASCI, a social entrepreneurship crusader and professor at XLRI) post I read about the wonderful idea of gifting saplings for people, which is enduring, endearing and long lasting and also serves a green purpose. (Thanx Madhukar for the idea, as well as for reading my blog about Ammamma with interest). Great idea isn't it! Madhukar - you were the trigger that made me start this blog when you wrote those inspiring lines about your own Mother. You know, my friend Nayana (HR, Infosys) has started her own blog and another friend Sita (English lecturer) wants to start writing about her mother and grandmother, together with her daughter! So many people drawing inspiration from each other and more particularly paying respect to the people who lived in times that were both tough and exciting and gave us the gift of thinking and being sensitive.
Ammamma loves her potted plants and the trees down below - the first morning ritual is to look at her plants, stand by the branches of the neem tree in our balcony and revel in the breeze. She was delighted that we did not have to cut down any branches from the neem tree when we had to install the transformer this month. However, she was a bit annoyed with the neem tree today as it is toppling her pots because of the breeze. She also pruned the roses yesterday and the flowers are so beautiful. I will today get her saplings and we will plant them downstairs. I have asked Sweety (Shraavya) to get compost from her office (ICRISAT) and I will also get rose mix which Ammamma has been asking me for some time and I have been forgetting. And of course, a nice lightweight Jaipur razai - she feels the cold so much - she does not mind the heat at all and does not use even a cooler, but she is already swathed up in shawls and socks with the slightest cool breeze of the evasive monsoon. I hope for her sake and all our sake that the monsoon will finally come to Hyderabad and fulfill her her wish to see green all round.
Once again happy birthday Amma from all of us!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A Few More Odd Bits and resuming life story
Ammamma has not been well since yesterday. Though it is nothing serious, I still get anxious when a heart patient gets gastric problems. I called our ASCI doctor and he told me to give her a digestive and not to worry. Ammamma herself seemed to bear it without any worry, so I hope she would be ok by tonight at least. Yesterday night she was not in the mood for going into details for our weekly post. She actually wondered if I cannot fast forward to Delhi and close the story after we reach Hyderabad. She feels that now that the political part is over, nobody would be interested in her work till we come back to Hyderabad and talk about her social work for women. I assured her that all three of you, Maapi, myself and all our friends and relatives who are reading the blog with affection and interest will not get bored. Yet, she was not in the right mood, maybe because of her discomfort. She was also keen to talk only about the things she forgot to add earlier, particularly about her writings. She felt that she tried her hand at many things, but did not pursue anything with focus and dedication and she wants all of you to remember this. I am therefore, recording in this post some of her recollections yesterday evening and my own remembrances of our life in Amrutnagar Colony. Some are repetitions, but I am respecting her wishes to record her writings in one place and not in chronological order. So please take this detour as she asks you to.
Ammamma said that when Tatayya was fighting Andhra Prabha newspaper, she was asked by Andhra Prabha magazine to start a column on women. She declined the offer as it would be contrary to the interests of the strikers to have the wife of one of them as a contributor to the group of publications they were fighting against. She also wanted her refusal on this ground to register her protest against the publications.
When Ammamma was refused a job in Andhra Mahila Sabha in Madras, she stayed for some time in Vasireddi Seeta Devi's house. Even beyond the Communist Party, Ammamma had a nodding acquaintance with her family much before. They are from Chebrolu and her brother studied in Repalle. She met many people in the course of her stay there and also recollects a visit to the office of Pandiri Mallikharjuna Rao, who published a story magazine called Kinnera. Another time when she came to visit Tatayya in Cuddalore jail, she stayed in Taapi Dharma Rao's house, who scripted the oldest version of Paramanandayya Sishyulu with Siva Rao as the leading comedian. It was a joint family and was a pleasure to be with as the entire family was very jovial. Ammamma loved tis happy family. Taapi Dhrama Rao's brother Taapi Mohan Rao and his wife Rajamma (who passed away recently - I tok her to visit her on her sick bed), were communists, and that is how Ammamma stayed here in this house. Another brother Taapi Chanakya later became a famous movie director. Taapi Dharma Rao published a magazine called Jana Dharma and Ammamma happened to help them out by writing out the mailing addresses of the subscribers to which they had to be mailed.
