Memories from a time gone by: My paati

It is now 5 years since my grandmother (mother's mother) passed away.  My earliest memory of her was when she used to cook paruppu saadham laced with flavourful home made ghee and feed my cousin and I, sometimes topping it with a ladle full of steaming tomato rasam. As we grew up she would spoil us with all her yummy dishes and I can still remember the masiyal and mendhi kozhambu that she used to cook to perfection. Not to mention her pickles which would be stored in huge jars and the juiciest of mangoes that she would offer us during summer holidays. She would constantly worry about her children and grandchildren and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to keep us all healthy and safe. She was the kind who'd put everyone else's well-being in front of her's and never care much about herself. There is one incident that comes to my mind now.

During my school days, my mother and I used to spend the weekends at my grandparent's place. There used to be a big library close by and I would pick up six to seven books each time.

Sometimes I would just not be able to put the book down and read until 1 or 2 at night. Since I used to share the bedroom with my mother or cousin, I was not allowed to keep the light on beyond a certain time and so I would take my book and continue reading in the living room. 

One such night ( I was about 12 or 13 then I suppose), as usual I was sitting in the living room close to the main door and reading a novel with great interest. I heard a sound and looked up from my book to see grandmother coming out of her bedroom. She stopped briefly to peer at me and then wordlessly proceeded towards the kitchen and I could hear her rummaging through some things.

I then saw her come out of the kitchen, walking towards me with her hands clenched. Her expression was odd - she had this determined look about her and she looked quite serious and strict. It was a bit funny for me and I just gave a short laugh and asked her why she looked so angry.

As soon as she heard my voice, her expression changed drastically. She looked relieved and laughed in embarrassment.

Then she told me "Oh It's you! I couldn't see you properly. I thought you were a burglar. I was going to put chilly powder on your eyes". So that's what she had been holding in her clenched hands - chilly powder!

I burst out laughing. She laughed as well and went back to bed.

When I look back and think about the incident now I am actually amazed. Here was a 73 year old lady who suspected that an intruder had barged inside the house in the middle of the night, and instead of waking up her husband or one of her daughters and putting them in danger, she was determined to take him out all on her own!! If he was going to harm anyone, let it be her and not her family. That must have been what was going on in her head. That was how she always was. She was one in a billion. Miss you, paati!