This picture was taken in our ancestral home at no 494, Burugal Mutt Road, VV Puram in 1997. It was taken on the occasion of my mother-in-law, Lakshmidevamma’s 90th birthday. The door number is relevant because the house still stands to this day.
I was born and raised in Bengaluru. I studied at Gurukula in Gandhi Bazaar and Girijamma Mukundadas Government High School in Basavanagudi. I completed my BSc from V H D Central Institute of Home Science. I used to walk to school and later used to travel by bus to college.
I married D N Venkataramaniah when I was 24 years old. It was a large house and our family consisted of more than 20 people. My mother-in-law Lakshmidevamma was a very orthodox lady. But she was disciplined and held the family together. She wanted all the women of the household to wake up before sunrise and share the household chores. The concept of keeping a servant was unheard of. Be it gathering the firewood for cooking, cleaning the house and washing the clothes — the womenfolk would do it themselves.
All the members of the family would come together to celebrate all the festivals. Lakshmidevamma died when she was 100 years old. My father-in-law D Nanjundiah, who is also no more, was a soft-spoken and gentle person.
My husband is a retired bank manager and is engaged in a lot of social work. My daughter, Prithvi Sastry and my sons Sandeepani and Kumara Guru were bright students and have grown up to be responsible adults.
My son-in-law B S Chandrashekar has a scientific bend of mind and that seems to have been passed onto his son Vivaswat who is presently completing is undergraduate studies from United States.
Time has flown by. Today, lifestyles have changed and people seem to have forgotten to sit together, talk and laugh.
D N Radha
(The author can be reached on 8762048438)