When Tatayya was jailed, and when she was struggling to find means of her livelihood (including selling her only piece of jewellery gifted by her mother in law), she came to know of the rights of families of political detenues, that they were entitled to a living allowance. She wrote two letters to the Collector staking her claim, for which she received no reply. She then went in person. The Collector scoffed at her initially and also taunted her that she came to claim the money dressed as a poor woman without any jewellery. He did not believe that Ammamma had no jewellery. Ammamma was very upset with his insensitive behaviour and wrote a letter to Blitz about the behaviour meted out to her, in her not so good English and yet it was published. Whether it was because of this letter or on his own, the next time Ammamma met him, the Collector did relent and sanction her Rs 20 a month with arrears. In fact Ammamma's first jewellery piece was in Kurnool, when she got a necklace made. This necklace had the design of jasmine buds and was called mallemoggala golusu (I had to wear it for any functions and I did not crib unlike the way you girls do!). It was made by a goldsmith couple who were also communists. An interesting thing about this couple was that they used to sit down for their dinner together and eat from the same plate. Though many communists kept in touch with Ammamma and Tatayya such as C Pulla Reddy, Gafoor (till recently MLA, lost in the recent elections to T G Venkatesh), etc., she stayed away from active politics. Once, in a public meeting which they both attended, Tatayya covered the meeting till more than halfway and then left to rush his phonograms to his paper. He asked Ammamma to take down notes and report on the next speech, which was that of Vavilala Gopalakrishnaiah. Ammamma's report was published in the paper as she wrote it and without changes - she was proud of herself. This recollection set her again recounting her writings and trying to recall all her writings.
In Vijayawada, she wrote a short story, which she showed to a communist writer named Tummala Venkatramaiah. He told her it was preliminary and asked her to expand on it. Already her translation on Chinese Women was published. She published stories in Telugu Swatantra, Andhra Bhoomi, Andhra Mahila and Andhra Prabha (the editor, Kamaraju prompted her to do so). The only title she remembers is only one recorded earlier - Kodi Gattina Deepaalu in Andhra Bhoomi. In Amrutnagar Colony after Maapi's birth, she wrote the information booklet on Avidya pai Yuddham and several stories under the pseudonym Avanti. She also translated Hindi writer Vishnu Prabhakar's stories into Telugu and I remember reading both the Hindi and Telugu versions. In Delhi, she translated Maulvi Naseeruddin stories (I think Mulla - Ammamma insists that it is Maulvi) written by Mahidhara Nalinimohan Rao published in Telugu in Andhra Patrika magazine section. She published them in Bala Bharati, Hindi (Delhi publication). Mahidhara Nalinimohan Rao is the son of a prominent communist called Mahidhara Rammohan Rao. He was working in the National Physics Laboratory at that time. This family is famous for another reason, all brothers and many of their sons had names ending in Mohan. We have acquaintances with some and friendships with some of the families. For example, my friends Shashi and Nimmi were Mahidhara Suryamohan's children. Preeti met Suryamohan and his wife in their flat near Fab India. I spent many nights at their house in Delhi and Suryamohan Rao was a delightful teacher. In his family he was very popular among kids. Nalinimohan Rao also published a popular science book for children called Suryam Mamayya kadhalu with easy to do experiments in an entertaining story telling mode. I now have a dear friend in my Book Club - Sarala - who married Chandra Mohan, the son of the youngest Mahidhara brothers. I also know Hema, who is the daughter of another brother. It is indeed a small world.
Ammamma also remembers giving a small write up on the way of life of an Indian woman which was published in the Soviet Woman. In 1973, we came back from Delhi after my BSc was over in Pilani, she was asked by Mahila monthly magazine to do an interview feature. Her first interview was with Sharada Mukherjee, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. She then interviewed Justice Amareswari, the first woman judge appointed in the state. During the interview, they recollected their very young days in Vijayawada when they stayed together. Student leader Pallavi, who had made many youth take an oath that they would not take dowry. She also interviewed Krishnaveni Sanjeevaiah, the widow of the late Chief Minister and a prominent personality.
Ammamma also wants me to tell you all that apart from the one widow marriage that I recorded in detail in an earlier post, she actually conducted many more then and also later in Hyderabad when she was working for the Working Woman's Association. i assured her that I would record these when I come to that phase of her life.
