பெரியப்பா

ஆயிற்று, பெரியப்பாவும் மறைந்து இன்றோடு ஒரு வருஷம்.

பெரியப்பா என் இன்றைய வாழ்க்கைக்குப் பின்னால் ஆதரமாக இருந்த - மிகச் சிலரில் முக்கியமான நபர். மிக எளிய பிண்ணனியில், மிகச் சாதாரண வாழ்ந்து, அடுத்த ஜெனரேஷனை முன்னுக்குத் தள்ளியவர். பெரியப்பாவின் வாழ்க்கையைப் பின்னோக்கிப் பார்க்கையில், 'ரோல் மாடல்'களை வீட்டுக்கு வெளியே தேட வேண்டியது இல்லை என்று உணர்கிறேன்.

மறைந்த கனகசபாபதி பெரியப்பாவும், எங்கள் பெரியப்பாவும் ஏதோ விஷயமாக சென்னை வந்திருந்தபோது, என்னைப் பார்க்க திடீர் விசிட் கொடுத்தார்கள், கிண்டி கல்லூரிக்கு. கனகசபாபதி பெரியப்பா அப்போது திருச்செந்தூர் கல்லூரி முதல்வராக இருந்ததால் கிண்டி கல்லூரி முதல்வரைச் சந்தித்து, என் விவரங்களைக் கூறி, நான் வகுப்பிலிருந்து அவர்களைப் பார்க்க முதல்வர் அறைக்குச் சென்றேன். சம்பிராதய விசாரிப்பில் சில நிமிடங்களே சந்தித்தாலும், என்பொருட்டு இரண்டு பேரும் மெனக்கெட்டு என்னைப் பார்க்க வந்ததை நான் மறக்கவே இல்லை. பல வருஷம் கழித்து "நாங்க திடீர்னு வந்து உங்க பிரின்ஸிபல் கிட்ட சொல்லி உன்னை அழைத்ததும், நீ வகுப்பில் இருந்து வந்தது, அண்ணனுக்கு (கனகசபாபதி பெரியப்பாவிற்கு) ரொம்ப மகிழ்ச்சிடா..." என்று சொன்னார், பெரியப்பா.

சென்ற வருஷம் அவர் நினைவாக எழுதியது....




It has been a month now since our periyappa T.Rathna Sabapathy expired (on March-23, 2008). Prabha-akka & Dinakar had flown from Canada & USA. Prabha-akka was there till the 16th day. I was there to attend the funeral that took place on March-25, 2008 in Kulaiyankarisa, and returned to Japan on March-31.

At 74-75, our periyappa dying of heart attack was something hard to digest for me, as he had had no symptoms, and had not had any factors identified by the medical world for a potential heart failure. No family history, no over-weight, no cholesterol-high food habit, and no sedentary lifestyle. As a man who could never be seen at home after 5 am in the morning (he would have gone to the paddy fields), and one whom I don't recall of walking at a slow pace ever... he had every reason to stay healthy for the next 12-15 years. In a way, he shattered all that I have known of heart failures so far. His busy schedule in his last one week in visiting nearby towns looking for 'supports' to protect plantain trees from the rains would not make one imagine that he'll be in ICU for chest pain in the next 3-4 days...

With him gone the 2nd generation Head of the family tree of Thangamni Nadar. He will ever be known for his simple lifestyle; I always wonder how one could be this active in life, without having any of the leisure activity or hobby or simply 'things that he likes' to do! He was also greatly successful in alienating himself from the quintessential characteristics of a KKarisal resident; to appreciate this, you must know that in KKarisal there is hardly anyone that doesn't drink or take to weapons to settle scores. (An old man that attended funeral, knowing that I am the son of Samboorna Sabapathy, recalled how close he was to my father and periyappa, and ended his statement saying he had stabbed 7 persons thus far!).

I began to realise the greatness of our periyappa soon after I started doing my engineering in Anna University (1979-84). It is well-known that agriculature would not yield a constant & regular income; with all the uncertainties, our periyappa was financing 5 of us (Prabhakar annan, myself, Dinakar, Sarumathi & Ravi) who were doing their college staying in hostel. When a number of my colleagues would default in paying hostel dues, I had never defaulted -thanks to the prompt money transfers from our periyappa. Along with our grandfather, our periyappa also took every effort to keep us away from getting attracted to doing farming. My b-i-l Vasikaran would always recall how 'casual' & 'free' I was during Sarumathi's wedding without caring anything about the finances -as it was all managed by our periyappa. (Vasikaran's sister Suganthi got married at the same time frame; and ke knew what he had gone through).

Periyappa had a humble beginning in life -I have seen him driving bullock-cart in KKarisal. On the repeated family troubles we had gone through, he said, sometime last year: "We don't know what to do.. we have been working hard, and are honest in what we do.. we don't even imagine of being bad to others, and we have been worshipping our Family-Goddess (kula theivam) promptly on all occasions, even then such things happen; I don't know why..... ". How naive of him! My Aminjikarai chithappa recalled our periyappa's role, among others, in ensuring that we were not left alone after 1970 when my father died. In his own words: ""உங்க வீட்டிலே உங்க பெரியப்பா ‘சரியா’ அமைஞ்ச ஆளு; நல்ல ஆளு. இப்படி ஒரு ஆளு அமையலைன்னா நீங்கள்லாம் ரொம்ப கஷ்டப்பட்டிருப்பீங்கப்பா...."

Undoubtedly, periyappa stood as a great personality whenever we needed the most–and here I'm talking about a timespan of three decades and more.

It is painful to see simple people leading simple life yet making huge difference in my life vanish 'just-like-that' as the year passes by.