Born : 22 Aug 1922 Demise: 12 March 2013
Annalakshmy Mathiaparanam
is the second in the family of seven children of the late Dr &
Mrs Kandar Kiramathipathy of Urumprai and
Sivapackiam Kailasam of Chandilipay, Jaffna, Srilanka. She was born on
22 August 1922 in the Colony of Singapore. She was born into a family
that belonged to the era of pioneers proliferating the input of thamil
culture in the Far East highlighting the profuse contribution in areas
of medicine, science, leadership, education and administration, sport,
politics and religion. In this context, her father displayed prominence
in pioneering the foundation of thamil culture in all its facets in
Singapore. With his sister’s husband they founded the Lanka League-first
of its kind outside Ceylon. In this fertile rich and potent soil did
she find her beginnings and nurture. She lived with her parents in
Singapore and commenced her education in the Christian mission Methodist
Girl's School. In pursuit of further culture, religion and arts she
travelled to Ceylon at 16 years of age with her parents and remained
there with her two sisters and mother to continue her studies.
Thereafter, she developed a resilient life style through the
vicissitudes of life in Sri-lanka.
She was
educated at Ramanathan College in Maruthanamadam. She married
Saravanamuttu Kandiah Mathiaparanam in 1953. She learnt veena and became
a secondary school teacher in English and Arts & Crafts. She taught
at Chulipuram Victoria College for about 20 years and a short period at
Parameswara College and took early retirement when she moved to 363
Navalar Road in Nallur for their only child Ravichandhira's education at
St John's College. She spent some time in London with her husband and
son in early 1980s. Her school community nostalgically remembers her for
her leadership in school extra mural actives. She displayed in her the
heritage acquired from her mother's excellence in the skills of art and
design. Her immaculate disposition in her neatness was a hallmark in her
life style possibly inherited from her father's surgical excellence.
Her handy work, keenly sought after to date adorns her home and abroad.
She emigrated with her
husband to Australia in 1986 and lived in Sydney until 2000. During this
time, she utilized her gifts in area of education of migrant children
teaching English and undertook child care. She set roots in the Sydney
community merging with the senior citizens, in Sai activities and with
valued relationships with family links of homeland now resident in
Sydney.
They built an extension to
their son's property in Glen Waverley in Melbourne and moved to
Melbourne on 5 May 2000. After the demise of her husband Mathiaparanam
in 2003, she continued to live with her only child, Ravichandhira OAM,
daughter-in-law Narmatha and her two grandsons Sai-Nivaeithan (19-year
old now) and Sai-sarangan (17-year old now). She has been a caring and
loving grandmother for them and attended a number of their primary and
secondary school functions and activities at the Caulfield Grammar
School at Wheeler's Hill Campus in Melbourne. She continued her active
membership with her Sai-community and made several visits to Prashanthi
Nilayam. She practiced her life without guile and generous giving of her
substance energised by her reconciliatory disposition. She graced every
event in the outstanding progress of her family's musical prowess in
fine arts and thamil culture.
Her siblings are late Dr
Paramathipathy of Singapore, Vijayalakshmy Shanmugasundaram of London,
late Mylvaganam of Canada, late Poopalan of Singapore, Rev Jambunathan
of Klang (Malaysia) and Gunalakshmy Kathirgamathamby of London.
She lived with her son and
daughter-in-law for 13 years since she moved to Melbourne. During her
brief illnesses, she has been in transitional care for convalescence.
During such times, she was periodically been visited by her two sisters
from London and her brother from Klang, Malaysia, Dr Malathy Sivakumar,
Rohini, Siva & Dr Rahuram of Sydney, to mention a few. She
celebrated her 90th birthday in August 2012 with her close family,
friends and former students of Victoria College, Jaffna. Following her
recent fall, she was put on splint and confined to bed for about 6
weeks. During this time, she contracted hospital acquired bug and
pneumonia. Unfortunately, she could not recover from this illness and
passed away peacefully on 12 March 2013 in the presence of her son,
daughter in law and her former student.
At her persistent request
to be brought home, was best fulfilled with the viewing, tributes and
prayers by her close family friends and close relatives from abroad and
local was held at her residence located at 39 Chivalry Avenue, Glen
Waverley from 1 pm to 3 pm on 14th March. The cremation took place on
the same day at 4:30pm at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery.
The Tamil Senior Citizens’ Association and the Benevolent Society deeply grieve the passing of Srimathi Annalakshmy Mathiaparanam and pray that her soul rests in peace.
Her exuberant fragrance continues with us all as she remains in Moksha. .
From
Ravi, Narmatha and children
Tel: +61411321556
Email: ravi.narmatha@gmail.com