I now resume our life in Hyderabad and the changes that took place in Ammamma's avocations and interests. She devoted some time to writing, but I remember her socialising well by calling a lot of friends home, looking after relatives who came for treatment, experimenting with cooking new dishes and have a lot of parties for mine and Maapi's friends. I loved her cooking and so did many of the people who came to our house, including friends and relatives (and some politicians too who our father deigned to invite on those rare occasions). I remember how I stared at Gottipati Brahmaiah removing his dentures and washing them after the meal! I loved her cooking and Tatayya also being a foodie, Ammamma simply made loads of snacks. Tatayya particularly loved Gaarelu (vadas) and literally heaps were made. Murukus were made by the baskets! Ammamma, however made sure that I did a lot of work even though I was an only child till about 9 years. It was my duty to light the small coal stove and make coffee, while she cooked all other things on the kerosene stove - a jazzy looking one she bought, which showed more technology than all others prevailing at that time! It was also my duty to do maintenance jobs on the stove every week. I had to learn any art/craft I had to learn, play everything and read as many books and magazines as I could in all the three languages. She used to engage me in conversation on all these topics and made me enter different magazine contests. I once got an assemble it yourself aeroplane as a consolation prize from one of the Russian magazines. I tried to assemble it myself as the instructions were in Russian. Then I tried to learn Russian from two primers we had in the house! And the only thing that happened was that I cut my fingers and developed a plane that did not fly. I think Ammamma was more disappointed than me. I think this is the time we saw a lot of movies and dance programmes.
Maapi was sensitive from her childhood. We went to see Dosti and she cried her heart out bawling so loudly - we almost had to leave the movie theatre (Palace theatre - now the Big Bazar in Abids!) Of course, Ammamma was not going to leave without seeing the end - so we stood near the exit and saw the movie till the end, ignoring the frowns of other movie goers! Maapi cried a long time after the movie even. All I remember from the film were the songs, which used to reverberate from all radios, whether at home or in shops on the roads! When Maapi was three, she joined my school in what was called the Baby class. I was very happy. Till then I used to envy all my classmates who had sisters in the same school or brothers in the school opposite - All Saints. Now I also had a sister who came with me to school. Her first couple of days in school were bad - she cried a lot. On the third day she cried so much that the teacher and Ammamma got scared. We went straight to the doctor (Dr Manikya Raju) and he examined her and found nothing wrong with her. He observed her for a minute and then asked Ammamma to get her to pass urine. With that, all her problem was over. Next day Ammamma went to school and alongwith the teacher counselled the Ayah to take the kid to the toilet during recess. Maapi must have been petrified to ask anybody for anything - she was so quiet and shy. Maapi also had the good habit of making close friendships. However, she would insist on hanging out only with that particular friend and one day she stubbornly insisted that her friend should come home to stay with us! It was a herculean task for us to take her home and she was crying throughout. Ammamma had to summon up her unknown reserves of patience to manage Maapi as she would cry away if anybody shouted at her. Nonetheless, the poor kid got beatings and tongue lashings from both Ammamma and me. I remember that I was once serving her food in the afternoon and she wanted a lot of mulakkaadalu (drumsticks). I went on giving her more and she wanted me to serve her even more. I told her to eat them and that I would serve again, but she would not listen. In exasperation, I emptied the whole bowl of curry into her plate. She also stubbornly ate all of it! I don't remember if it caused her any problem, but Ammamma was shocked that I served the whole thing to her and did not leave any for anybody else and I got the riot act. It was also surprising that Ammamma started dance classes for Maapi even though both she and Tatayya were united in their denial to me for the same. I couldn't understand. Ammamma now says that she wanted music for one child and dance for the other and that was how I had music classes and Maapi had dance classes.
Maapi was very close to three friends in the Colony called Seeta, Radha and Umakanth.
I met this Umakanth later at Nagarjuna Fertilsers in Kakinada. My own friends were numerous - Radha, Geetha, Nandu, Krishna, Ravi, Ranga (joined Hindustan Richardson later), four Maharshtrian boys, whose names I don't remember now (!). My friends Anjani ( a physicist who is now a lawyer in Supreme Court), Shobha Reddy, Deep Rani Aminha (a cardiologist in US), Della Godfrey (MLC), Haripriya (the famous Carnatic singer now, known as Hyderabad Sisters alongwith her sister Lalita), were at house many times and so was I at theirs. Of course, Kantakka was always there.
Ammamma religiously took us to different relatives villages every summer and once even sent me alone to Nizamabad for my second uncle son's wedding (Jawaharlal - he is also Laxmana Annayya's father in law later). I remember once when we returned from from Nizamabad, Tatayya came to the station to receive us and had to pay penalty for a full ticket for me even though I was still under twelve and was allowed to buy a half ticket. Rather than argue with the TC, Tatayya paid up and Ammamma was offended. we reached home and Venkatachalam (office boy) came running to call Tatayya away as Nehru had passed away on May 23,1964.
