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Ceremonies for Appa and Amma

Sunday, April 28th, 2013

Ceremonies for Appa and Amma

Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28 2013

Vedaraniam

Tamil Nadu, India

 AppaAmma80th-01+

Thayumanaswamy Rajalakshmi passed away on Tamil New Year’s day on Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 9:00 AM in Chengal Pattu, Tamil Nadu, India on the lap of her son, Thiyagarajan. The cremation with full Hindu religious rites was held on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 12:00 Noon in Vedaraniam as per her wishes and her ashes were disbursed in Bay of Bengal. The tenth and eleventh day Hindu religious rites were held together with her beloved husband’s on Saturday and Sunday April 27 and 28, 2013 in the ancestral home and at Vedamirtha Lake in Vedaraniam.

Appakutty Somasundaram Thayumanaswamy Pillai passed away on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6:00 PM in Chengal Pattu, Tamil Nadu, India surrounded by all his children, just four days after his second wife passed away. The cremation with full Hindu religious rites was held on Friday, April 19, 2013 at 6:00 PM in Vedaraniam, his ancestral town, as per his wishes and his ashes were disbursed in Bay of Bengal. The tenth and eleventh day Hindu religious rites were held together with his beloved wife’s on Saturday and Sunday April 27 and 28, 2013 in the ancestral home and at Vedamirtha Lake in Vedaraniam.

Uttrakiriyai-Pathrikkai-Web

He is survived by two sons Somasundaram (Gnanabhanu) of Tallahassee, FL, USAand Thiyagarajan (Anita) of Chengal Pattu;three daughters Swarnambal (Rathnakumar) of Tambaram, Thillaikkarasi (Shanmugavelu) of Trichy, and Ambika (Vijaay) of Thanjavur all in Tamil Nadu, India; eight grandchildren Gayathri (Sri Ram) of Tambaram, Niveditha and Muthu Kumaran of Trichy, Vivek Thayumanam of Tallahassee, FL, USA, Vidhushini and Arjun Thaimanam of Chengal Pattu, and Sibi Kiran and RishiHrithik of Thanjavur; and one great grandson Abhay Krishna of Tambaram.

Kannir-Anjali-Web

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Appa passes away

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

Appa passes away

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India; 6:00 PM

விஜய வருடம், சித்திரை மாதம் 5- ஆம் தேதி, வியாழக் கிழமை மாலை 6 மணி

Appa

Appakutty Somasundaram Thayumanaswamy Pillai

Appakutty Somasundaram Thayumanaswamy Pillai (aka AST and Thayumanam) was born in Vedaraniam, Madras Presidency, India on Wednesday, December 8, 1926 as the third child of Appakutty SomasundaramPillai and Thillai Kannu Aachi belonging to the Saiva Vellalarsect. He grew up with three sisters and was well liked both by hisparents, sisters, and cousin. He completed eighth grade in the local middle school and went to Nannilam to complete his high school. After completing his high school, he returned to Vedaraniam to take care of the family businesses of salt production and tobacco farming.

In 1952, Thayumanammarried Kuppuswamy Pattammal of Velukudi. They both had two beautiful children, Swarnambal in 1954 and Somasundaram in 1959. Following his father’s death in 1956, he became the sole owner of the family business of salt production and ran it successfully until early 1990s. Despite his tireless efforts to find a cure and medicine for a heart ailment that afflicted his beloved first wifePattammal, in April 1965 he lost her.

ஓn September 8, 1965, he married Vedanayagam Rajalakshmi from Thirupayathan Gudi. They both had three wonderful children, Thiyagarajan in 1966, Thillaikkarasi in 1968,and Ambika in 1976. Even though he was only a high-school graduate from rural India, AST foresaw the importance of education and spent his life time and money in educating all his children. All of them went to on complete college and became educators and business owners.

AST was a courageous person never letting difficulties in his life impede with the goals he has set for himself and his children. He was a problemsolver, a pacifist, and a great organizer. He was the General Secretary for Salt Merchants Association for over a decade and foresaw expansion of salt production and distribution through Indian Railways. He was a patron of Hindu religion, donating money, time, and land to several religious activities and ceremonies. He gave free books to children from low-income households and took personal care of all his employees.

