Summary: An Ode To My 'Ammamma'

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An ode to my “Ammamma” There is a lot more to an individual than what meets the eye. My nieces and nephews see my maternal grandmother as a great grandmother who is weak and wrinkled due to old age, but they have not seen all that she experienced in life. They have not heard all her stories which still inspire and amaze me today. They have not seen her in her worst days and how she emerged stronger. This is for them to know a bit more about her and be proud of her legacy. My grandmother who my cousins fondly call “ammamma” reached a major milestone in her life that several of us may never reach. She became a centenarian this October. What a wonderful journey! This was a story straight from an Indian movie, except that it was real. It all took place in a little town in Andhra Pradesh in the 1930s, when love marriages were not that prevalent. Smart and beautiful at 16, my grandmother attracted the attention of my grandfather, a young zamindar’s son and a budding Telugu poet. They fell in love with each other. Soon, at age 18, my grandmother married him against the wishes of her to be in-laws. Considering that she was never accepted into my …show more content…

She showered all her affection equally on her twenty-one grandchildren and mesmerized us with her numerous stories. Never idle, in her free time, she embroidered and painstakingly hand stitched some of our dresses which we wore and showed off during our summer vacations. She was also an excellent cook. I still remember her simple yet flavorful dishes to this day. Without her, I don’t believe we would have had the summers we had growing up. It was all about fun, family bonding and eating delicious home cooked food. I would never trade the summers I spent with my grandmother or my cousins for anything else in this world. I would however love to turn back in time and rest my head on her lap and hear her

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