Tatayya rarely took us out. He always made arrangements for us in buying tickets and all, but never came with us. I used to pester him and also visit his office which was on Tilak Road (Abids), on my way home from Rosary Convent. Sometimes he used to indulge me in taking me to Vasant Vihar cafe (then housed in the Golden Threshold, which was Sarojini Naidu's house and later became the first location of the University of Hyderabad) for some tiffin. More often than not, he used to send me with Venkatachalam to have the snacks and he must have been very happy to be given this duty because he could also have a good snack and coffee. When Maapi was born and I was getting bored at home, Tatayya made the unusual gesture of taking me to a movie! It was in Embassy - a cute little 50 seater theatre within Liberty Theatre. It was a great experience seeing Benhur there - gives a huge home theatre experience. You actually feel you were in a colosseum watching the races.
The biggest education Ammamma gave me was through books. We bought many books. My gift from Tatayya when I passed my eigth standard (to mark my getting into high school) was the collected works of Shakespeare. I lost it when someone borrowed it. Tatayya also brought many complementary books published by the Telugu Academy and that accelerated my Telugu learning (I loved one particular book on Telugu proverbs and adages). Ammamma subscribed to a very beautiful and innovative mail order and instalment based book scheme called Intinta Grandhalayam (a library in every house) by Emesco books (M Seshachalam & Co). It opened a whole new world to me. I read voraciously delighting both Ammamma and Tatayya. I read many Telugu writers, including Chalam (a libertine and too early for me to read him), a whole lot of Telugu translations of Bengali novels of Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, SaratChandra and Hindi novels of Premchand and the list goes on! When we had to move from Hyderabad, we gave away many of those books to libraries.
One curious thing though - Ammamma developed a persecution complex at this time as she became paranoid that some people were after her and her family to ruin them. This lasted for some years. She used to keep all our movements secretive as also asked us to write minimally in letters. I don't know why this happened and was happy when it was finally over.
In 1965, Tatayya was transferred to Madras as sub-editor in Andhra Patrika on promotion. He was wary and we all were thrilled to move to a new place. The next post will chronicle our curious experiences in Madras.
Ammamma said that when Tatayya was fighting Andhra Prabha newspaper, she was asked by Andhra Prabha magazine to start a column on women. She declined the offer as it would be contrary to the interests of the strikers to have the wife of one of them as a contributor to the group of publications they were fighting against. She also wanted her refusal on this ground to register her protest against the publications.
When Ammamma was refused a job in Andhra Mahila Sabha in Madras, she stayed for some time in Vasireddi Seeta Devi's house. Even beyond the Communist Party, Ammamma had a nodding acquaintance with her family much before. They are from Chebrolu and her brother studied in Repalle. She met many people in the course of her stay there and also recollects a visit to the office of Pandiri Mallikharjuna Rao, who published a story magazine called Kinnera. Another time when she came to visit Tatayya in Cuddalore jail, she stayed in Taapi Dharma Rao's house, who scripted the oldest version of Paramanandayya Sishyulu with Siva Rao as the leading comedian. It was a joint family and was a pleasure to be with as the entire family was very jovial. Ammamma loved tis happy family. Taapi Dhrama Rao's brother Taapi Mohan Rao and his wife Rajamma (who passed away recently - I tok her to visit her on her sick bed), were communists, and that is how Ammamma stayed here in this house. Another brother Taapi Chanakya later became a famous movie director. Taapi Dharma Rao published a magazine called Jana Dharma and Ammamma happened to help them out by writing out the mailing addresses of the subscribers to which they had to be mailed.
When Tatayya was jailed, and when she was struggling to find means of her livelihood (including selling her only piece of jewellery gifted by her mother in law), she came to know of the rights of families of political detenues, that they were entitled to a living allowance. She wrote two letters to the Collector staking her claim, for which she received no reply. She then went in person. The Collector scoffed at her initially and also taunted her that she came to claim the money dressed as a poor woman without any jewellery. He did not believe that Ammamma had no jewellery. Ammamma was very upset with his insensitive behaviour and wrote a letter to Blitz about the behaviour meted out to her, in her not so good English and yet it was published. Whether it was because of this letter or on his own, the next time Ammamma met him, the Collector did relent and sanction her Rs 20 a month with arrears. In fact Ammamma's first jewellery piece was in Kurnool, when she got a necklace made. This necklace had the design of jasmine buds and was called mallemoggala golusu (I had to wear it for any functions and I did not crib unlike the way you girls do!). It was made by a goldsmith couple who were also communists. An interesting thing about this couple was that they used to sit down for their dinner together and eat from the same plate. Though many communists kept in touch with Ammamma and Tatayya such as C Pulla Reddy, Gafoor (till recently MLA, lost in the recent elections to T G Venkatesh), etc., she stayed away from active politics. Once, in a public meeting which they both attended, Tatayya covered the meeting till more than halfway and then left to rush his phonograms to his paper. He asked Ammamma to take down notes and report on the next speech, which was that of Vavilala Gopalakrishnaiah. Ammamma's report was published in the paper as she wrote it and without changes - she was proud of herself. This recollection set her again recounting her writings and trying to recall all her writings.