Appakutty Somasundaram Thayumanaswamy Pillai passed away on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6:00 PM in Chengal Pattu, Tamil Nadu, India surrounded by all his children, just four days after his second wife passed away.

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Amma Passes away

Sunday, April 14th, 2013

Amma Passes away

Tamil New Year Morning

Sunday, April 14, 2013, 9 AM

விஜய வருடம், சித்திரை மாதம் 1- ஆம் தேதி, ஞாயிற்று கிழமை காலை 9 மணி

Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India

Amma

Thayumanaswamy Rajalakshmi Aachi

Thayumanaswamy Rajalakshmi (aka Bhooma) was born in Thirupayanthan Gudi, Madras Presidency, India on Wednesday, January 8, 1941 as the third child of T. S. Vedanayagam Pillai and Seetha Lakshmy Ammal. She grew up in the farming village with several of her brothers and sisters and was well liked both by her parents and siblings. She completed eighth grade in the local middle school and was a studious student. Bhooma’s father was a farmer and her mother maintained a household with nine children where Bhooma took up the responsibility of being a big sister to many of her younger siblings.

On September 8, 1965, she married Appakutty Somasundaram Thayumanaswamy Pillai of Vedaraniam and moved to Vedaraniam (aka Thirumarai Kadu). There she had a dual role of a wife and a step mother to young children, Swarnambal and Somasundaram. Bhooma excelled in both by showering affection to the newly motherless children and a wife who needed to run a larger household by herself. Bhooma also took care of her mother-in-law until latter’s death in 1968. She gave birth to three wonderful children Thiyagarajan in 1966, Thillaikkarasi in 1968 and Ambika in 1976.Until her death,she took care of herself and her beloved husband even as his health was failing. She was an excellent cook and a pious person following the Hindu religious customs and worship. She was a great role model to all her children and never complained about anything.

Thayumanaswamy Rajalakshmi passed away on Tamil New Year’s day on Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 9:00 AM in Chengal Pattu, Tamil Nadu, India on the lap of her son, Thiyagarajan.

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First day at work

Friday, March 1st, 2013

First day at work

March 1

Winter in bay city

After several sleepless hours and after picking up a coffee in the early morning hours I cam to work. My boss would introduce me to almost everyone in the department.

What? How long it has been  already?

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Travel into the Bay city

Thursday, February 28th, 2013

Travel into the Bay city

Feb 28th

Winter

I traveled in winter to the city on the bay. The snow was on the ground, one of my lab colleagues came to pick me up at the airport. It was so different. Time flies

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Attend Koto Concert

Saturday, November 3rd, 2012

Attend Koto Concert

Saturday, November 03, 2012

Tallahassee, FL 32306

We attended the koto concert today.

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Change Citizen Watch Battery

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

citizenwatch-01.jpg

Change Citizen Watch Battery

August 01, 2012

My Citizen Quartz watch battery became weak and the watch kept loosing time. Usually I take it the local mall or retailers to change the watch battery. Recently, they either stopped doing it at the local shops or charge anywhere between $15 to $17 to do it. It would make sense to get it done locally if the value of the watch was significant, say several hundred dollars. However, my citizen watch was around $75 when I bought it several years ago and it is in good condition and this is the second time I am needing a battery.

So I decided to do it by myself with help of my friendly carpenter. He showed how easy it is to pop open the back lid (it doesn’t have the notch nor needed the speciality wrench to open it).

The battery inside was made by Maxell and model was SR920SW (1.55V Silver Oxide). The equivalent was Energizer 371 or Duracell D371. I bought Energizer 371 at local Walgreens for $4.99. My friend put the battery in the springed compartment and closed the lid (it was bit hard since the lid had to be closed with equivalent pressure from all sides.

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Boys State Appreciation Dinner

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Boys & Girls State Appreciation Dinner

American Legion Post 13

229, Lake Ella Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32308

Thursday, July 26, 2012 7 PM

Today evening we went to the Boys and Girls State Appreciation Dinner at the American Legion (Sauls-Bridges) Post Number 13 at 229, Lake Ella Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32308. There was a large gathering of veterns, their families, friends, and neighbors at the dinner. The appreciation dinner was arranged by the American Legion Post itself in addition to they sponsoring the Boys State (8 candidates this year) and the auxiliary sponsoring Girls State (3 candidates this year).

