Paati Puts Purpose On A Plate

"GOOD morning! Inniki henga paal rasam eppidi annarudhu nu kaam-chi tharen (Today I will show you how to prepare thenga paal rasam)," announces the frail voice of 89-year-old, Bengaluru-based Saraswathy Narayanaswamy,

- RAMAR

GOOD morning! Inniki henga paal rasam eppidi annarudhu nu kaam-chi tharen (Today I will show you how to prepare thenga paal rasam)," announces the frail voice of 89-year-old, Bengaluru-based Saraswathy Narayanaswamy, on her Instagram page, @heiyerpaati. Draped in enviable South cotton, wearing a simple gold chain around her neck, and sporting a small black bindi topped with a vibhuti, Saraswathy projects a kind of disposition that's rare to find among her contemporaries.

Her warmth-filled voice, spirited demeanour, and granny-ass reveal that she's ready to take on age-related matters with audacity and assert her presence on social media. All with an intent and grace to share what she loves—recipes that warm the tummy and the heart.

Saraswathy paati, as she is fondly known among her followers, is the ninth of the 16 children born to her parents. Her twin sister passed away six months after birth, and her mother, when paati was 11. With her father not keen to hire a cook for this large family in Kozhikode, paati who found motherly love in her maternal aunt, had to pick up the ladles as a little girl.

"My chitti (maternal aunt) didn't particularly teach us cooking but I learned by observation and inquiry. I watched her make sambar, rasam, molagutal, erissery, mor kozhambu, and vettal kozhambu, etc. But she did teach me to make sweets," she shares.

Not just cooking, paati attributes her learnings of kitchen etiquettes too to her chitti. A clean towel tied around the waist while cooking and a different cloth to wipe hands were habits she adopted from her aunt.

"Mysore pak first-class aa pannuven (I make Mysore pak really well)," she adds with a coy smile.