Wonder Women

Mr. O
Mr. O
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read
Ammachi

In this age of social media influencers, i would like to ponder upon the real influencers that i have come cross in my life. Top on the list features Mrs.Mercy Joseph Mampilly, aka my dearest Ammachi ,The Wonder Women. Now Ammachi is a generic term used in Kerala for mothers, so hearing my mum and her siblings calling her that , I may have started to call her the same. Everyone called her Ammachi , or Mother. Born in 24th April, 1931 in Ollur, Thrissur , she was married to my dearest Appachan,aka grandfather aka M G Joesph in 1949 and quickly made Jamshedpur her home.They had 5 Sons & 2 daughters. The eldest and youngest were daughters , off which my mum happens to be the eldest.

She was a powerful woman, who raised these 7 kids in the wilderness of the east, Jamshedpur we still gladly call our “home” . My appachan was a man of very few words,and was always busy in his Kharkhanna and overtimes. Ammachi was the glue that bonded the family together and run the show from the kitchen.

Besides the kids, there were buffaloes,cows, hens and cats in the Mampilly household. The home department was a tightly run ship, under her watchful eyes. She was a superlative cook ,and i was privileged to be her “Sous Chef” in many cooks. Her cooking skills were legendary, thou traditional in her approach ,she was open to experiment with recipes which featured in bible of malayalee women “Vanitha” . The best days to assist her was always during Christmas vacations, when she would make Cakes,Sweets & Savories. My so called culinary skills, or whatever i have was instilled by her. My sense of taste, sweet or savory, texture etc were sharpened by sitting beside her observing . From making Cakes, Rose cookies, Murkus, Rotis, making dough for Dosa, pounding rice for Puttu, cleaning & cutting chicken , beef i have learnt it all under her supervision.

Ammachi on the phone

Ammachi liked melodrama, she and her younger brother Anto ,were the undisputed actress & actor of the famous Kerala Club of Jamshedpur. Both never learnt drama in their life, it came natural to them, drama was in their blood.She has performed many plays and won many awards in her hey days at Kerala club. Kerala Club and drama provided her with the prefect relief from the humdrum of family life. She was an movie fan, come Saturday she would dash to the club to watch the “latest” Malayalam movie. She influenced my craze for movies too. Soon TV & VCR came into the picture which kind of killed Kerala Club and the dramas that were held there.

I will be ever indebted to her for making my childhood special, and remember her today more than any other day .

“ Shine on you crazy diamond.”

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