In Vijayawada, she wrote a short story, which she showed to a communist writer named Tummala Venkatramaiah. He told her it was preliminary and asked her to expand on it. Already her translation on Chinese Women was published. She published stories in Telugu Swatantra, Andhra Bhoomi, Andhra Mahila and Andhra Prabha (the editor, Kamaraju prompted her to do so). The only title she remembers is only one recorded earlier - Kodi Gattina Deepaalu in Andhra Bhoomi. In Amrutnagar Colony after Maapi's birth, she wrote the information booklet on Avidya pai Yuddham and several stories under the pseudonym Avanti. She also translated Hindi writer Vishnu Prabhakar's stories into Telugu and I remember reading both the Hindi and Telugu versions. In Delhi, she translated Maulvi Naseeruddin stories (I think Mulla - Ammamma insists that it is Maulvi) written by Mahidhara Nalinimohan Rao published in Telugu in Andhra Patrika magazine section. She published them in Bala Bharati, Hindi (Delhi publication). Mahidhara Nalinimohan Rao is the son of a prominent communist called Mahidhara Rammohan Rao. He was working in the National Physics Laboratory at that time. This family is famous for another reason, all brothers and many of their sons had names ending in Mohan. We have acquaintances with some and friendships with some of the families. For example, my friends Shashi and Nimmi were Mahidhara Suryamohan's children. Preeti met Suryamohan and his wife in their flat near Fab India. I spent many nights at their house in Delhi and Suryamohan Rao was a delightful teacher. In his family he was very popular among kids. Nalinimohan Rao also published a popular science book for children called Suryam Mamayya kadhalu with easy to do experiments in an entertaining story telling mode. I now have a dear friend in my Book Club - Sarala - who married Chandra Mohan, the son of the youngest Mahidhara brothers. I also know Hema, who is the daughter of another brother. It is indeed a small world.
Ammamma also remembers giving a small write up on the way of life of an Indian woman which was published in the Soviet Woman. In 1973, we came back from Delhi after my BSc was over in Pilani, she was asked by Mahila monthly magazine to do an interview feature. Her first interview was with Sharada Mukherjee, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. She then interviewed Justice Amareswari, the first woman judge appointed in the state. During the interview, they recollected their very young days in Vijayawada when they stayed together. Student leader Pallavi, who had made many youth take an oath that they would not take dowry. She also interviewed Krishnaveni Sanjeevaiah, the widow of the late Chief Minister and a prominent personality.
Ammamma also wants me to tell you all that apart from the one widow marriage that I recorded in detail in an earlier post, she actually conducted many more then and also later in Hyderabad when she was working for the Working Woman's Association. i assured her that I would record these when I come to that phase of her life.
I now resume our life in Hyderabad and the changes that took place in Ammamma's avocations and interests. She devoted some time to writing, but I remember her socialising well by calling a lot of friends home, looking after relatives who came for treatment, experimenting with cooking new dishes and have a lot of parties for mine and Maapi's friends. I loved her cooking and so did many of the people who came to our house, including friends and relatives (and some politicians too who our father deigned to invite on those rare occasions). I remember how I stared at Gottipati Brahmaiah removing his dentures and washing them after the meal! I loved her cooking and Tatayya also being a foodie, Ammamma simply made loads of snacks. Tatayya particularly loved Gaarelu (vadas) and literally heaps were made. Murukus were made by the baskets! Ammamma, however made sure that I did a lot of work even though I was an only child till about 9 years. It was my duty to light the small coal stove and make coffee, while she cooked all other things on the kerosene stove - a jazzy looking one she bought, which showed more technology than all others prevailing at that time! It was also my duty to do maintenance jobs on the stove every week. I had to learn any art/craft I had to learn, play everything and read as many books and magazines as I could in all the three languages. She used to engage me in conversation on all these topics and made me enter different magazine contests. I once got an assemble it yourself aeroplane as a consolation prize from one of the Russian magazines. I tried to assemble it myself as the instructions were in Russian. Then I tried to learn Russian from two primers we had in the house! And the only thing that happened was that I cut my fingers and developed a plane that did not fly. I think Ammamma was more disappointed than me. I think this is the time we saw a lot of movies and dance programmes.
