Just to refresh your memory, I'm reproducing a part of my earlier blog:-
So here's the Chitradurga family:-
Ajja and Ajji
Doddanna ( he lost his wife early) and his sons Bajjanna( deceased),Kittanna and Murthy and daughters Krishnaveni and Putta Sharade.
Ramanna, his wife Subbamma, his daughters Saraswathi, Seethamma, Rajamani( my mom), Kanthamani, Sowbhagya and Prabhakar Rao.
Shiva, his wife Pathamma and children Sundari, Dodda Sharade,Swamy,Sundara, Gayathri,Bali,Vani and Raji.
Annavaru, his wife Machamma and children Sathya, Kanta,Shantha,Bhageerthi, Shylaja, Subba, Uma,Chidambara and Ravi.
Bhujanga, his wife Subbamma ( thankfully she's still among us)and children Thammanna,
Mahalakshmi( Mari to all of us), Choodamani,Prabhavathi,Jaisimha,Shubhangini and Nanda.
Appaji, his wife Lakshmidevamma and their daughters Usha,Bharathi and Saroj ( Rosy to all of us). Of all my grand-uncles, I was closest to Appaji, probably because they had only daughters and regarded me as their son.As soon as we got to Chitradurga for our summer vacations, I would be off to Appaji's house ( which was opposite to Dodda Mane) and would be properly pampered and fussed over.
These are just the brothers. I´ĺl get details of the sisters and their children and post them later.
Now let's come to my mom's siblings and their children ( my cousins).
Saraswathi married H.S.Subbukrishna Rao and their children were Rajalakshmi ( Dodda Papachi), Girija, Vasudeva Rao( Thammayya), Chaya ( Dodda Chaya), Gayathri,Bhaskara and Vasudha. The family stayed in Malleswaram, Bangalore.
Seethamma ( Seethe) married L.S.Srikantiah and their children were Kamalakshi, Nagarathna( Chikka Papachi), Nanjunda, Shankara,Shashikala and Chaya ( Chikka Chaya).
The family stayed in Bhadravathi.
Mom ( Rajamani) was next and you already know about me,Rummy and Sandhya.
Kanthamani( Kanthu) married T.B.Venkatesh and their children were Shashikanth and Vasuki.
( By now, there was some awareness of family planning, but thank God it wasn't there earlier ; otherwise I wouldn't have had some of my wonderful cousins!!).
The family stayed in Bangalore, went to Kashmir for a while and then came back and settled in Bangalore.
Prabhakara married Pramila and their children were Rajini and Lakshmi.The family stayed in Chitradurga, moved to Shimoga for a brief while and later settled in Bangalore.
Sowbhagya married Anand Rao ( brother of Pramila) and has a daughter called Arathi.
This is a list of my first cousins.
My second cousins' list ( children of my mom's cousins) runs to a couple of dozen.
You must also remember that many of my mom's cousins themselves were around my age--- such as Vani, Bali, Raji, Usha, Bharathi etc.
Anyway, all of us who were outside of Chitradurga would converge there during the summer holidays, accompanied by our respective mums.Our dads would either come to drop us off or later to pick us up on our journey back to our respective towns.
The visits were more frequent during the late 50s and early 60s.
We would go from KGF to Bangalore and from there to Chitradurga with Saraswathi and her children.Jogimatti Express was the name of the bus, leaving Bangalore at 6.30 AM and reaching Chitaldroog ( it's anglicized name then) at around 12.30 PM.6 hours for a journey of 120 miles with stops at Nelamangala, Tumkur, Hiriyur and Sira.
Later, there was a luxury bus from Bangalore to Belgaum which left Bangalore at 6.30 AM and reached Chitradurga at around 11 AM.
Mom invariably had a headache while travelling by bus, so she would keep a lemon with her and keep sniffing it.
Ramanna or Prabhakara would meet us at the bus-stand and we would come home in 2 or 3 jutkas.By this time, our Bhadravati cousins would have already landed.
The boys were me, Nanjunda, Shankara and Thammayya. Bhaskara and Shashi were too young and were not included in our group till much later.The girls were Papachis ( both Dodda and Chikka), Chayas ( both Dodda and Chikka---- why the same name among cousins, God only knows), Girija and Shashikala.Then we also had Chandri , Indu and Bhanu ( Sharade's daughters from Chikmagalur) and Nalini ( Sundari's daughter from Duliajan, Assam). Nalini and her younger brother Vishu were studying at Rishi Valley and would come straight from there to Chitradurga.
