The day before yesterday I spend more than 2 hours, totally mesmerized by the memorial service of Padma Vikraman Nayar , organized by the Singapore Malayali Association (SMA) . I have met her only once, a few years ago, but the eulogies removed any sense of unfamiliarity about her. Padma Aunty as she was popularly called was more of a background person and the extent of eulogies was disproportionate to any of the formal positions, she held within the SMA committee. And most surprisingly, all but one of the speakers on stage were males, mostly past SMA Presidents, a reflection of the authority she commanded during her life. At a personal level, I really struggle with the Malayalam Language and often felt that I was more of a Delhite than a Malayali. Despite this rather distant view, I have been amazed at the SMA’s annual Onam Village celebrations. The scale and extent of the program is astonishing, with at least a few thousand people attending. I always wondered about the incred...
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