I share my thoughts with you today as an immense admirer of the greatness of my thatha and patti; Kanna thatha, and Vasanthi patti.
A frugal individual, but never miserly. Known for extra-ordinary self-denial, his generosity is well-known. The needy has always had his attention: it be a close friend, a mere acquaintance, a colleague, his siblings, you name it. Even to-day he tirelessly carries on with his work: washing and pressing his clothes himself, a regular regimen of chanting slokams, evening walks, and so on .. the secret to his youthful countenance.
Udhyamena hee karyani sidhyanthi na manorathaihee.
(It is not enough if you aspire; you should also put in effort in the right direction.)
His colleagues in office have always widely acknowledged him as a stickler to rules but that has never stopped him from finding ways to bail out those in trouble. He has, more than once, sacrificed his own promotion in favor of a larger principle. Scrupulously honest, sincere to his work, and incorruptible, he has magnanimously refrained from vindictive behavior towards his less honest colleagues.
He is what a friend can be: not just a companion; a friend-in-need, highly service-minded, helpful. My only other thatha that I can equate to Kanna thatha himself is our most affectionate Vathsal thatha who is much more than just another member of our family: he has been a child-hood friend of my thatha, has been with my thatha thro’ the thick and thin of his life and travails.
“Detached attachment” is what my thatha has always advocated as the right approach to living. This is what he has demonstrated in practice: he has no favorites: his siblings, sons, daughters-in-law who are to him as good as his own daughters, grand-daughters, they are all his detached favorites, just the same. No more, no less.
Shouldering the entire responsibility of a large family early on, as the first of eleven children, he never for a moment grumbled or grudged his thankless position; nor did he ever look for acknowledgment or recognition.
He has shown us by his own actions and living, what spartan and practical life is all about. He may not have given us millions in material wealth but what he has given us is a million times as valuable: he has shown us the path of integrity, honesty, sincerity, and true values of life.
My Patti, the inimitable Vasanthi Patti, is no less a paradigm.
A paragon of virtues, an example of patience incarnate; if my thatha is what he is today as the enviable and senior-most leader of the Rengaswamy Iyengar family, it is in no small measure thanks to Vasanthi Patti. In reality, she has been the true backbone, bearing a lion’s share of the burdens of thatha’s family.
Sixty continuous years of hard work and toil in service of thatha’s family, his next generation, and then the next, is no mean achievement: to-day, at almost 77, and almost crippled physically, she staunchly holds on to her optimism and zest for life. She continues to put in 15-hour work-days, seven days a week, 365 days a year: no letup, no holidays, no rest, rain or shine or thunder. She has had much more than her share of illnesses, ailments, major at that, but none of them has deterred her from serving her family relentlessly. One never stops wondering why the Almighty should have imposed such hardships on such a great soul: but then, the Almighty’s ways are strange, aren’t they?
She is an exquisite finance manager, a wonderful administrator, highly pliable, flexible, understanding, a great hostess, a cook-par-excellence.
My thatha-patti are a role model like the Divya dhampathi .. Lords Ranganatha and Ranganayaki.
Their blessings will take us a long way towards meaningful life.
May the Almighty give my thatha, the grand old man of our family, and patti, many more years of happy life.
