Meandering thoughts - Sita Sreeraman

When I first came to London, I wondered what the Christmas fuss was all about. Beginning October and November, the stores all got decked up in Christmas finery and look grand, colourful and inviting. The High Street (main street in each area) and other important streets like Oxford Street, Regents Street, Bond Street etc get decked up in colourful lights and look festive. And Christmas carols fill the air - Jingle Bells and others. There is a change in mood, people are thinking of gifts to buy, family get togethers, family dinners and churches. And homes and shops sport Christmas trees- the evergreen pine with a tangy turpentine smell and a conical shape, colourfully lit with lovely baubles and decorations. The local flower stores all begin to stock Christmas trees, sometimes the Farmer’s Market does some and in the weeks leading to Christmas, you sometimes find trees for Sale on the Pavements near the Underground tube stations. Last year plastic black Christmas trees were the fad, thi...

As I start writing this blog, I think of the various small things that are particular to the upbringing in Iyer families. The first thought that comes to my mind is that I am part of a sect that has practised non-violence and vegetarianism for centuries, that believes in Advaitha and chants the‘Gayathri Mantra’. And that I am part of this wonderful unbroken tradition of 7000 to 8000 years. As Iyers, our life is based on the teachings of Adi Sankara, the doctrines in Bhagavad Geetha, Vedas and Upanishads. We pay obeisance to our gurus Adi Sankara and the Sankaracharyas of Sringeri and Kanchi and other great people like Ramana Maharishi, Sai Baba. We usually have a photo of the gurus in our house and visit them when we can. We believe in rebirth and karma yoga and bhakti margam. Being an Iyer, using the credentials of Gothram,Vedam, sub-sect(Vadhyama, Vadama etc) and my grand parents names gets me connected almost instantaneously with another Iyer anywhere in the world. If I were a man,...

When I first came to London and had yet to find a job, Sekar suggested I do some volunteering work. This would help me network and interact with people. One day as Narayan and I were coming back from Waitrose our local grocers, a ‘Volunteers Urgently Needed’ board caught my attention. So we walked towards it and I found a notice that said “The Oxfam Book Shop needs volunteers urgently”. So the next day without much confidence, I walked into the shop and asked to see the Manager. Martin Penny the Manager said I was welcome and gave me a form to fill. He explained I would work on replacing books in the shelves and I could do either mornings or afternoons (10 to 2) and (2-6) on weekdays or 12-5 on Sundays. I went back on Monday at 10:15 and Martin showed me and another volunteer called Naila around. He showed us the different sections in the bookstore and the basement where the books were stored and sorted. He showed us how to price the books and how they need to be organized on the book-...

Narayan came home one evening and asked me if I have heard of Mata Amrutananda Mayi, she would be visiting London and ‘The Guardian’ newspaper had a nice article about her. I told him what I knew from hearsay - that Mata Amrutananda Mayi or Amma as she is fondly called was from Kollam, she belonged to a fisher-man family and she was self-realized in her teens. The thing that was unique about her was the hug that she gave people. She had a huge following in native Kerala. I remembered Appa and Dr. Radhakrishnan had visited her in connection with the Yagam and she made them sit on the dias along with her. Appa fondly recalls how she sang “Chalanga katti odi odi va”, a Bhajan which Amma sang and he said it was just incredible. Narayan got me print-outs containing details of Amma’s visit and her program in London. She was coming on a Sunday and was staying until Wed morning. Sunday would be too crowded and I had an exam on Monday, so I decided to go on Tue, the 28th Oct. I left home around...

Kollam Mami as she is known is an inspiring lady, who is bringing about a lot of change at grass-root levels in the villages of Kerala. In particular, is her work at Madikunnu temple. Every Wednesday, Kollam Mami decided to have the chanting of Lalitha Sahasranamam, followed by a simple pooja by the participants. Initially people came in small numbers. These days, every Wednesday people in many hundreds and thousands gather to chant Lalitha Sahasranamam. It is not uncommon to see 10,000 and soemtimes 25,000 people attending this function. We have to keep in mind that this is happening in a small village like Madikunnu and not in a city! Miracles have been known to occur - a lame boy started walking after attending the Pooja. And other changes are slowly happening - participants are seeing an increase in their general well-being, giving up smoking, drinking and meat eating, children are studying well and a general increase in wealth and prosperity. The people who run the show, doing the...

As I wrote the blog on AMMA(Mata Amrutananda Mayi), I kept thinking how the best hugs have come from the babies in the family. It was August 1995. Appa and Amma went to Ayakudi to bring Vansathi Manni and my 2.5 month old niece Aparna to Trichur. Chitra, Dr.Mama, Krishanan Chitappa and I were in Trichur. I remember how we spent the whole night talking. I was so excited I could not sleep. And then I saw Aparna. It was love at first sight, my niece was a lovely bouncy baby with the best smile I knew. And I was smitten, totally smitten. She was so tender and so small, I would be scared to hold her. But in no time, I became an expert, I knew how to make her laugh loudly and she always hugged back so well. Harini arrived in June 1996. I first saw Harini when she was 10 days old for her naming ceremony. And she was so sweet and small. And it was gain love at first sight. Harith came in Aug 1996. He was born in Trichur and it was really exciting days. Amma’s 60th Birthday was celebrated in...

I was born in Trichur. Amma, Sangam Chitappa and Chithi went to the Trichur Mission Hospital for a check-up and then suddenly I was born. No preps, no pain, no fore-warning! They were not prepared and Chithi was left with the baby me while Chitappa went to Trikkur with the news. Of course, it did not help at all that it was the 1st of April and no one believed anything. Chithi took care of me and Amma. So my relationship with Chithi started right then, she was the first person to carry me. Amma recollects how among other things Chithi would rub butter over me when I was a baby so I would have good skin. Until we moved to Trikkur in 1988, I remember visiting Trikkur only about 4 times. The first time was for Kalyanam Chitappa's wedding. Then a summer vacation when I was in the 1st or 2nd standard. Amma got 6 dresses made by Babu tailor especially for the occasion. One of them was a black polka dot with leaf green butterfly sleeves, which I left behind at Trikkur and the other is the...