And she is Hundred

Ten years ago when I attended her 90th birthday party, she told me "if all goes well, the next milestone should be 100"  

clicked 10 years ago

All is well and she made it, but unfortunately it is a different world. There won't be a birthday party, nor can the near and dear ones come and wish her. 

Before the lockdown, whenever I visited her, I could see her sitting at her table, painting a fabric or knitting. 

The usual time when she sits at the dining table and paints is from 9 am to 1 pm.

Whenever any machine stitching has to be done she uses her grandson's room.

There are many well wishers who are waiting with sarees and fabric so that she will find some time to paint them. (there is some voluntary payment too done by the well wishers)  

Two months ago this saree was picked up by a well wisher for Rs 11000/-  

First she draws the outline 

Then she fills it up with colours. Painting on tussar silk is not an easy task.  Each saree takes about three months.

Imagine, being 100 and still earning, and in the bargain keeping yourself occupied both mentally and physically.

Padmavati (Padmam) is ninth in the line of ten siblings. You can have a glimpse of her family tree in this short video.

the family tree

standing, third from left

Having lost her husband at an early age, she brought up her five kids in a very disciplined way. She spend her early life in Kerala. After getting married, she moved to Bombay and later settled in Pune with her daughter. 

In keeping up with the changing times, she is deft at sending e mails and receiving messages on WhatsApp.  
Some of her work adorning her drawing room.

Another activity that I enjoy at her place is having the Onam sadhya (lunch) with her every year.

Her daughter in law (Dr Geeta) writes "I am in awe of her. She radiates this calmness and peace to people around her. She has the unique ability of occupying herself and never getting bored. Exceptionally talented, she occupies herself by painting, knitting, writing, embroidery and thereby creating happiness and beauty all around her"

The mandatory cake cutting with just the immediate family

and the rest of the family participated  through a zoom meet 

Some of them were dressed up for the occasion and one wore the duppatta that was painted by Amma.  

I have put a one minute video on the 100th B'day celebrations on FB. 

Update on 23rd July 2020 
Her daughter Lata saw her enjoying a Malayalam rap. 

For those who want to make further enquiries regarding work done by her, the contact mail id is given below in the comments. 
More of her work can be seen in the links given below.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4 

And she is 99

I like to sit and observe her when she is busy with her art work. This picture was clicked last month as she was painting one of the sarees. Today (18th July) she turns 99. 

Those who appreciate her work are queuing up with their sarees and dress material to get it painted. 

 At her desk on the eve of her Birthday

You can see more of her work at this link.

https://joezachs.blogspot.com/2017/11/padmam.html

Padmam

Every time when I go to Padmam aunty’s house, she is busy with one of her creations. Nowadays its mostly painting sarees. She says that most of these are sold even before she finishes painting them. 

So it is not surprising to see that her posture and concentration is the same in practically all the pictures but the saree and the designs keeps changing. 

Her admirers are from different quarters of the world and some of them have even made me promise to arrange an audience with her when they visit Pune.   

She loves the sambhar that wifey makes. So it is a mutual admiration society. 

Some of her work that was recently framed and which has found a place in the drawing room. 

These two pictures shows how steady her hand is and how she looks at the finer details while painting 

It is not only painting, she loves to dabble with any form of art, like this cross stitch which is in one of her grandson’s room 

I had written about her previous work eight years ago.

One of the things that she misses now a days is the yearly visit by the flock of Munia that used to visit her balcony. (you can read it here)  Blame it on climatic changes and the unpredictable monsoon. 

Whatever the changes, I never miss having the yearly Onam Sdhya with her. In fact I have observed her directing the family members how and where each item has to be placed on the banana leaf, the proper traditional way.

Update: A saree she painted in December 2017

Update: March 2018 - using the self design of the saree to paint in the colours.

A picture of her on her 97^th birthday which was in July 2017.  

Update : 23rd Nov 2018

Yesterday I saw her painting on a black saree.