Maapi was sensitive from her childhood. We went to see Dosti and she cried her heart out bawling so loudly - we almost had to leave the movie theatre (Palace theatre - now the Big Bazar in Abids!) Of course, Ammamma was not going to leave without seeing the end - so we stood near the exit and saw the movie till the end, ignoring the frowns of other movie goers! Maapi cried a long time after the movie even. All I remember from the film were the songs, which used to reverberate from all radios, whether at home or in shops on the roads! When Maapi was three, she joined my school in what was called the Baby class. I was very happy. Till then I used to envy all my classmates who had sisters in the same school or brothers in the school opposite - All Saints. Now I also had a sister who came with me to school. Her first couple of days in school were bad - she cried a lot. On the third day she cried so much that the teacher and Ammamma got scared. We went straight to the doctor (Dr Manikya Raju) and he examined her and found nothing wrong with her. He observed her for a minute and then asked Ammamma to get her to pass urine. With that, all her problem was over. Next day Ammamma went to school and alongwith the teacher counselled the Ayah to take the kid to the toilet during recess. Maapi must have been petrified to ask anybody for anything - she was so quiet and shy. Maapi also had the good habit of making close friendships. However, she would insist on hanging out only with that particular friend and one day she stubbornly insisted that her friend should come home to stay with us! It was a herculean task for us to take her home and she was crying throughout. Ammamma had to summon up her unknown reserves of patience to manage Maapi as she would cry away if anybody shouted at her. Nonetheless, the poor kid got beatings and tongue lashings from both Ammamma and me. I remember that I was once serving her food in the afternoon and she wanted a lot of mulakkaadalu (drumsticks). I went on giving her more and she wanted me to serve her even more. I told her to eat them and that I would serve again, but she would not listen. In exasperation, I emptied the whole bowl of curry into her plate. She also stubbornly ate all of it! I don't remember if it caused her any problem, but Ammamma was shocked that I served the whole thing to her and did not leave any for anybody else and I got the riot act. It was also surprising that Ammamma started dance classes for Maapi even though both she and Tatayya were united in their denial to me for the same. I couldn't understand. Ammamma now says that she wanted music for one child and dance for the other and that was how I had music classes and Maapi had dance classes.
Maapi was very close to three friends in the Colony called Seeta, Radha and Umakanth.
I met this Umakanth later at Nagarjuna Fertilsers in Kakinada. My own friends were numerous - Radha, Geetha, Nandu, Krishna, Ravi, Ranga (joined Hindustan Richardson later), four Maharshtrian boys, whose names I don't remember now (!). My friends Anjani ( a physicist who is now a lawyer in Supreme Court), Shobha Reddy, Deep Rani Aminha (a cardiologist in US), Della Godfrey (MLC), Haripriya (the famous Carnatic singer now, known as Hyderabad Sisters alongwith her sister Lalita), were at house many times and so was I at theirs. Of course, Kantakka was always there.
Ammamma religiously took us to different relatives villages every summer and once even sent me alone to Nizamabad for my second uncle son's wedding (Jawaharlal - he is also Laxmana Annayya's father in law later). I remember once when we returned from from Nizamabad, Tatayya came to the station to receive us and had to pay penalty for a full ticket for me even though I was still under twelve and was allowed to buy a half ticket. Rather than argue with the TC, Tatayya paid up and Ammamma was offended. we reached home and Venkatachalam (office boy) came running to call Tatayya away as Nehru had passed away on May 23,1964.
Tatayya rarely took us out. He always made arrangements for us in buying tickets and all, but never came with us. I used to pester him and also visit his office which was on Tilak Road (Abids), on my way home from Rosary Convent. Sometimes he used to indulge me in taking me to Vasant Vihar cafe (then housed in the Golden Threshold, which was Sarojini Naidu's house and later became the first location of the University of Hyderabad) for some tiffin. More often than not, he used to send me with Venkatachalam to have the snacks and he must have been very happy to be given this duty because he could also have a good snack and coffee. When Maapi was born and I was getting bored at home, Tatayya made the unusual gesture of taking me to a movie! It was in Embassy - a cute little 50 seater theatre within Liberty Theatre. It was a great experience seeing Benhur there - gives a huge home theatre experience. You actually feel you were in a colosseum watching the races.