Along with all these so-called visitors were the Chitradurga "host" uncles and aunts--- Swamy, Sundara, Gayathri.Vani, Bali,Raji, Usha,Bharathi, Thammanna, Prabhavathi et al.
The Dodda Mane was like a menagerie with children running here and there and getting hurt in the process.Amidst all this bedlam was my grandma--- Subbakka-- the very picture of piety and calm.
Ramanna and Subbakka were an unlikely pair. Ramanna was around 6 ft tall and Subbakka was less than 4 ft.But one couldn't have asked for more loving grandparents--- I've been really lucky that way as far as grandparents are concerned from both my parents' sides.
As soon as we got to Chitradurga, my mom would get together with her sisters and cousins and we children were more or less left to fend for ourselves.
The boys would play Lagori ( with 7 stones piled one on top of the other and a tennis ball)or hide and seek.The girls would play hopscotch or another game with 5 round smooth stones.Hide and seek was another common pastime and it was so easy to hide since the house was really huge.
The moms would play pagade. We also played choukabara and cards ( Rummy) as we grew older.
In KGF, Rummy and I were used to having breakfast by 7 AM whereas in Chitradurga, breakfast would be ready only by 9 AM or ( horror of horrors!!!), an early lunch by 10AM. Since there was nothing mom could do about an early breakfast , she would give some money to Rummy and me. We would go to Kittanna's shop and eat some buns.
Subbakka's refuge was the haragolemane ( a vast kitchen cum storeroom)and this is where she would turn out delicious dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner with active help from her daughters and daughter-in-law.
Summer was mango season. Ramanna would go daily to the market and return with a couple of dozen mangos. He would meticulously divide the mangos among his brothers' families.
We were given a choice--- vate or keppe; never a whole mango. Vate was the seed and we had the choice of chewing on it until it was bone dry. Keppe was the pulp and here again we had the choice of biting the pulp till the skin was bone dry. We would be made to take off our shirts and eat the mango so as not to get the mango juice on the shirts.As we ate the mango, the juice would run down our forearm up to the elbow so we had to frequently stop to lick the juice from our arm.
All other thindis--- Chakli, kodbale, thengolu etc were also rationed out very strictly and the thindi dabba would be under lock and key.
Occasionally, at nights, we would all sit in a circle and Subbakka would dole out kaithuthu to all of us.
Every now and then fights would break out among the cousins and the girls would cry copiously and complain to their mothers.
Surprisingly , we boys had no physical fights but we used to have fierce arguments about which among our places were more important.
Thammayya would boast that Bangalore was the most important place since major industries such as HAL,HMT, ITI etc were there and without them India was nowhere.
Nanjunda and Shankara would boast that steel was the most important commodity for a country's economy and without MISL ( Mysore Iron & Steel), India was nowhere.
I would say that KGF was the only gold producing town in India ( if you forget Hutti for a moment) and without gold, India would never have the foreign exchange to set up the HMTs and the HALs , The ITIs and the MISLs.
Chitradurga was hot, really hot, in summer and there were no fans.The presence of so many grandchildren must have really taxed the elders and I'm sure they heaved a big sigh of relief when we left.
Kamalakshi was learning classical music and she would occasionally sing for all of us at lunch or dinner. Chikka Papacchi was practising Bharata Natyam and she and Bhagya would get together and give a performance or two.
Then would come the time to leave.Pack the clothes, call the jutka to the Dodda mane and back to KGF via Bangalore.
Bye for now. In my next blog, I'll take you through my dad's cousins and the Bangalore holidays.
So here's the Chitradurga family:-
Ajja and Ajji
Doddanna ( he lost his wife early) and his sons Bajjanna( deceased),Kittanna and Murthy and daughters Krishnaveni and Putta Sharade.
Ramanna, his wife Subbamma, his daughters Saraswathi, Seethamma, Rajamani( my mom), Kanthamani, Sowbhagya and Prabhakar Rao.
Shiva, his wife Pathamma and children Sundari, Dodda Sharade,Swamy,Sundara, Gayathri,Bali,Vani and Raji.
