Dear Partha,

I’ve always admired your intelligence, industry, perseverance and willingness to work hard- qualities which together have contributed to making the family Newsletter a big success. You have been doing a great service to the Srinivasan and Ranganathan families through your enterprise. I wish to congratulate you and thank you for the wonderful job you have been doing in bringing out the newsletter so diligently though intermittently.I wish to congratulate Amritha and Aarthi too for their role in this endeavour. Having two journalists at home, I can well understand the difficulties in undertaking and maintaining such a venture .We, in the two families, should consider ourselves lucky that we have amidst us a person who takes so much initiative. I’m awestruck that you have done it over twenty years! You tried to explain the gap in the publication after 2010 saying that, with the advent of instant communication with WhatsApp family groups, you felt the Family Newsletter had little role. I tend to disagree because while WhatsApp and similar platforms serve the limited purpose of instant communication, the newsletters are part of a treasure trove that helps us to relive many golden moments from the past.

I find the newsletter valuable for several reasons: (i) It unites the family as we have seen whenever a special issue to mark an occasion is brought out (ii) It gives a lot of information about qualities in our family members that many of us were not aware of (iii) It brings out the talent that some youngsters have of writing, which if nurtured, will make them very good writers (iv) it motivates the younger members of the family to imbibe values that were cherished and practiced by the elders like simple living, caring, sharing etc and (v) it is a good time-pass for retired persons like me in these lockdown times.

In the last couple of months I’ve gone through some of the old issues of the Newsletter, especially the special issues on Deepu-Sriram, Vanaja akka, the centenary issues on your father and my parents. Each one was unique, truly reflecting the difference in their personalities.

I must make a special mention of the two special issues that you brought out recently, to mark my mother’s birth centenary and my brother’s passing. Both were outstanding, in different ways. The story of my mother, as narrated by you, made a deep impression on all of us. You have written it beautifully combining pathos with humour. One important incident that could have been mentioned was that she accidentally fell into a well in Soolankurichi village when she was 10 or 11 and was saved by her grandfather, Chakravarthi Iyengar. Your brother Gopalan has described this incident vividly in his article on Soolankurichi thatha in one of your old newsletters. My mother never talked about this incident or her difficult childhood for that matter, because she never liked to discuss unpleasant experiences in life. All the articles were well written and gave a mine of information. The audios were also enjoyable. Anna’s death left a void that is difficult to fill and the special issue brought out on June 2, the date of his wedding anniversary, did full justice in highlighting his qualities of head and heart. Anna was loved, respected and admired by all his siblings and all those who got to know him well. It came out clearly in all the articles. Although I knew him for seventy years, there were many aspects which I learnt only after reading the special issue. I wish Manni, who was such a pillar of support for him and looked after him so well during his long illness, had also written an article to add her perspective. May be it is not too late. Or Prasad can do an interview .The articles were so interesting that I read the entire issue in one go!

One may lose one’s possessions or the persons one loves dearly but luckily memories last forever. Thank you once again for bringing those fond memories alive through your painstaking effort.

Best wishes

Santhanam
July 2021

Editor's Note: I knew about the incident of Jaya akka falling in the well. But I could not get the details in time. I have now incorporated the incident in Story of Jayam.