Setting : Dining table of an old but grand Iyer Aathu in Mannargudi...
. So after three hours of a tiring bus journey , and with the horrible heat and the sapping humidity to contend with , we were literally cooling our feet in the wonderful milieu of this house. Finally, Santa's grandma called us for lunch. The dining table was of pure teakwood, and had some antique charm attached to it , as did the whole of the house. She had kept three plaintain leaves on the table, fresh and sprinkled with water .Sujay and Santa sat next to each other and i sat at the head of the table . I was already feeling a little weird. Not because of my hunger, but ,because of my pangs of guilt . The moment i entered the house , i could observe the staunch 'Aacharam' they practiced ,and , i could not predict how they would react , if they found out that i eat non-veg and that i am a mongrel half-iyer etc...
.Coming back, first came the tantalizing aroma of the 'Urulaikezhangu Podimas '. Did i forget to tell that she had already kept a tumbler of 'Thaengapaal Payasam' . Then came 'Paruppu Kadaiyal' and then the usual 'Murungakka Sambar' ( I could remember her eyes twinkling when she said that the Murungakka's were home-grown). But , i could already feel something different. Santa's grandma was very happy and i could guess the reason . I could imagine the boredom she and her husband would be going through ,day after day, living in this grand house . But with no soul to turn to , no one to speak to , what does opulence and grandeur and count for ??? It was then that it struck me that, this little jaunty trip of ours , meant loads to her . I felt a bit of warmth running through me ,suppressing my thoughts of guilt. And how i can forget the amazing 'Keerai Masiyal ' . It marked the stamp of authentic Brahmin cooking ,and i had never tasted anything like that when it comes to Keerai (sorry mom :)). The best moment of this whole episode was when i asked for more of the same . She said sheepishly that ,she had made very little of it and , that it was over. I guess my guilt by now, was completely overrun , by a growing feeling of warmth extending from my stomach to the heart . Think i knew at that moment , what people mean when they say ' The best way to a person's heart is through his/her stomach ' .
.His grandparents were very happy to have us around . We had a whale of time , exploring the house , taking pics on the 'Oonjal ' and , to round off things brilliantly ,it started to rain. I still remember Santa's grandpa 's 'Rustic' remark about his looks. We were happy to be of some use to two kind hearted people and, its these instances i feel , that lend a bit of meaning to my life.
.Moments worth living for !!! :):):)
PS : Thanks, Santa :)
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