Grandparents and the Queen

Grandparents and the Queen
Late grandpa Raghavan and grandma Pushpa got invited to.meet the queen on her yacht. then also got a card from her 35 years later.

Grandpa and me

 Some photos with my late grandpa Raghavan Thatha taken in Ooty, India. 

Kollu Paati

 This artwork from the 1920s-1930s, still in its original frame, was made by my Padmasini Kollu-Paati (great grandma) - died 1958. She was quite the entrepreneur, ran her small home based milk business, and has even made speeches to mobilize other women to join the Indian Independence Movement. 

Some of the relatives from that branch of the family run the Gandhi Ashram in Selam, Tamilnadu. Another aunt of my grandpa went off to live and do social work with Harijans in the villages, which is pretty progressive for a femail from a conservative Brahmin family of that era.

Fossil

 My late Raghavan Thatha liked to collect fossils. This is not a piece of wood but actually a fossil and as heavy as a stone. How cool is that. 

Lunch Appetizer

 Lunch Appetizer was Corn Soup made by Paati

 

 

Watching Paati prep the soup. 

Tree Cup

Afternoon snack of Dosa with Muruga Sambar accompanied by Green Tea with Lemon and hOney in a cup that's shaped like a tree trunk.

 

Remote Instruction International Edition

The Chennai Experience: Remote Instruction at the table your parent used during their schooling. No laptops back then!!

 

Nungu Time

Chewing into delicious water-filled Nungu's

Nungu in Tamil, the Palmyra palm fruit is a wonderful dehydrater for the 99F heat of Chennai, packed with  Vit A, B7, C, K, Fe, Na and minerals. 

I have absolutely no idea why the Brits wanted to call a Palm fruit as Ice Apple. This is not a fruit I would associate with an "Apple" on any level. 

Centenarian Plus

 Still comfortable after a century.

Sitting on a centenarian spinning wood chair, from 1920 - belonged to my great grandpa, Sadagopan Iyengar.

From 1920 to 2021 - that's centenarian plus 

 

 

 

Happy Father's Day

Happy Fathers Day to

my best bud, top 2 fan and best dad aways rooting for me