Page 10 - Memoirs of Sarasworthy Somasundaram

அமமொ and ஐயொ
்

My Father and Mother

Amma
RANDOM GLEANINGS
Pungudutivu (Sylvian pleasures)- Reminiscences of a 3 year old

Aiyah was on the staff of Jaffna College. Suddenly he felt a call to join the Church Ministry.
He resigned and applied to Theological College, Bangalore. He gained admission. (one up
for him, probably the first student from Jaffna (perhaps the first from Sri Lanka itself) to gain
admission.

He was there for one-two years then gave up his theological studies and reverted to
teaching. The story circulating at the time was that some of his ideas were contradictory to
those held by the senior ministers of the time. True? Not certain. But apparently there had
been a confrontation and knowing Aiyah probably true.

During Aiyah’s period in Bangolore, Amma had moved with the family (just puppam and me)
to Grandfather’s at Pungudutivu – Life in the Island Home was a far cry from life at Jaffna
College. No Amenities, food was very simple but good, no frills. There was plenty of milk,
straight from the cows and Puppam and I loved the life.

Appu and Appachi had their own milk cows. In the evenings, after dinner, the family would
sit around the “mattam” (like the middle of a courtyard) and shred the palm leaves into thin
strands to feed the cows. The adults would invariably persuade mother to tell them a story
and they would listen, smile and laugh, while their hands worked.

Mother was a superb storyteller, and more often than not, there would be brilliant moon
light to enhance the romance too. Of course, Puppam and I were too young to take in the
story, but we loved lying flat on the Muttam, with our heads pillowed on a lap, dropping off
to sleep with Amma’s voice in the background.

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