My aunt Pushpa Prabhu of Kumta passed away today in Bengaluru. People said she was as brilliant as her brothers Krishnanand (my dad) and Tulasidas --in memory power and arithmatic. But because she was a girl (in rural India), she was not offered much education and her brilliance came out in home-making. I have very fond memories of spending summers with her (even though she is my aunt, I called her Pushpakka or elder-sister, as was the norm). She had a great sense of "Kamat humor", she was a database of births, deaths, and anniversaries and was an enthusiastic match-maker. She was a great cook like her mother. She was 72 and was in good health, and died of a massive heart attack. I have so many stories of her "arranging marriages" -- they will make for a good reading.
Goodbye Pushpakka. I had not finished with you -- you left us unexpectedly!
© K.L.Kamat
Indian Woman with her Mangalasutra (the black sacred beads)
Picture of Pushpa Prabhu, Kumta
See Also:
• Arranged Marriages of India