The biggest education Ammamma gave me was through books. We bought many books. My gift from Tatayya when I passed my eigth standard (to mark my getting into high school) was the collected works of Shakespeare. I lost it when someone borrowed it. Tatayya also brought many complementary books published by the Telugu Academy and that accelerated my Telugu learning (I loved one particular book on Telugu proverbs and adages). Ammamma subscribed to a very beautiful and innovative mail order and instalment based book scheme called Intinta Grandhalayam (a library in every house) by Emesco books (M Seshachalam & Co). It opened a whole new world to me. I read voraciously delighting both Ammamma and Tatayya. I read many Telugu writers, including Chalam (a libertine and too early for me to read him), a whole lot of Telugu translations of Bengali novels of Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, SaratChandra and Hindi novels of Premchand and the list goes on! When we had to move from Hyderabad, we gave away many of those books to libraries.
One curious thing though - Ammamma developed a persecution complex at this time as she became paranoid that some people were after her and her family to ruin them. This lasted for some years. She used to keep all our movements secretive as also asked us to write minimally in letters. I don't know why this happened and was happy when it was finally over.
In 1965, Tatayya was transferred to Madras as sub-editor in Andhra Patrika on promotion. He was wary and we all were thrilled to move to a new place. The next post will chronicle our curious experiences in Madras.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Odds & Ends, Bits & Pieces
What was Ammamma doing during her break from career, apart from looking after us? She wrote. Her first was a booklet written for the Information & Public Relations Department of the Govt of Andhra Pradesh - on illiteracy. It was titled War on Illiteracy (Avidya pai Yuddham). She translated Hindi stories into Telugu. She also wrote stories under her own name and under the pseudonym called Avanti, simply because she liked the name Avanti. Unfortunately, she cannot remember the number of stories, titles and when they were published and this includes her earlier writings and the book on Chinese Women that she translated. She only remembers one title - Kodi Gattina Deepaalu (Dying out Lights). She did publish in Andhra Mahila, Andhra Prabha, Praja Vani and several other magazines. Given her penchant for organizing< i am disappointed that none of her articles, except Avidya Pai Yuddham are available.
She also continued her favourite letters to the Editor and used to encourage me to write letters as well. I remember on letter she made write to an American woman who created a used book bank for distribution in developing countries and she asked for interested parties to write to her in a letter in The Hindu. That way, I got a whole lot of books on fiction and chemistry and medicine, because that was how I indicated my preference. The Chemistry book was very interesting as it was written in the mode of popular science and it dealt with the making of aluminium and steel and I learnt all about chemical processes of metals. The book on medicine was a proper medical text book and I was fascinated with what ever I understood of the human body and I used to use myself as a study of all the things described in the book on anatomy. The rest of the books were lots of fun as I read many novels and was also introduced to the Bobbsey Twins series. Ammamma made me write to all Soviet magazines as well and I got a do it yourself aeroplane to assemble, in which I was partially successful as the instructions were in Russian. It wouldn't fly and I also cut myself assembling it. She also made me have an American pen pal. All I remember now is that I exchanged perhaps a couple of letters and found that airmail is pretty expensive and stopped later and that the boy's first name was Donald and that he wanted to know if there were elephants and bullock carts in my place!
Coming back to our home, the strangest coincidence is that, the house we moved into in Amrutnagar Colony, was the one vacated by Satish Babai's family! Satish Babai and Maapi, therefore, share a childhood house! I used to carry Maapi all the time, even taking her to my games. She soon became very friendly with a girl of her age called Seeta, who lived in the same colony and whose elder sister Indira, was a student of Ammamma in Narayanguda school. I used to like Indira, because she appeared so calm and soft spoken. She must not have been more than 16 or 17 years of age then and now I wonder why she used to always cover herself fully with her pallu and did not leave it the way we normally do. It is perhaps because she belonged to a conservative family. In fact, in that colony, I encountered all the facets of conservative families, because the colony was full of them. The good part was that I learnt to appreciate the aesthetic part of muggulu (daily patterns made near the threshold) and bommala koluvu (a 10 day festival where dolls and figurines are arranged in a cascading fashion and neighbours invited to see it). I found all other things quite restricting. I was actually shocked that Ammamma fell prey to this peer pressure and distributed sweets in the neighbourhood when I came of age. Chittattha was visiting that time and she went around with Ammamma distributing them. I was mortified - I was just 11. Anyway, I forgot about it and played my evening games normally with all boys and girls and ignored the frowns of some of the women. Fortunately, Ammamma & Tatayya did not restrict me.
