naanaaga naanillai...

The most remarkable woman in my life - Sulo, my mom.

Well, this is not a mother's day special. But the hype given by chennai FM stations for that day. Aama, avanunga ethukku thaan hype kudukkala! Tom Cruise veettu naai naalavathu kutti pottrukkunnu sambhandhame illaama chennaila naal fullaa discussion, sms contest nu koothadippaanunga. I just hate celebrating all these Special days - Mother's day, brother's day, onnu vitta chithappa day, oora vittu odippona periyappa paiyyan day and veetta vittu odipoi vera castela kalyanam pannikkitta maama ponnu day. Yuck! It is just foolish. Everybody knows it is all made up by Archies and Hallmarks of the First World to sell more of scrap paper to the innumerable losers around the world.

But, I just take this opportunity to remind myself what my mom means to me. I don't intend to do some "poignant" stuff à la Cheran or Karan Johar. All that I want to do is reflect on the sheer strength of her character - the woman that she is. If the post has any shades of amma sentiment in tam films despite my intentions, it is because of the love and awe I have for her.

I am what I am today, because of her. Her self respect and strong will is just amazing. It should have been very easy for her to turn negative in the face of what happened right after her marriage. But she decided otherwise and persisted despite all the putdowns by our relatives. Surviving on a few hundreds of rupees, she decided to give me and my brothers the best of education in an English medium school nearby. I remember some caring words from relatives - Sothukkae vazhi illiyaamaa, english mediathula padikka vekkaraalaamaa.

I still remember how she would walk us to the school on exam days, conducting Q-A sessions all along the way. And how we had to be on our knees for about an hour on the day we ate sathunavu saappadu at a government school nearby. But that food was a lot better than what I get in most of the hotels in Chennai.

I remember my answer to the question "Who is your favorite manager?" in the interview for MBA admission. "My mother. She does everything that a manager is supposed to do - strategic planning, resource management, goal setting, performance appraisals and reward management."

She had 1001 ways to earn that extra money so that she can cook a better meal for us. I just wonder at how she made our wet-grinder an earning member of our family. Oru padi arisikku 75 paisa. Then, she and dad would carry bundles of saris from Trichy to our colony. Her selections were quite a rage among the gals of our colony. Rajni pada release maathiri, ammavoda sari collection release. In fact, i still remember a lot of those gals from a street complaining to my mom that she had given a better sari to other gals from a different street.

To top it all, Sulo's sense of humor and culinary skills are extraordinary. A lot of our family friends and neighbours would swear by the taste of her sambhar. The only thing we disagree is God. In fact, my previous posts on Rama and God were out of my arguments with her. She used to say "Work hard. Pray for a better result". Being the lazy idiot that I was, I conveniently missed her emphasis on the first part - hard work. I don't understand why she gave me so many gods (existent or otherwise) to look up to, when I had her right in front of me to look up to.

Knowing her makes you realize how little relevant "education" is for character. One amazing thing about her is that she just turns silent whenever she is angry. Mind you, this is not submission. She is very well aware of the pointlessness in talking when you blow your top. Once you cool down, she minces no words in telling you what she thinks. I just compare her with the old lady next door, who almost always shouts at the top of lungs at her husband. Free tuition on swear words in English for those on our street. Most often, the poor old man shuts her mouth up by banging something on the floor. I just wonder at how this little lady from Kallivalasu (a small village near Dharapuram, Erode district) speaks so loudly with her silence.

I don't know whether I really deserve such a great mom but i am very much certain that she deserves a much better son than me.