In Memoriam

As you know, Ekamranivas was known as an open house to many poorer relatives and friends thanks to the generosity of the great Alladi and his wife Venkalakshmamma.In the words of Justice Alladi Kuppuswami , his father never forgot his poverty and helped many poor people when he became a very successful lawyer in Madras. His mother too according to him was " a monument of patience, charity , and many other virtues,"who translated his generosity into action taking care of every one who sought shelter in this house.One such poor relative who came into this family when she became a young widow was Vedam Rajamma who stayed with the family till she breathed her last on 18th May 2008.she was 86.As a widow she perhaps knew no where else to go and Ekamranivas took her in at a critical time of her life and she stayed on...
Rajamma known to the residents of Ekamranivas as "Rajam" and to the younger generation as Rajamamma" served the family with great dedication and affection all these years.it is not an exaggeration to say there is not a part of the Alladi family that has not been benefited directly or indirectly by her services.I am not related to the family by blood but have had close association with Justice Alladi Kuppuswami's family for seventeen years.I will cite just one instance for her affection towards me.A few days before she passed away I came from work to himayatnagar to join uma for lunch someting at work delayed my coming back and I managed to come close to 3 p.m.,and had my lunch thereafter.the following day when I came back at 1 p.m.,and went near her bed to enquire after her health, she saw me with the lunch box and commented I should have carried lunch with me the previous day also rather than come so late.
in the words of Anant, who came to know of her demise in Switzerland,"Rajamamma is no more. ... she was a part of our life for so long it was a life of sacrifice for others she gave a lot of love and got a lot of love. for some extent it would be hard for any one of us to imagine what it must have been to become a widow at the age of above 20{or was it more, or less,? and to live for another 65 with distant relatives and well-wishers. it cannot be easy to understand how it feels to be forsaken by circumstances. ... her quiet presence will be missed."
Sitaram has the following to say;
"My old aunt , actually my father's cousin , who lived with my sister and father passed away recently.She was 86 and in poor health and suffering a lot and so death was a merciful release she came to live at my grandfather's house 65 years ago at the age of 20 after her husband died and spent the next 65 years serving the extended family without any kind of life of her own . She was foster mother to many of us , Sitaram,Ramu,Ishwar and Lakshmi . For many she was a "non person ",whose only role was to help them whenever they needed some help-after all, my grandfather gave her shelter when nobody was willing to help her.For such people, she was a person of no consequence.
Here is a beautiful poem that Uma wrote about a month before she died;

My aunt
shrunken bent
eyelids unwilling to open
eyes desiring to see
now wishing to live now wishing to die
doped
to be calm
to live in the present
resisting
crying out
reverting to old memories
resisting
new dress
to caretakers a convenience
to her a constricting shroud
i helpless
witness
caretaker
cajoler
tyrant
what end
this agony."
they also serve who come in their times of crisis ,
don't they ?

sridhar
4th june