Pichu Iyer

ALAMELU was Sri Bhagavan’s only sister and was younger to Him. From His boyhood, Sri Bhagavan was very fond of His baby-sister. But, being immersed in Inner Bliss after coming to Arunachala, He had absolutely no contact with His family.

When Alamelu grew up, she married Pichu Iyer. Though not very educated, Pichu Iyer was so efficient that he was appointed by his employer, a millionaire named Annamalai Chettiar, as Peshkar, or General Manager. On his shoulders rested the responsibility of managing and supervising — with a small group of others — Annamalai Chettiar’s vast estates, lands and other properties. Later, he also owned a modest, local bus service.

When Sri Bhagavan’s younger brother, Nagasundaram, lost his wife, she left him with a baby son. Soon after this, Nagasundaram came away to Arunachala to live with Sri Bhagavan. His baby, Venkataraman — fondly called Venkatoo — was handed over to his sister Alamelu. Having no child of their own, Athai Alamelu and her husband Pichu Iyer, gratefully accepted the charge of the small boy and brought him up with the love and tenderness of doting parents, When Venkatoo grew up and got married, they looked after his children with the same love and tenderness they had showered on him. Meanwhile, his father, Nagasundaram, who had chosen to stay with Sri Bhagavan in Virupaksha Cave for good, took sanyasa on the advice of Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni and was initiated by him with a new name, Niranjanananda Swami.

When Sri Bhagavan moved down and lived near Mother’s Samadhi Shrine, a small group chose to stay with Him. This was the start of “Sri Ramanasramam”. When the ashram started expanding, in order to manage its increasingly complex and varied operations, Niranjanananda Swami became its sole manager, the Sarvadhikari. When it became apparent that the responsibility was too big for one person to bear, the management decided to call in his son — Venkatoo — to stay with him and assist him. Consequently, a house was rented in the town for Venkatoo’s family as it was then, consisting of his wife and his two children. This was because ladies were not permitted to stay inside the Ashram after sunset in those days. Not surprisingly, Pichu Iyer and Alamelu also moved in with them to help look Venkatoo’s family.

Pichu Iyer was very fond of eating, and had a seemingly insatiable appetite for the vadais that were occasionally fried for lunch. He would enter the kitchen at a time when no one else was there and steal away to the garden with thirty or forty vadais and surreptitiously eat them! Knowing fully well that only one vadai per person was allowed!

The lady cooks had no choice but to report the repeat offender to the Sarvadhikari. “Chinna Swami” — as the Sarvadhikari was addressed by all — rushed to where Pichu Iyer was and ranted and shouted at his behaviour with the choicest of insults. Not surprisingly, this sorry episode reached Sri Bhagavan’s ears. On hearing this, Sri Bhagavan called Chinna Swami and said: “Didn’t you realise who you insulted? Pichu Iyer is our அத்திம்பேர் (brother-in-law) and மாப்பிள்ளை (son-in-law)! Remember!” Realising that while he was probably justified in his anger as the Sarvadhikari, he had certainly overstepped the line with a close member of his family, Chinna Swami went at once to the kitchen and requested the cooks that Pichu Iyer be allowed to eat as much as he chooses! But, the miracle of miracles, though he was now given a free hand, from that day onwards, Pichu Iyer could eat only one vadai a day. His voracious appetite and hunger had left him! Sri Bhagavan had fed him with His Grace!

There is another significant ‘family drama’ that I would like to share. We were seven children — three brothers and four sisters. As my father was brought up by Pichu Iyer like his own child, he had a feeling of deep gratitude towards him. So he decided to give his third son — Subramanian (popularly addressed as Mani — to Pichu Iyer as his adopted son. On hearing this, my mother stoutly opposed the idea. As it would involve the religious ritual of changing Mani’s gothram, the spiritual lineage from the lineage of Sri Bhagavan’s family.

The elders in the family took the delicate issue to Sri Bhagavan. Sri Bhagavan smiled and said, “What is there to decide? Venkatoo is and has been the ‘adopted son’ of Pichu Iyer all along. What need is there for some other boy in the family to be newly bequeathed to him!” Both my father and Pichu Iyer were fully satisfied with this. It goes without saying that so was my relieved mother!

Years later, when Pichu Iyer passed on, Venkatoo did all his funeral rites as a son would do for his own father. Wasn’t Venkatoo the son of Pichu Iyer as confirmed by Sri Bhagavan? There was therefore no doubt in any of us that Pichu Iyer’s soul was at peace and had been absorbed in Arunachala.

My Mother (Nagalakshmi) and Athai standing behind my Father (T.N.Venkataraman) and Pichu Iyer