Geetha: Our Unsung Angel

By Kumar Gopalan

This book is written in the memory of the wife of the author who expired in Jul 2013. The author and his wife Geetha were married for 34 years. Their relationship was special. By writing a book on his wife the author has attempted to tell the world how nice, humble, simple she was.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483526652

Book preview

Prologue

There she was, in our rumpus room, draped in her 9-yard silk Saree and looking as elegant as she always did, her face fresh as ever. I applied Bindi on her forehead, put Metti on each of her toes, tied the yellow thread as a Thali and applied fresh jasmine flowers on her lovely hair. She looked as beautiful and graceful as always and I longed to hold her. Alas, she was not really with us anymore, she was not standing but lying down, her eyes were not open and inviting but closed. She had been laid to rest in her coffin and I had been asked to perform all these rituals one last time, so that we could all send her off as a Sumangali. Words could never describe the emotions I felt during those surreal moments.

It was then that I decided I would do many things to pay my own tributes to Geetha.

However, I wanted to do something unique for Geetha, something that stood out from the crowd, something more than just a tombstone that said here lies.......…, something more extensive than an epitaph with verses from the Bible or the Gita (how apt that would have been!), something deserving for my lovely wife of 34 years, something ever-lasting as the Taj Mahal but in a very, very small way even if only a few people stopped by to appreciate it, finally something that would inspire our nephews and nieces, hers and mine, and all young persons, to understand that life can be simple and humble yet fulfilling and rich.

I wanted to write a book.

I had discovered my writing interests while blogging away my thoughts. I thought I could use my skills to write a small book on Geetha. How wrong I was. Blogs and books are a world apart. Book writing is a project that requires patience, dedication and discipline; traits totally alien to me until a few months back. However, my conviction that such a book needs to be written was bolstered by the encouragement and support I received from my near and dear ones.

Geetha, Our Unsung Angel: Unsung? Angel? That is how I see her and I am sure some of us would agree. However, I will leave it to my readers to draw their own conclusions. The book highlights the life of another unsung woman, her maternal aunty Komu Periamma. It shows Geetha's simple, strict life in Ambasamudram - a town in the state of Tamil Nadu, India - with Komu Periamma and how this upbringing led her to lead a life of selflessness, honesty and simplicity; it tries to convey a message that even a woman whose education never went beyond high-school in Tamil medium in a remote town can quickly adapt to life in the fast lane and yet manage to keep both her feet firmly on the ground; it portrays her positive attitude and her ever-smiling face; her passion, love for music and gardening; her spiritual nature and strict observance of various religious festivals and finally her unconditional love and affection for one and all.

This book is not a biography or a work of fiction. Do not expect a structured plot and certainly not a climax. I have simply organised her interests and certain phases of her life in chapters. In fact, I have elaborately described the rituals she followed and this is only to highlight her Bhakti and Shraddha.

Throughout the book, I have used several Tamil words – and even sentences that appear in Tamil font - to convey the original meaning. Wherever possible I have provided a translation. Also, I have used Tamil versions of Sanskrit words e.g. Raagam (räga), Poojai (püjä), Thaalam (täla) etc. All words that are in italics and underlined are defined very briefly in the glossary pages at the end of the book. (Please refer to Google search for more precise definitions). Also, except in the chapters about Komu Periamma, Tributes, Eulogy and Afterword, reference to Geetha is in the second person.

I hope you enjoy reading this short book and also benefit from it.

Kumar Gopalan

Gomathi Ammal

Any book about Geetha would be incomplete without mentioning the life and times of Gomathi Ammal, her Periamma , affectionately called Komu Periamma, who singlehandedly brought up Geetha during her childhood.

Komu Periamma was the third of nine siblings, eight of them girls. The children were Aachu, Parvatham, Komu, Subbalakshmi, Sankari, Sankaranarayanan, Seetha, Rukmini and Rajalakshmi (Geetha's mother). Nobody knows for certain when Komu Periamma was born but it was somewhere between 1915 and 1918.

In those years, child marriage was common and Komu Periamma was married at the approximate age of 7 or 8. Neither she nor her husband's exact age at the time of their marriage was known. As the newly married couple were still very young, it was agreed by the elders that Komu Periamma would continue to stay at her parents' residence in Ambasamudram and join her husband once she was slightly older.

Ambasamudram is a town in the Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. This picturesque town is situated in the foothills of the Western Ghats on the northern bank of the Tamirabarani River. It is said that the river water contains traces of copper, hence its name. The twin towns Kallidaikurichi/Kallidai are situated on the southern bank of the Tamirabarani.

Komu's young husband was sent to Rangoon in Burma for work. At that time, it was quite common for South Indians to travel to Burma for employment. However, whilst in Burma, Komu's husband contracted jaundice and died. Komu was approximately 13 years old when her husband passed away. Her marriage was never consummated and thus her married life ended before it even began. It is said that when she heard the news Komu cried inconsolably for days, often rolling over in the Rezhi of their Ambasamudram residence. Since she lost her husband before she went away to live with him or her in-laws, it was decided that she would continue to