Chami Maama - Fond Memories

My last visit to Melkote was my favorite trip. We picked up Chami Maama from Mysore and drove to Melkote. The trip gave me a chance to reminisce and talk to Maama about a variety of topics. Even though I knew how prolific he was, I could still not help but admire the vastness of his knowledge and the ease he made me feel through those discussions. As soon as we reached Melkote, we went to his farm where he started taking care of his plants and flowers. And this is the inspiration he gave us all, for as great a scholar as he was – he did not shy away from physical work.

An older memory – I was probably about 10 or 11 years old, on a summer vacation to Melkote. Maama used to take me and my cousin to the yeri (pond) at the bottom of a hill. First day, on the way back, I was dog tired from swimming, and the uphill climb felt like the Himalayas. I tried handing my vandu (wooden block) to him, and he said, “I am sure you can carry it yourself” and kept us engaged in conversations as we climbed up the hill. Though initially perturbed, I remember feeling so good when we got to the top of the hill. By the third day I was not even feeling the need to ask anyone. Years later, I realized he was trying to instill confidence in my own strengths and abilities.

Of course, no memories of Maama would be complete without remembering Goda Maami – a perfect consort to my wonderful Maama. An accomplished author and scholar in her own right, she was always pleasant, cheerful, and affectionate. I would often go to their house in Bangalore for Sanskrit lessons, and she was easily my preferred teacher – mostly because the lesson would end with a piece of “kalkand”.