Annavaru, his wife Machamma and children Sathya, Kanta,Shantha,Bhageerthi, Shylaja, Subba, Uma,Chidambara and Ravi.
Bhujanga, his wife Subbamma ( thankfully she's still among us)and children Thammanna,
Mahalakshmi( Mari to all of us), Choodamani,Prabhavathi,Jaisimha,Shubhangini and Nanda.
Appaji, his wife Lakshmidevamma and their daughters Usha,Bharathi and Saroj ( Rosy to all of us). Of all my grand-uncles, I was closest to Appaji, probably because they had only daughters and regarded me as their son.As soon as we got to Chitradurga for our summer vacations, I would be off to Appaji's house ( which was opposite to Dodda Mane) and would be properly pampered and fussed over.
These are just the brothers. I´ĺl get details of the sisters and their children and post them later.
Now let's come to my mom's siblings and their children ( my cousins).
Saraswathi married H.S.Subbukrishna Rao and their children were Rajalakshmi ( Dodda Papachi), Girija, Vasudeva Rao( Thammayya), Chaya ( Dodda Chaya), Gayathri,Bhaskara and Vasudha. The family stayed in Malleswaram, Bangalore.
Seethamma ( Seethe) married L.S.Srikantiah and their children were Kamalakshi, Nagarathna( Chikka Papachi), Nanjunda, Shankara,Shashikala and Chaya ( Chikka Chaya).
The family stayed in Bhadravathi.
Mom ( Rajamani) was next and you already know about me,Rummy and Sandhya.
Kanthamani( Kanthu) married T.B.Venkatesh and their children were Shashikanth and Vasuki.
( By now, there was some awareness of family planning, but thank God it wasn't there earlier ; otherwise I wouldn't have had some of my wonderful cousins!!).
The family stayed in Bangalore, went to Kashmir for a while and then came back and settled in Bangalore.
Prabhakara married Pramila and their children were Rajini and Lakshmi.The family stayed in Chitradurga, moved to Shimoga for a brief while and later settled in Bangalore.
Sowbhagya married Anand Rao ( brother of Pramila) and has a daughter called Arathi.
This is a list of my first cousins.
My second cousins' list ( children of my mom's cousins) runs to a couple of dozen.
You must also remember that many of my mom's cousins themselves were around my age--- such as Vani, Bali, Raji, Usha, Bharathi etc.
Anyway, all of us who were outside of Chitradurga would converge there during the summer holidays, accompanied by our respective mums.Our dads would either come to drop us off or later to pick us up on our journey back to our respective towns.
The visits were more frequent during the late 50s and early 60s.
We would go from KGF to Bangalore and from there to Chitradurga with Saraswathi and her children.Jogimatti Express was the name of the bus, leaving Bangalore at 6.30 AM and reaching Chitaldroog ( it's anglicized name then) at around 12.30 PM.6 hours for a journey of 120 miles with stops at Nelamangala, Tumkur, Hiriyur and Sira.
Later, there was a luxury bus from Bangalore to Belgaum which left Bangalore at 6.30 AM and reached Chitradurga at around 11 AM.
Mom invariably had a headache while travelling by bus, so she would keep a lemon with her and keep sniffing it.
Ramanna or Prabhakara would meet us at the bus-stand and we would come home in 2 or 3 jutkas.By this time, our Bhadravati cousins would have already landed.
The boys were me, Nanjunda, Shankara and Thammayya. Bhaskara and Shashi were too young and were not included in our group till much later.The girls were Papachis ( both Dodda and Chikka), Chayas ( both Dodda and Chikka---- why the same name among cousins, God only knows), Girija and Shashikala.Then we also had Chandri , Indu and Bhanu ( Sharade's daughters from Chikmagalur) and Nalini ( Sundari's daughter from Duliajan, Assam). Nalini and her younger brother Vishu were studying at Rishi Valley and would come straight from there to Chitradurga.
Along with all these so-called visitors were the Chitradurga "host" uncles and aunts--- Swamy, Sundara, Gayathri.Vani, Bali,Raji, Usha,Bharathi, Thammanna, Prabhavathi et al.
The Dodda Mane was like a menagerie with children running here and there and getting hurt in the process.Amidst all this bedlam was my grandma--- Subbakka-- the very picture of piety and calm.
