Parvathi akka’s health
She suffered from epileptic fits. Some said that she had these fits even before her marriage and it was expected that it will vanish after marriage. She is said to have swooned when she had to light the funeral pyre of her husband. Who will not at that age? In any case the frequency of the fits were increasing after she lost her husband. Dr. Guruswamy Mudaliar, Madras, a consulting physician of considerable reputation known for his diagnostic acumen prescribed a regimen of barbiturates. She was all her life on Gardenal and liquid BROMIDE. Virtually, all her life she was on these strong medications. My mother used to be vigilant and. check constantly if Parvathi had taken her daily dose of medication. If a dose was missed, she used to have the fits. Very many used to be afraid of even seeing Parvathi going into fits, even my sister Kunju. May be because I was with her all the time, I had no such fear. She used to fall flat on the ground, her whole body shaking, moaning and granting, her eyes rolled over, mouth frothing. It lasted for a few minutes and sometimes she had these episodes in quick succession but this was when she did not take the medication A number of times i have held her up till my mother came to ease her to the floor. I remember one occasion when she opened the alrnirah in the southern wall of the koodam and i saw her swaying. I rushed and pinned her to the wall to prevent her failing down till my mother arrived. All these just took a few minutes but it looked an age then. One can never predict when she will have these attacks but in later years my mother and myself developed a uncanny instinct and reached her when the malady was taking hold of her. Constant watchfulness did not save her from injuries since each fall was uncontrolled, she would hit table comers, chairs or hit her head on the floor. A couple of head injuries were pretty severe. My mother used to have one of the servant maids watching her. If the servant maid had touched her to save her from falling, Parvathi used to insist on having a bath whatever be the time of the day. There were occasions when my mother told Parvathi that it was she who held her and not the servant maid. She fell into the well in the back yard in one of her fits and one of the male servants had the presence of mind to jump in and keep her from drowning till she was pulled up in a bucket.Her skin color changed to virtual black and thickened around her neck, back and upper breast area. This was attributed to the bromide medication. She used to be scratching herself perhaps the itching was unbearable and draw blood.
She also wore the nine yards saree like my mother but no reds. It was mostly green or sometimes rust. She did not don the traditional widows weeds by shaving her head and wearing white or off white sarees. That was something that my mother and the family did not accept, one of the strongest opponents being my paternal uncle Sivaswamy Iyer and his wife Jagadham Chithi. She was young and at an age when such manifest cruelty should not be heaped on her. Society was cruel. The fear of society dictated the terms. It was fortunate that my parents and some of the relatives and friends were strong enough to flout and stand on their convictions. I have not seen her wear any Jari saree as it was taboo for a widow. Fate dealt a monstrous blow and Mankind as Society crushed the victim. No doubt it goes to the eternal credit of my mother to have channeled Parvathi's mind to-wards religion and faith. Who knows what her feelings were to be bereft of the Man of her life.
My mother's father P V Naganatha Sasthri who died in 1939 was very fond of Parvathi. If i recall right, he wanted her to stay with him for a week or so and my parents left her with him. This was in 37 or 38. Within a week, we had a message from Thanjavur ( I can not recall whether it was a telegram or a messenger) that Parvathi was hysterical. My parents took me with them to Tanjore. We had an Austin 12 hp tourer (canvas top) and we picked her up and returned the same evening reaching home at about 9 p m or so. During the journey Parvathi was uncontrollable and was flaying her arms, grunting and trying to attack us. My mother and myself held her down. I am of faint recollection as to the driver. It was probably Gopal Rao who incidentally was my grandfather's driver or Pakkiriswainy. It took a few days for Parvathi to recover. My mother believed at that time that Parvathi did not take her medication regularly and brought this on herself.
My memory is failing me. It was probably during this attack that Parvathi stopped breathing one night at about 12 midnight. The body can not be kept in the koodam and had to be moved to the verandah. So the driver and someone else was called to carry her. Just then there was an anguished cry "Amma" from the cattle shed in the back yard. Parvathi stirred and was left where she was. A few minutes later the servants went to the cattle shed and found one of the animals dead. There was no sign of any injury. I do not know what this signifed. God in His own way saved her time and again but He punished her by this. Her life was one of continuous" physical torture, mental agony and anguished heart.”
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