World War II And How It Changed My Childhood And More

Our member Meena Eashwar reflects on her 96 rich years, starting with how World War II impacted her childhood.

I was a carefree young girl studying in Loreto House, Calcutta, when World War II broke out. There was utter chaos all around, and for safety's sake, many people shifted their families out of the city to safer places while the men stayed back in Calcutta. Our family was one of them, and we moved to our ancestral place in Kerala while my father stayed back.

Our village had no English medium schools in those days, and the local language was alien to me. Unfortunately, that was the end of my formal education, and I was home-tutored from there on. Except for my early schooling in Loreto House (to which I can attribute my English ), I have no formal education to my credit. This was a sore point in my life and still is sometimes. I was very hesitant to meet my contemporaries who were better accomplished academically than me. Over the years, I got over that feeling. I realised that just formal education, though desirable, does not speak for a person's overall capability and personality. I began to explore other avenues and means to enhance my knowledge.

This was the first time we were with Grandpa on an extended basis. Earlier, it was only short visits during vacations. I remember him as a very kind person, and we called him Ithappa. Though his name was Naratanaswamy Iyer, nobody actually knew him by that name.

There is an interesting story behind the name Ithappa. Being the eldest in the family, he was known as "Mootha Anna" to all his siblings. In due course, he became Mutthanna to all of them except the youngest, who called him Ithanna. Down the line, it became just "Ittha" to everyone in the village, too!

Grandpa had an inborn power for healing most day-to-day problems, and the people would get their children to him for treatment. I was unaware of holistic healing then and was intrigued by his healing power. Many years later, when I learnt Reiki, I was reminded of Grandpa's healing powers. 

He used to chew betel leaves and, not wanting to waste the leaves, tended to use up the ones turning yellow first. We used to tease him; this way, he would never get to chew the fresh green Ieaves.

Life in rural India was very much different from city life. There was no electricity, no running water and very poor sanitation. Potable water had to be fetched from far-off wells. The affluent would hire help to get potable water, while the others had to manage themselves. But life went on normally, and people were also quite happy. 

Since there was no running water, except for babies, young children and elderly people, the concept of bathing at home was not there. Everyone went to the nearby rivers or ponds for their daily bath. Soon, I learned to bathe in an open place with dignity. 

Then came marriage, children and family responsibilities, which hardly gave me any time to spare for myself. Once they grew up and were on their own, I turned to my ambitions and enrolled on a Reiki course. In due time, I did my Mastership and initiated people into the system and healing. I still send Distant Healing on request but find it taxing to initiate any longer due to my age.

I have always liked to learn. As we were in Delhi, I learned knitting on a self-taught basis from books, which came in handy when my children were young. A few of them are still there and have been handed over to the next generations as heirloom pieces. 

A few years before my husband passed away in 2005, we made a Family Tree, retracing the family members to over 300 years ago. It was indeed a Hercules project we had undertaken. But for our firstborn Parmesh, who also joined us in the venture, it would have been impossible to have completed it successfully. We took it up as a challenge and made it possible. 

My son ran around to computerise the details we got, getting them printed and bound into a book. 

My husband was in touch with our relatives living in Hyderabad, and they were very happy to hear about our project and willingly shared whatever information they had. My job was to gather as much information as possible from our relatives living within and outside our country. I had never met many of them, and it was tough getting their contacts, introducing myself, explaining the purpose of contacting them, and getting the required information. We had fixed a nominal price for all the effort we had put in and the expense we had incurred for the project, and everyone ungrudgingly bought it for the price.  

Later, when my grandchildren went abroad to pursue their studies and livelihood, I published a cookbook for them. The book is written in a straightforward and easy-to-follow format for even a novice cook. All of them greatly appreciated the book as they yearned for the home-cooked food they were used to.

 Click here to read more about the book

I now live in the Athulya Senior Care and Assisted Living facility in Southern India. Such places are no longer taboo, unlike the earlier Old Age Homes. Many people prefer to avail of similar facilities, thus giving themselves and their loved ones the freedom to continue their lives without guilt. 

My son Parmesh is also in the same facility in Chennai. His daughter and my daughter are both in Chennai and visit us often. 

I have no regrets about the ups and downs I have experienced in life and only look forward to more. At 96, I joined the Divine Chants class conducted by music therapist Rajam Shankar for Silver Talkies and also dabble in writing and knitting. 

By the way, Rajam is featured in our Family Tree. She and my husband are second cousins. 

I hope the rest of my life goes smoothly and I will have a peaceful exit from this world when my time comes. 

Cover image: Royal Air Force Operations in India during World War II (Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

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