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My aunt, my third uncle's wife-
In these columns, I think, I had written about my aunt --
Her father was into coal mining in Scotland.
My third uncle's wife was an English lady by birth. To be specific, she was Scottish, whom my uncle met when he studied in the University of Edinburgh and got espoused.
I had previously jotted down in one of the earlier posts, how my uncle had to use guile to get married to this particular lady, because his father was the most orthodox of people, and abhorred all people who ate meat. perhaps it is difficult for a modern reader to guess the travails and tests my uncle had to get over before, he succeeded in his holy journey towards love. when I met the couple at a later phase of life, I came to understand that such a love is worth a hundred or more such previous hazards.
and my aunt shocked everybody in the household because of her adaptability to the local customs, except her faith in her spiritual matters.
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Till the old sire kicked the bucket, they both stayed in a separate section of the big household, and never came to the dining table, though in other areas their presence was most welcome.
My uncle, you can say was far ahead of his time in many matters, though he wore the most conventional of apparels. this I think was his keen-witted move to go about unhindered in a society that did not favour of any of his views.
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He was gentle and calm, and generally of good manners, except his addiction to bottles at a singular phase of life, from which he later got out miraculously.
But none of his antagonists was equal to him in erudition or even looks, and many were very wary to use the exact words while speaking to him, for they all feared him in a way from the core of their hearts.
Though she lost the good texture of her skin due to long exposure to the hot sun, I must admit that there was a sparkle in her eyes, and a charity in her words, which made her stand out from the mob.
I believe I have also mentioned that she went with a matron of our neighbourhood to proselytise in country domains, studying the local language and compose songs..And some of the works are still available in the family library and was called 'Madamma sister'[foreigner sister]
My uncle, it must be told that he influenced my attitude to a good extent, that in so many numbers of years, I kept his attitudes to certain things of life, knowing only later still in time, that it was not actually my view, but his view[and for which I got applause from some quarter],..
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The other is that about the bird dove, though linked with peace, he said, is quite a jealous birdie, and I told it to some personages, and this was not exactly my view on the topic, but my uncle's outlook, and even now I am not convinced about the matter. Some of you readers may grasp the real fact.
And another view was people use black cooling glasses should not be trusted, because they want to hide the expressions in their own eyes, at the same time knowing the expression of others, till, at a later stage, I was to live in a hot city and had to use dark cooling glasses regularly in order to protect the eyes from the hot sun and hot wind. I knew the lack of depth in such a judgement.
He was a versatile genius, a good speaker, an adept in musical instruments, composing songs in various 'ragas' and had a lot of pupils who came after his afternoon nap whenever he was at home, to study music. But I did not learn any measure from him, though he forced me to read classical works from his vast library, that contained good books in many languages, English, Spanish, French and Slavic languages and made me write a synopsis of a classical work, I read during that week and periodically check the content. Since my parents were away for work in another far-off place, taking my elder sis with them, I was with this uncle's line for three years, his coaching, though did not deliver me a scholar, obliquely stimulated me to get a scholarship for my further inquiries, and he was the first mentor, who coached me with example the potentialities of an individual mind...
My aunt took beet syrup and pomegranate juice often and turned a portion of arable land till unused into a farm with a good lot of vegetables and various types of mangoes. the local names of these mangoes were alphonsa, kalappadi, Neelam etc. and the mango which we called kolappadi was the tastiest ones I ever had in life.
the pals that gave coconuts in a shorter number of years. We had pullets too consisting of native[very healthy ones], whitelegon, Rhode island red, etc..
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Uncle was gentle and calm, and generally of good practices, saving his addiction to bottles at a particular stage of life, from which he later got out miraculously.
But none of his antagonists was equal to him in wisdom or even looks, and many were very wary to use the exact words while speaking to him, for they all feared him in a way from the hub of their hearts.
My aunt being an English woman was not familiar with the practices of the country. one of the relatives, a senior lady was appointed for this purpose, to bring her up in the household manners and customs and he became an adept in this matter.there were a couple of old widows household that were our relatives, whose children were either not caring them or they are in far off places, and these ladies had extremely orthodox vogues of living and always moved in accepted circles, doing obvious things, and talking about known subjects. I fact they hardly talked except when it is inevitable, but in special functions, had good roles to perform, because they were adept in some issues. my aunt got one among them as her instructor and in a short while became well versed in such resolutions.
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My mother was in government service, first in British and later in the free nation, and was facing frequent postings in Nasik, Deolali or Madras. When she came for a long vacation, she was a good help to my aunt and she being educated was less biased. And after retirement, and later after my uncle's death, these two were to form thick ropes of friendship.
My aunt had prayer sessions in the morning, and
it was an open forum, and we youngsters sometimes attended it out of curiosity......
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