A grand gesture

``GRANDMAS ARE meant for loving.'' The last line of Dhanya Parthasarathy's recommendation entry for her grandmother, Mrs. Bhooma Krishnan in the Lovable Grandmom contest, said it all.

And if that's true, then it is time that somebody acknowledged it. Which is what the Guild of Women Achievers (GOWA) tried to do on Saturday night. Their second `Loveable Grandma' contest which honoured more than just one loveable grand dame, was open to `grandmoms of all ages'. The only qualification of course, was that you had to have a grandchild - above 13 years.

The grandchildren had to nominate their grandmas for the award, along with a 200-word write-up why she deserved the award, and personal details of the nominees. It was this write-up that ultimately clinched it! What better praise for a grandmother than from a grandchild?

An overwhelming response made it difficult to decide the winners, but after a taxing time, the judges zeroed in on 11 grandmoms, said Ms. Chaya Srivatsa, president of GOWA. They were: Mrs. Lalitha Janardhanan, her grandson Adithya's `best friend' who watches Kung Fu with him, Mrs. Seetha Subramaniam whose grand- daughter, Maya Sreenivasan is here on a holiday from the United States and, of course, Dhanya's chess partner, Mrs.Bhooma Krishnan.

The `gutsy' grandmom, Mrs. Santosh Arora, had come all the way from Delhi to receive the award her granddaughter Ritika Anand had nominated her for.

Mrs. Dhanam, who once shared the mike along with M. K. Thyagaraja Baghavathar, took the first step on to the stage along with Sangeetha, her granddaughter. It was the fiery write-up of Sai Santosh that won his social-worker revolutionary grandmother the `achiever grandma award'. Mrs. Moscowmani Dhanushkodi, incidentally, is also the first woman president of the Sivakasi Cooperative Society.

Mrs. Rathnakumari, a school principal, took home the bulky gift package, thanks to the recommendation of her grand child Pavithra. A thundering ovation greeted Mrs. Veerammal and her granddaughter Ekadevasena, when they walked on to the stage. According to Ekadevasena, her grandmother, who has honorary membership in more than 16 charitable organisations, is the `Mother Teresa of South India'.

Mrs. M. Sulochana came from Pondicherry for `making a bad day better' for her grandchild and for Aishwarya, awards and laurels did not matter as much as curling up to sleep on her grandmother, Mrs. S. Subbulakshmi's, lap.

The awards were given away by someone who has come to be recognised as the proto-type of the loveable Indian grandmother - Mrs. Ava Mukherjee. Remember that knowledgeable and modern grandmother who talks about processors and Ayurvedic Concepts? The very same person.

By Ramya Kannan

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