Pic and some info. about my parents: Shri V.M. Suryanarayanan (Churi) and Smt. Lakshme Parvathi (Rashamma)
Last updated on 10th Dec. 2018
Minor update on 8 Mar. 2023
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I am quite sure my mother Smt. Lakshme Parvathi, called Rashamma in the family, was born and raised in Kerala. I think that she was born some time in the 1930s. She was a home-maker/housewife. As the above pic states, she died in 1999.
I take this opportunity to offer my deepest love and gratitude, and reverential salutations (pranams) to my parents.
Some additional info. about my family history can be read in my post: My family history and how we moved from traditional South Indian Brahmin occupations to others over generations, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2016/07/some-info-and-speculation-about-my.html, 11th July 2016.
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Given below are some comment exchanges from my Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2361776320705598, associated with this post:
[As of now, 29 people Facebook-Liked the post. There are also some short comments with "Pranam" (salutations) in text, folded hands icon, Sairam, Nice, Thanks etc., which I have not given below.]
In response to a comment (slightly edited), "You are most fortunate to have such an illustrious heritage Sir", I responded (slightly edited):
Well sir, I appreciate your kind words. But, to be honest, my parents themselves were not illustrious, at least in the worldly sense. But they tried very hard to remain true to their spiritual traditions and followed Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema values even if these values were not particularly mentioned. I was very fortunate to have them as parents as I was able to imbibe my family spiritual traditions from them which included Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema values, even if I did not particularly identify those values. So I am deeply grateful to them for this heritage they passed on to me, and, very importantly, the love they showered on me. Thanks again sir.
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In response to comment that said, in part, "Modest as it seems to you, it is still a solid foundation they provided through very turbulent times of national development and tempting corruptions.", I responded (slightly edited):
Sir, Your "tempting corruptions" point is very insightful. My father was noted for his honesty and for being uncorrupt, in a position where it was quite easy for him to be corrupt. He followed these values of honesty and not being corrupt, even when the family went into debt and we faced very difficult times monetarily, especially after his retirement.
So we were financially in pretty bad state even though father had been an officer in Central Railway! But we held our heads high as father did not succumb to any corruption temptation despite our difficult financial situation.
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In response to comment, "I can tell unmistakably, you have got the look of your mom! Mommy boy huh..", I (Ravi) wrote: Well, many say that I look like my Dad! Interesting that you say that I look like my mom!
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I sure had a deep emotional relationship with my mom, with me + Mom being the family unit for nearly a decade till she passed away! So from that perspective, I am a Mommy boy :-). And it is her blessings and good wishes that have helped me greatly in life, even after she passed away.
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In response to comment, "Didn't know you were from Kerala originally. Were you born there? Many great saints and Acharyas hail from that region... and in a lighter vein, may be another reason to call it God's own country!", I Facebook-Laughed at the comment and responded (slightly edited):
Well, I am just a struggling spiritual aspirant, who perhaps has got some spiritual insights due to the teachings and Grace of some spiritual masters.
But no, I was not born in Kerala. I was born in Malad, Bombay/Mumbai. And as most, if not all, of my extended family had moved out of Kerala, I rarely visited it during my childhood. I made a trip or two later on. Irinjnalakuda (Thrissur district) Koodal Manikkam temple is our Kula Devata (family deity) with lot of family history on the paternal side associated with it. I have clear memories of my trip to that Koodal Manikkam temple.
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In response to comment providing two video links of Malayalam devotional songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1PAbb2Qpko and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7H9qAe8JvE , I wrote (slightly edited):
Thanks a ton for the links. I very much enjoyed and was very happy to see the first youtube video. My Malayalam is not great - so I did not catch all the words in the first viewing/hearing. I intend to view it again and perhaps take some help from Kerala folks in Puttaparthi (including my regular restaurant run by a Nair born and bred in Bombay/Mumbai). ... The second video is a longish one. I hope to see it sometime in the near future.
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In response to comment, "Sir,You should see koodal manikkam pooram.It is very nice.
https://youtu.be/nC7LAx2yz48", I responded (slightly edited):
Bro. I have seen some video of it in the past. I hope to view your video too (at least in parts as it is a 4 hr. video) sometime later. Thanks for passing on the link.
BTW one of the highlights of my paternal family side, during lifetime of my father's generation and my generation, was the putting up of one stone or something like that, engraved with our family name in Koodal Manikkam temple as a symbol of our gratitude to our Kula Devata (family deity) temple. I think there would have been some donation to the temple, associated with the putting up of that stone/symbol. I recall seeing it with my cousin during my trip to this temple sometime in the 1980s perhaps. ... We trace our known family history to a widow with two young boys coming to this temple some centuries earlier (perhaps as part of migration from Chola-Pandya region of Tamil Nadu due to conditions there becoming difficult for Brahmins) and being given refuge by an important priest-official of the temple. The widow was given the work of making flower garlands for the Lord and the children were also accommodated in some way. The widow and these two children are the earliest of our known ancestors. As Koodal Manikkam temple gave them refuge, our family was able to survive the migration from Chola-Pandya region and continue its line down to this fellow (me :-) ) and the next generation through my siblings' and cousins' children.
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In response to comment, "You must write ( if you have the data) of how your parents celebrated/witnessed the first Independence Day. 😊", I wrote:
I am afraid I don't have any data associated with that.
Note that one of my father's cousins participated in Quit India movement in Bombay and got arrested. He received a Freedom Fighter letter/badge or something later on.
As my father may then have been employed in Central Railway (I don't know whether he joined Central Railway after independence or before), owned by the government (British ruled), I think he would not have been in a position to participate in the Independence struggle in a direct way like his cousin, as then he would have lost his job and the family would have been in penury! But my father would have been, I think, surely supportive of India's freedom and respectful of the Indian leaders then like Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel etc.
However, I must also say that my father, one of his younger brothers working with South-Central Railway, and another younger brother who studied Marine Engineering in UK, would also have been respectful of some positive aspects of the British with regards to their being systematic, their rational thinking, their education system, their science and their engineering prowess of which Indian Railways was probably their biggest showpiece and achievement in India.
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