The End of an Era - Padna mama (1929-2018)
In Mr. Mandakolathur Natarajan Padmanabhan's (Padna mama, for us) passing away, we have lost a patriarch, a friend, a guiding force, a person of extreme intelligence and wit, and a compassionate human being, whose place in this world and in our family, will never be filled. My first memory of him was that of a grim-faced godfather, almost Brandonesque in his presence and his hold over the family. Does this guy ever smile? Why was everyone putting up with this attitude? I had thought. His acts of hegemony centered around me - he chased me around a fountain for ten minutes during a cousin's wedding , his veshti held high with one hand, because I had not completed a chore; he forced me to eat a plateful of curd rice, that I used to intensely despise; he held a weekly "panchayat" of my misdeeds, abetted by my mom, and dispensed copious judgments, while parting with his trademark smile; oh, there were so many more - were met with amusement and an unde