In Memory of Raju

For one Navaratri, Amma dressed me up in some pavadai borrowed from my older sister Kalyani. Then, she asked me and Kalyani to go visit all the neighbors and get Navaratri shundal and sweets, as was the custom at that time. At this time, I also had long hair as I was supposed to go to Tirupati with my Paati and Chinna Paati to get my head shaved. People already used to call me Indra, but when they saw me in pavadai, they started making fun and calling me Indra like a girl’s name. I didn’t want to be identified as a girl, so I started crying and ran away. I went and hid under the bed in the bedroom. Everyone was searching for me, but for a long time nobody found me in the bedroom. Finally, I came out crying, and said I don’t want to be a girl, and Amma removed the pavadai. I was immediately relived and became completely normal again.