Ramanna and Subbakka were an unlikely pair. Ramanna was around 6 ft tall and Subbakka was less than 4 ft.But one couldn't have asked for more loving grandparents--- I've been really lucky that way as far as grandparents are concerned from both my parents' sides.
As soon as we got to Chitradurga, my mom would get together with her sisters and cousins and we children were more or less left to fend for ourselves.
The boys would play Lagori ( with 7 stones piled one on top of the other and a tennis ball)or hide and seek.The girls would play hopscotch or another game with 5 round smooth stones.Hide and seek was another common pastime and it was so easy to hide since the house was really huge.
The moms would play pagade. We also played choukabara and cards ( Rummy) as we grew older.
In KGF, Rummy and I were used to having breakfast by 7 AM whereas in Chitradurga, breakfast would be ready only by 9 AM or ( horror of horrors!!!), an early lunch by 10AM. Since there was nothing mom could do about an early breakfast , she would give some money to Rummy and me. We would go to Kittanna's shop and eat some buns.
Subbakka's refuge was the haragolemane ( a vast kitchen cum storeroom)and this is where she would turn out delicious dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner with active help from her daughters and daughter-in-law.
Summer was mango season. Ramanna would go daily to the market and return with a couple of dozen mangos. He would meticulously divide the mangos among his brothers' families.
We were given a choice--- vate or keppe; never a whole mango. Vate was the seed and we had the choice of chewing on it until it was bone dry. Keppe was the pulp and here again we had the choice of biting the pulp till the skin was bone dry. We would be made to take off our shirts and eat the mango so as not to get the mango juice on the shirts.As we ate the mango, the juice would run down our forearm up to the elbow so we had to frequently stop to lick the juice from our arm.
All other thindis--- Chakli, kodbale, thengolu etc were also rationed out very strictly and the thindi dabba would be under lock and key.
Occasionally, at nights, we would all sit in a circle and Subbakka would dole out kaithuthu to all of us.
Every now and then fights would break out among the cousins and the girls would cry copiously and complain to their mothers.
Surprisingly , we boys had no physical fights but we used to have fierce arguments about which among our places were more important.
Thammayya would boast that Bangalore was the most important place since major industries such as HAL,HMT, ITI etc were there and without them India was nowhere.
Nanjunda and Shankara would boast that steel was the most important commodity for a country's economy and without MISL ( Mysore Iron & Steel), India was nowhere.
I would say that KGF was the only gold producing town in India ( if you forget Hutti for a moment) and without gold, India would never have the foreign exchange to set up the HMTs and the HALs , The ITIs and the MISLs.
On a few occasions, we would go the movies in Shankar or Vinayaka Talkies. I remember seeing "Harry Black and the Tiger" which had Sabu ( a Mysore chap who had emigrated to Hollywood).
We also saw "Howrah Bridge" starring Ashok Kumar, Madhubala and K.N.Singh as the villain.
The Dodda Mane hosted a lot of family weddings. My mom and all my aunts except Kanthu got married there. Anti, my dad's brother also got married there in 1959 since the girl was from Chitradurga.
Our visits to the Kote ( fort) were very few even though it is the most important landmark of Chitradurga. Madhukari Nayaka was the local chieftain who fought off an invasion by Hyder Ali's troops in the late 1700s. Obavva was the lady immortalised in ballads who discovered the raiders coming into the fort through a small hole and who felled them one by one with her pestle while her husband gave the alert to the soldiers.
The Akka-Thangi Hole and the Obavvana Kindi were the important places to see in this yelu suthina kote.
Chitradurga was hot, really hot, in summer and there were no fans.The presence of so many grandchildren must have really taxed the elders and I'm sure they heaved a big sigh of relief when we left.
Kamalakshi was learning classical music and she would occasionally sing for all of us at lunch or dinner. Chikka Papacchi was practising Bharata Natyam and she and Bhagya would get together and give a performance or two.
Then would come the time to leave.Pack the clothes, call the jutka to the Dodda mane and back to KGF via Bangalore.
Bye for now. In my next blog, I'll take you through my dad's cousins and the Bangalore holidays.
i really liked the way you have described the mango. its too good:)it made me recall our summer holidays at the jayanagar house when all of you used to come down from Madras n how sachin, sandeep, sunil n both of us used to sit on the ground n relish the mango.
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