As the news of Padma Shri awardee and PSBB founder Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy's death spread, many took to social media to talk about what a great educationist she was and how she had touched their all their lives. However, those who will feel the void the most are of course the people who were around her more, her family. Even as her body is kept at the Bharat Kalachar, her granddaughter, YG Madhuvanti took time out to speak to us about the woman who shaped her entire life.
Madhuvanti is the daughter of YG Mahendra, the actor and the first son of Rajalakshmi. Madhuvanti, who herself went to Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan says her earliest memory of her grandmother was when she was just three years old. Madhuvanti said that no matter where she went, Rajalakshmi would always take her three-year-old grandchild, "Whether it was a music or dance concert or the theatre, she always took me along. She would bring curd rice and feed me while we watched the performance," Madhuvanti recalled.
However, what really stuck with her after all these years is that her grandmother never worried about the trouble a young child would cause in such places, "I used to be running around the corridors, dancing and singing along but she just let me be and never bothered to tell me to stop."
Madhuvanti also said that almost all her 'firsts' were with her grandmother. She was also the one that shaped her life and career. "She was an incredibly strong and resilient woman and I get that from her. She taught me to be strong like her," she said. It was while she was about 8 or 9 years old that Madhuvanti began to realise how important her grandmother was, "I've watched her in action throughout my life. She would live by example. And I've always tried to emulate her ."
When asked if she mellowed down and slowed down after she hit 60-65, Madhuvanti let out a light laugh, "She never ever retired. She didn't know what retirement was. She was absolutely active, till the very end. She was always doing some work or the other. She even attended the school's annual day a few days ago." she said.
