Tatayya's precious gifts to me
I was close to my తాతయ్య (Tatayya - paternal grandfather in Telugu). Tatayya was a very tall and lanky man. He was soft spoken with a gentle gaze. I remember seeing him when he was very happy, very sad, but never angry. He wore తెల్ల లుంగీ (white Lungi) and తెల్ల లాల్చి (Lalchi is a long shirt in Telugu) at home. He was a lawyer and practiced law at the Ongole District Court. He wore crisply ironed white pants, white shirt, and a black lawyer coat when he went to court. He also wore a lawyer’s tie with tassels and a long black robe called gown. He had a fixed routine. He woke up very early to take a bath and was ready to meet his clients in the front room before he headed to court. He had coffee and one or two Idlis (steamed rice cakes) every morning. He would dip idlis in a small bowl of ghee and then coat it with sugar. That was his favorite breakfast.
After breakfast, he met his clients and clerks in his front office room on the veranda. The office room was lined with wooden sofas and chairs with green colored plastic. He would sit at the far end of the room facing the door at the other end. His clients would start arriving early to consult and meet with him before their court appearance. After having early lunch between 9 and 10 in the morning, he would get ready in his lawyer clothing to head out of the back entrance of the house to walk to the court house. The court house was just a few hundred feet from the backdoor.
The armoire where he kept his lawyer outfits was our favorite place to hide when we played hide and seek. We were careful to not crush his clothes though. Even though he suffered from Asthma all his life, he didn't let that dampen his spirits. He would come back from court by 3 P.M for afternoon tea and usually had dinner around 5 P.M. People would fondly make fun of him for eating dinner during daylight hours పగటేలన్నం (Pagatela Annamu means Dinner during the day while the Sun is still out). On occasion I would go to court to watch him argue cases.
Due to his Asthma he had permission to argue cases sitting down as opposed to the usual practice of standing by the witness stand to ask questions. There was an amusing story about Tatayya arguing cases sitting down. He defended the uncle (father’s brother) of Telugu film actress Kanchana in his divorce case and lost the case. Kanchana was born in Karavadi, Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh barely 12 km from Ongole. Her family continued to live in the Ongole area. As the story goes, after he lost the case, he complained to Tatayya saying he lost the case because Tatayya argued the case sitting down.
Tatayya and his older brother practiced law around the same time and often represented clients on opposite sides. There were some amusing stories about how a junior lawyer couldn't counter Tatayya’s arguments. When he related this to Tatayya’s brother, he would immediately head to the court to take up the arguments in the afternoon session with his little brother. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in that courtroom.
Tatayya was a very patient man. He would sit in his easy chair as his grandchildren combed his hair on his almost bald head. Tattayya loved going to the movies. Before heading to the court Tatayya would ask me and other grandchildren to pick a movie to watch and plan for our evening movie outing by the time he came back from the court. It would just be me planning the movie outing or with other cousins if they were there visiting at the same time I was there. We picked a movie and told Tatayya which movie. He would send his clerk to the Movie Theater to reserve seats by roping them off so we could all sit together in the front row. This was the old time reservation system. After having an early dinner, we rode in rickshaws to the theater. It would be a caravan of rickshaws during summers when all 10-15 grandchildren were there for the summer. Tatayya would wear తెల్ల పంచ (Tella Pancha is white Dhovathi Telugu) and తెల్ల లాల్చి (Lalchi is a long shirt in Telugu) which was his leisure, formal, and travel attire for these outings and when he was attending formal events and traveling. He was very tall and the rickshaw he was in had its top cover left open so he could sit comfortably.
I spent countless hours and days exploring Tatayya’s library. He would break out reciting poems as he sat in his easy chair after he came back from the court. I invariably asked him to tell me about the poem. He would tell me and then ask me to find the book in his library where I can find the poem.
He had an eclectic assortment of books. His library consisted of wall to wall cabinets of books. Some had wooden doors and a few had glass doors. Several were full of dusty law journals and books. Others had books about varying subject matters. Tatayya collected books about the history of Telugu language evolution. One such book was మనలిపి - పుట్టుపూర్వోత్తరాలు (Mana Lipi Puttupurvotharalu) by Sri Tirumala Ramachandra. I would love to get my hands on that book again and his autobiography, హంపీ నుంచి హరప్పా దాక (Hampi Nunchi Harappa Daka). Sri Tirumala Ramachndra was a polyglot, author, translator and scholar. హంపీ నుంచి హరప్పా దాక is known as a unique work not only in autobiographical literature but also in Telugu literature.
Tatayya had an interest in theology, another gift he had passed on to me. There were books on various religions in his collection including one on the life of Jesus. I read the Iliad and Odyssey in Telugu while exploring books in his library. Tatayya’s friend, లక్క రాజు లక్ష్మి నారాయణ (Lakka Raju Lakshmi Narayana) was a Greek scholar and a teacher at PVR Municipal High School in Ongole. He translated several Greek works into Telugu. He gave signed copies of his books to Tatayya. He would come by in the evenings after dinner to talk to Tatayya. Tatayya would be relaxing in his easychair chatting with his friend who was sitting on a chair or sofa across from him. He called him fondly and teasingly గ్రీకు పిచ్చోడు (Greek Pichodu means a man crazy about Greek). I also read the story of Penelope and Odysseus, how the suitors were harassing Penelope and Odysseus came back to reclaim his wife in an illustrated book. I was fascinated by the illustrations of beautiful Penelope and impressively strong Odysseus. Even now when I see a library full of books I fondly remember Tatayya.
I learned about the history of Ongole and the geological history of a hill very close to our house from Tatayya. The hill was full of sulfur deposits which could be an indication of past volcanic activity in the area. On occasion Tatayya and I used to go for a walk and climb the hill. Tatayya gave me the gift of love of reading and thirst for knowledge. He instilled the curiosity in me about the world around me and the worlds faraway. In addition, he also instilled a curiosity about the history of places. I am forever thankful to him for making me a bookworm and a researcher.
