V left 4 chennai by jet airways courtsey my husband's booking at Dammam. If i had booked jet ,i wud b asked if i was unable 2 get a cheaper flight -so i asked him. he replied that he was unable 2 get thru any other site n so he got tickets booked vide an agent .anyway,only i n harini travelled from mumbai 2 chennai as my husband had flown from dammam 2 chennai on 2nd sept. v reached at nite having taken an evening flight.Jet gave us food - dinner -salad, roti,sabzi ,kaali dal ,rice,some sweet .
My husband was there 2 receive us at the V went 2 my eldest nand's place at Tambaram( it is a suburb of chennai ) .V were 2 stay there at her bunglow 4 performing the 1st death anniversary of my father in law.when v reached the house,all my husband's family members had not arrived.my jethani n jeth arrived a little later folloed by my mother in law ,my devrani n her kids.my husband's 2 younger brothers n the eldest sister whose bunglow we were all staying was already there.V went 2 sleep on mats n some pillows made by folding bedsheets.but chennai heat allows sleep even on bare floor.by 6in the morning,v were up except the as curent goes off from 6-8.v then took urns 2 bath in the 2 bathrooms.v were told 2 take head bath on all days leading 2 the death anniversary- this is all so as chennai thrives on orthodoxy which is very extreme.cooks arrived at 7 2 start cooking .priests arrived at 102 start the ceremony.kids were served somethings as breakfast. but elders were given oats ( only ladies)-sons were not as this is the custoim when any death anniversary is performed.v sat 4 lunch at around 12.30 - sambar,rasam,etc n 1 sweet was served.this was a regular feature on all the 4 days.
my youngest nanad who stays in uk had got a bridesmaid dress 4 harini which harini wore the moment it was handed 2 her alongwith the pink pearl necklace,bracelet et al.my nanad is also very orthodox even though has been in uk 4 the last 6-7 years. i continue 2 b amazed by her actions.she sits out of doors during the monthly menses n her husband who is an M.tech cooks during those days.her 2 sons r terribly naughty n she has her hands full. v went 2 c her off at the airport n were wondering as 2 how she will manage the flight- the eldest son is 6 yrs od while younger 1 is yet 2 b 3.but then she reached safe n sound - she called up 2 say that she had no problems n all was fine.
on the day after the death anniversary,v had a pavmaan homa ( yajnya -dedicated 2 hanuman).as per madhwa ( i am a madhwa brahmin)- before n after marriage)tradition,Sri narayana cannot b directly approached- only by praying 2 hanuman,v can approach narayana.the yajnya was for the whole family- but my youngest nanad had already left 4 london the earlier nite as she was unable 2 get her tickets resheduled.the yajyna went off very well.afterwards in the evening v were ready 2 leave 4 mumbai- i,harini n my husband.v took my mother-in-law's ashirwad( my husband asking her 2 give ashirvada of boundless wealth) . the jet flight was good- there was a tv screen n i enjoyed sarabhai v/s sarabhai sitcom n harini also watched on her screen some sitcom. my hubby just tried 2 sleep- he hates tv.v had a nice dinner n jet even had buttermilk as a welcome drink n it was real good.v reached home at 11 n went 2 bed.
