Pati and me

My maternal grandmother, Namagiri Ammal lives in my heart everyday. We all called her ‘Pati’ or grandma in colloquial Tamil, a language spoken in southern India. She embodied generosity, candor, feminism and a fierce love of family, especially her grandchildren! I grew up listening to her stories derived from the great Indian epic - The Ramayana.

She especially loved Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, who in her mind, personified the characteristics of an ideal person, or purushottama in ancient Sanskrit. Fondly referring to me as ‘Sundaram’, she impressed on me the need to develop the qualities of Rama - equanimity, compassion and virtue. Describing the events of the abduction of Sita (Rama’s wife) by the evil demon Ravana in vivid fashion, she brought the story to life and enraptured my sisters and me for hours. I developed a fascination for Indian mythology and the epics and will always be indebted to my dear Pati for her ability to weave a colorful narrative filled with emotion, passion and action.

Later in life, it was fascinating to see her lead a life filled with purpose, generosity and love - her service to poor women in the community was legendary. We lost our Pati a few years ago. Your grandson ‘Sundaram’ developed a lifelong passion for Indian mythology and spirituality and is now writing mythological thrillers based on your stories. Pati, thank you for your love of the epics and for inspiring a 5-year old boy.