One of the first callers this morning was N Sivasankaran Nair, High Grade Telegraph Assistant(Retd), all of 83 yrs. His story was a nostalgic peep into history in respect of my mom's professional journey as a Branch Post Mistress(BPM).
The Kura Post Office was inaugurated in '60 with N Krishna Panicker, my paternal grandfather, as its first BPM in pursuit of his philanthropic efforts and Sivasankaran Nair was the postman. After about two years, my grandfather had his youngest daughter, Varadamma, to take over from him but she wasn't very keen about the job and was replaced by his daughter-in-law, Sarojini, who, too, had a very short tenure. It was in early '64 that mom took over as BPM, Kura after my paternal grandfather had prevailed upon my maternal grandfather, who was in a deep dilemma because he knew that his daughter wasn't keen to go to Thalavoor, near Kottarakkara, as she was fond of pursuing a profession in a city, preferably Thiruvananthapuram!
Sivasankaran Nair, further underscored my mom's dedication towards her work with the following:-
(a) She was meticulous in everything that she did.
(b) Her superiors were impressed with her efficiency and most of them knew her dad!
(c) She taught her subordinates the right work ethics and practices and
(d) She'd sacrificed her professional advancement for the sake of her children's education!
He'd left Kura PO, in mid '64, on promotion and ever since, had been following my mom's activities. To prove it, he'd whipped open his wallet to show me an old newspaper cutting that spoke of Chandramathykutty Amma's interaction with the kids of a nearby school, on the occasion of a Reading Day(Vaayana Dinam)! He, further, added that he'd fetched up at my paternal grandfather's residence soon after his passing away and rued the fact that it has been repeated in the case of my mom too! Sivasankaran Nair, despite his age, came as a pillion on his grandson's mobike!!
Incidentally, mom had retired as the BPM, Kura in Dec '96. During her long innings, she'd endeared herself to the people with her genuine concern for their welfare and well being!
Tailpiece.
1. Dharettan, my cousin's husband, Sreekumar, Varadamma bua's second son, Aji, Rema's younger brother-in-law were the others who'd dropped by in the course of the day.
2. Sanil, Lekha and Ammu had gone to Kottarakkara to buy things for the ceremony, day after!
3. My younger maman and his wife fetched up by supper time and they're gonna be with us for the next few days.
The Kura Post Office was inaugurated in '60 with N Krishna Panicker, my paternal grandfather, as its first BPM in pursuit of his philanthropic efforts and Sivasankaran Nair was the postman. After about two years, my grandfather had his youngest daughter, Varadamma, to take over from him but she wasn't very keen about the job and was replaced by his daughter-in-law, Sarojini, who, too, had a very short tenure. It was in early '64 that mom took over as BPM, Kura after my paternal grandfather had prevailed upon my maternal grandfather, who was in a deep dilemma because he knew that his daughter wasn't keen to go to Thalavoor, near Kottarakkara, as she was fond of pursuing a profession in a city, preferably Thiruvananthapuram!
Sivasankaran Nair, further underscored my mom's dedication towards her work with the following:-
(a) She was meticulous in everything that she did.
(b) Her superiors were impressed with her efficiency and most of them knew her dad!
(c) She taught her subordinates the right work ethics and practices and
(d) She'd sacrificed her professional advancement for the sake of her children's education!
He'd left Kura PO, in mid '64, on promotion and ever since, had been following my mom's activities. To prove it, he'd whipped open his wallet to show me an old newspaper cutting that spoke of Chandramathykutty Amma's interaction with the kids of a nearby school, on the occasion of a Reading Day(Vaayana Dinam)! He, further, added that he'd fetched up at my paternal grandfather's residence soon after his passing away and rued the fact that it has been repeated in the case of my mom too! Sivasankaran Nair, despite his age, came as a pillion on his grandson's mobike!!
Incidentally, mom had retired as the BPM, Kura in Dec '96. During her long innings, she'd endeared herself to the people with her genuine concern for their welfare and well being!
Tailpiece.
1. Dharettan, my cousin's husband, Sreekumar, Varadamma bua's second son, Aji, Rema's younger brother-in-law were the others who'd dropped by in the course of the day.
2. Sanil, Lekha and Ammu had gone to Kottarakkara to buy things for the ceremony, day after!
3. My younger maman and his wife fetched up by supper time and they're gonna be with us for the next few days.
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