Ammupatti
– Recollections of a
Great-grandniece
Amritha Mallikarjun (First Published in Jan 2005
in Sruti Notes, Newsletter
of Sruti - India Music and
Dance Society, Delaware
Valley, USA)
During my trip to India in
Dec 2003, when I first
walked into Patti’s house, I
was astounded by all the
photographs with all the
famous people she met. I
kept asking my mom, “Who’s
Patti standing next to
here?” and exclaimed “Oh my
gosh! It’s Helen Keller!” On
one of our visits, I just
listened to my mother
talking to her, and heard my
mom sing a song for her.
Even when Mom sang a song,
Patti knew when she made a
mistake with the beat. That
made me smile, because Mom
always tells me when I hit a
wrong note or miss a beat,
and it was interesting
hearing someone else tell my
mom that!
During this visit to
India, I’d try to go to
Patti’s house every day. One
day when I was working on my
schoolwork, My mom left by
herself and came back,
telling me that the princess
of Travancore was there with
Patti. I was so impressed!
Of course, I was a bit upset
that my mom didn’t take me
that day, but it was such a
wonder to hear that a real
princess was there!
One of the times that I
met Patti after that, Mom
asked me to sing a geetham
for her. I picked the fifth
geetham, “Aana Lakhara,” and
with much nervousness sang
it in front of her, one of
the greatest singers ever.
At the end of the song, she
smiled at me and told me to
sing part of it again. I was
overjoyed that she enjoyed
the song that I had sung!
She also told me to practice
singing every single day,
and not to eat ice because
it’s bad for your throat.
After she said that she
immediately said that
sometimes I could have ice
cream, just for a treat!
After that, my mom told me
to dance. I was a little
hesitant, but I got up and
did a korvai that I knew for
her. She clapped her hands
for the kita thaka thari
kita thom at the end and
told me that she enjoyed it
very much, in Tamil, when I
sat down. I understood very
well what she said, but
speaking was harder for me.
She also said that tomorrow
we should all go to Radha
Patti’s house and show it to
her, because she also
learned dance. She smiled at
me. I felt so happy at that
moment when I realized how
much she liked it. She also
shared a mini Hershey
chocolate with me !
After flying back home, I
was a little sad about
leaving everyone, including
the dog that I fed every
morning. It felt so
different coming back home
and seeing all of the things
that I hadn’t seen in three
weeks. I still jumped at
every little breeze of air
that I felt for fear of a
mosquito. Anandhi Patti came
during my summer break, and
it felt more like India
again, with dance practice
every day and amazing Indian
food. Before she left, I
knit a light and airy scarf
for each one of my
grandmothers, and I also
made one for Ammu Patti.
After Anandhi Patti left,
and I knew that she reached
India, I constantly asked my
mom, “Has Patti got her
scarf yet? Does she like
it?” and finally the news
came that she got the scarf
and she loved how soft and
pretty it was and that she
had immediately tied it
around her neck. I was
simply joyous at this news.
I hoped for so long that
she’d like it.
At the time she wrote
this, Amritha Mallikarjun
was a seventh grader at
Lionville Middle School.
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