Mail I sent to my kids after my mothers's funeral - II

Date:  Wed, 16 Apr 2003 09:39:58 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: From Bangalore - II

V/V,

The 11th day ceremonies fell on April 14 of this
month.  It was decided to formally invite about
100 people for the ceremony and the lunch.

We printed the invitation to be mailed/distributed
The invitation conained the picture of her and an
announcement about her passsing away and a
request to attend the ceremony and pray for peace
of the departed soul.

I found the following poem written by my
grandfather (my mother's father) and decided to
include it in the  invitation.  It appears right
below the picture.

Here's the poem and the English Translation:

Mochi thommidi masamul kaachi kaanchi
Valayanaviella samakurchi yelamininchi
Penchi pedda chesina tolivelpu talli
Paadamulaku no nercheda vandanamlu.

Tr:
You carried us and waited for us for nine months.
You nurtured us and took care of every need of
                ours and made us what we are.
Oh! Mother!  You are indeed our first God!
We respectfully bow to your feet.

That poem was written by your great grandfather
P.S. Reddy (your grandma's father).  It
appears in a book titled Neethi Guchchamu (A
Boquet of Wise Sayings).  By the way Vish's
middle initial is S and stands for his
great-grand-father who was a poet.

We distributed the invitations to most people ..
formally (read it as in person ie hand
delivered).   We invited some via phone.  The
menu for lunch was chosen to include grandma's
favorite items  which ofcourse included ice
cream!

The 11th day ceremony is usually called "Vaikunta
Samaradhane. It can be translated loosely as
"Ascension into heaven"  or "Going to Gods'
Place".  Though this ceremony is about
celebration  of life and is jovial .. it still is
serious as there is still sadness.

A priest officiated the ceremony.  There were the
usual ceremonies - offering of food and water to
the departed and praying for peace to not only to
grandma but also her mother and her mother (three
generations).

The water and the sesame seeds that were used in
this ceremony was thrown in a lake.  The food
that was offered was given to birds/animals (as
per custom it is a crow and a cow).

This offering/prayer is not only done for
grandma, but also for her mother and grandmother
(for three generations).  It can be done
further .. if you happen to know their names.  I
was given new clothes by my sisters and other
friends.

The food was arranged outside home and close to
100 people attended.  As per the custom we
visited temples before having dinner.  We went to
Hanuman temple and the Krishna temple.

I wished your uncle (my brother Sridhama) a
belated birthday!  His birtheay fell on the day
we threw the ashes in the river and that day was
not an appropriate day for the wishes.

What next?

I really don't know :-) I plan to visit
Chittor/Puthalapattu where grandma grew up.  That
village high school now has a bronze statue of
your grandfather.

I also plan to visit our native village and offer
prayers to our "family goddess" and may be a few
other temples at different places.

- Dad