When Maapi was a baby, we went up to the street to witness the motorcade of Damodaram Sanjeevaiah, the Chief Minister, for something I don't remember now. Tatayya was about to go to office and he waited alongwith us for the cavalcade to pass. Sanjeevaiah spotted Tatayya in the crowd and waved to him and then he noticed us. He asked through gestures whether these were his kids and Tatayya gestured back saying yes. Sanjeevaiah then asked if both were plusses or minuses and Tatayya laughed and said both were minuses. I was actually feeling quite important till then because my playmates were watching how familiar my Daddy was with the CM and it came all crashing down with this question. Tatayya assured me later that it is how society looks at such issues and it does not mean that he and Ammamma think of us that way. He told me that people place values differently. He then told me a lot of things about society and values. He also taught me never to address rich people as nobles (goppa vallu), but to call them affluent (dabbunna vallu). He said nobility is a different virtue and does not devolve on the basis of wealth or birth. Tatayya spent little time with us, as it was Ammamma who took care of everything and took us everywhere. During his entire life, Tatayya was only partially domesticated. This was a matter of fights also - but the fights in our house were more like children fighting and playing again as if nothing happened. However, whatever time Tatayya spent with Maapi and me, were great times as he used to talk to us like adults and have lots of discussions.
In the 1962 war of India and China, Tatayya was asked by Andhra Patrika to go to Tezpur as a Warfront Correspondent. There was excitement, fear and hectic preparations. His paper gave him money for warm clothes, with which he bought two close collar suits - these were a cross between safari suits and jodhpuri achkans. Ammamma and me learnt knitting (!) and knitted a pink (!) coloured half sweater for him. We naively assumed that these would be sufficient as, being Southies, we had no idea of the cold weather! Of course, internet or google did not exist! Fortunately for Tatayya, he did not have to brave it out in the cold, the ceasefire was called a day before he was to leave. His photo is already on top of the blog and the facts that appear on Wikipedia based on info given by Maapi and Ammamma to Amar (a journalist and an ardent fan of Tatayya), are given below:
T.V.Krishna, an erstwhile journalist from Andhra Pradesh was born on 1.7.1919 in Govada Tenali taluka, and brought up in Chinnapulivarru in the same taluka in Andhra Pradesh,India. Giving up Government service, T.V. Krishna joined as whole timer with the Communist Party of India. He was a freedom fighter and a journalistic writer.
Widely known as TVK, his career in Journalism began in 1947 when he joined Prajashakti. Papers he worked for were big and small. His ethics gave him a wide horizon. He worked in newspapers - Visalandhra, Deccan Herald, Indian Express, Andhra Prabha, Andhra Patrika, Eenadu.,Skyline, Evidence and Mahajana. News Agencies that he worked in were NAFEN, UNI, and NSS.T.V.Krishna edited and Published a fortnightly,"Events and Comments" during early 80's. TVK's book "The Difficult Decades", a collage of articles by him and his Journalistic friends was left incomplete with TVK's sudden demise on 30.1.1985. T.V.Krishna was 65 years old. This book was later brought out as a Souvenir in his memory by his wife, T.Savitri Devi with the help of journalistic friends and wellwishers.
T.V.Krishna was the Founder President of the Journalists' Cooperative Housing Society. The Press Club called the Desodharaka Bhavan and the first phase of Journalists' Colony saw the light during his tenure.
T.V.Krishna's name is referred to in the legal sphere as a case study T.V. Krishna v. Andhra Prabha [Pvt.] Ltd; while referring to the Companies Act 1956, Promotion and Formation of a Company. A simpleton, humane and with lots of values, TVK attracted a good number of well wishers. T.V.Krishna always thought about fellow workers first. His career is intermittent with being unemployed for considerable periods of time due to this very nature.
In an Inaugural speech at the function organised by DNF College of Journalism(promoted by Satish Babu) in 1995, the then Chief Minister, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy remarked " There are very few journalists who keep their ideologies to a side and report news - News as News. Krishna is first amongst them." TVK's unbiased and factual reporting was appreciated by one and all. Many new entrants into the field of journalism were groomed by him and revere his guidance.
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