My father was born as Ramanathapuram Sangameswaran Sundaram in the Ramanathapuram Village in Palghat on 13th Jan 1912. .His star was Visaakam..Both his parents passed away when he was very young.He had an elder brother and two elder sisters.He had his education in Coimbatore and Palghat .At the age of 16 he boarded a ship in Madras and landed in Penang to seek his fortune
.He knew no one in the country when he landed,Somehow he got to know some Brahmin families living in Penang who provided him with food and shelter.After trying for a job without any success for a couple of months he made his way to Singapore.By some good fortune he met some kind souls in the Market Street area .They put him up and got him a job as a typist in an office.At the same time he took up shorthand and typing and upgraded himself.He also studied and did his O levels.His close friend and adviser during this period was N Narayana mama's father and a few of mama's contemporaries.As he upgraded himself he got a job in a British company called Rabiro-hence my father is known as" Rabiro Mani" in some circles of the community even today!
In 1936 ,my father's brother started looking for a life partner for him.My mother Ananthalakshmi's horoscope matched his.My Periappa Subramaniam met my mother's parents and fixed the wedding without my father even meeting the bride.He first saw her on the Mappillai Azhaippu Day..She hails from Ramanathapuram Village in Kollengode.She was born on 25th april 1921.Her star is Chithirai.She had 3 brothers and a sister.All have passed on.Her father Venkatasubramian was a school teacher.I must have got his genes! My grandmother Subbhalakshmi was the sweetest person I've known.Her patience knows no bounds.My mother was the youngest in the family of 5.Her eldest brother Vasudevan worked as TTR in Southern Railways.As he was always travelling ,his family lived practically in Kollengode though they were stationed in Kozhikode for a couple of years.My mum's sister was a child widow and lived with my maternal grand- parents.
.My mother was 14 at the time she got married.So my father returned to S'pore alone.My mother joined him in 1938.At that time they lived somewhere near where Newton circle is today on top of a hill next to Raju mama's parents.Raju mama's mum helped my mum to settle down and learn the intricacies of house -keeping and management.
.He knew no one in the country when he landed,Somehow he got to know some Brahmin families living in Penang who provided him with food and shelter.After trying for a job without any success for a couple of months he made his way to Singapore.By some good fortune he met some kind souls in the Market Street area .They put him up and got him a job as a typist in an office.At the same time he took up shorthand and typing and upgraded himself.He also studied and did his O levels.His close friend and adviser during this period was N Narayana mama's father and a few of mama's contemporaries.As he upgraded himself he got a job in a British company called Rabiro-hence my father is known as" Rabiro Mani" in some circles of the community even today!
In 1936 ,my father's brother started looking for a life partner for him.My mother Ananthalakshmi's horoscope matched his.My Periappa Subramaniam met my mother's parents and fixed the wedding without my father even meeting the bride.He first saw her on the Mappillai Azhaippu Day..She hails from Ramanathapuram Village in Kollengode.She was born on 25th april 1921.Her star is Chithirai.She had 3 brothers and a sister.All have passed on.Her father Venkatasubramian was a school teacher.I must have got his genes! My grandmother Subbhalakshmi was the sweetest person I've known.Her patience knows no bounds.My mother was the youngest in the family of 5.Her eldest brother Vasudevan worked as TTR in Southern Railways.As he was always travelling ,his family lived practically in Kollengode though they were stationed in Kozhikode for a couple of years.My mum's sister was a child widow and lived with my maternal grand- parents.
.My mother was 14 at the time she got married.So my father returned to S'pore alone.My mother joined him in 1938.At that time they lived somewhere near where Newton circle is today on top of a hill next to Raju mama's parents.Raju mama's mum helped my mum to settle down and learn the intricacies of house -keeping and management.
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