It was a honor to be present among people who defend the nation. Commander of the Post welcomed everyone spoke of those who couldn’t be present on the day POW and MIA. Then he and invited guests and others to eat first. Following the dinner he welcomed the Girls State Chairwoman and Boys State Chairman to introduce the candidates.

VTS spoke briefly. He thanked the post for sponsoring him and told them how beneficial the experience was for him and how he was humbled to serve as a member of Boys State House of Representative.

We then learned about other scholarship possibilites and mingled with veterns and friend before heading home around 9 PM.

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Fourth of July Clean-up

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

Fourth of July Clean-up

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Tallahassee, FL

This year the Fourth of July celebration came during mid week. Therefore, we didn’t travel much. We hoisted the US flag in the morning and did some yard work. Then VTS and I started to clean our cars. We sprayed water using the garden hose and then put the special detergent on the car’s exterior.

We then cleaned our cars with two special brushes one car at a time. Sometime VTS was brushing the cars and while I was washing and vice versa. By the time the cars were cleaned it was already 11 AM. I had already cleaned the front porch. So we went inside the house and cleaned two rooms.

Later in the evening we went our friends’ for dinner. There Bhanu had mehendi drawing done on her left hand. We drove back home around 8 PM and were joined by our neighbors for our traditional fireworks. The kids did some usual fireworks like sparklers, flower pots and smoke bombs.

Then at 9:45 PM  we went our neighbors’ front yard to watch the City of Tallahassee’s fireworks from Tom Brown Park. It started at 9:50 PM and lasted until 10:10 PM.

We cleaned our front yard and went to bed by 11:15 PM

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Tamil Lessons (Vowels and Consonants)

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

Tamil Lessons   தமிழ் பாட ங்கள்

Tamil Vowels and Consonants Lessons

Tallahassee, FL 32317

May 24, 2012

I have spent few hours and made some simple Tamil Lessons on vowels and consonants and added them to my Tamil website: tamil.somasundaram.us/tamil_lessons.html and  to tlh-tamilsangam.somasundaram.us

The lessons cover Tamil vowels and consonants and are meant to be simple tools for parents of Tamil loving people whose children are born in places where Tamil is not routinely taught. The lessons are both in English and Tamil. The parents or those interested in learning Tamil language can use them to teach others or learn Tamil themselves. I will continue to add more lessons whenever I find time to do. Please contact me if you find it useful.

In  Tamil Lessons 01 and o2 we will learn the vowels.   In  Tamil Lessons 03 and o4 we will learn the consonants.  I will introduced all thirteen (13) of the vowels and eighteen (18) consonants in the lessons with columns for the Tamil vowel letter, its English pronunciation, the Tamil word, the same word transliterated in English, word equivalent in English, and a picture of the word. My intention is to make it easier for parents of Tamil loving people to give a resource to teach Tamil to their children. If you find this useful, please contact me at: mail@somasundaram.us. I will continue to add more lessons when I have time. Please let me know its usefulness and give your suggestions. Please feel free to use it, but contact and let me know that you are using it. I want to know whether my efforts have an impact. Thanks.

இந்த முதல் பாடத்தில் தமிழ் உயிரெழுத்துக்களை படிக்கலாம். தமிழ் உயிரெழுத்துக்கள் பதிமுன்று (13). அவையனைத்தையும் இந்த பக்கம் தொடங்கி இன்னும் இரண்டு பக்கங்களில் பார்க்கலாம். உயிரெழுத்து, அதன் ஆங்கில உச்சரிப்பு, தமிழ் வார்த்தை, வார்த்தையின் ஆங்கில உச்சரிப்பு, ஆங்கில மொழிபெயர்ப்பு, வார்த்தையின் படம். இந்த பாடங்கள் உதவியாக இருந்தால் தயவு செய்து என்னை தொடர்பு கொள்ளவும்.

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