Her Life is Her Message

This is the story of how Ma’am became my Mem, our Mem.  It was June of 1993, the new Principal of Lady Doak College addressed us at the first Faculty Meeting of the year. She walked into the J X Miller auditorium, a slim, straight-back, sassy and spirited lady, tall and tastefully attired in a simple cotton sari, her hair put up in a top knot. “I am Prema Michael, your new Principal” she began in a soft yet stern and kind of high decibel voice, her entry point into the life of the college. I had never heard of her before I saw her that day, but here was Dr. Prema Michael, to stay, for as short a period as three years, and steer Lady Doak to greater heights in its remarkable trajectory since it was established in 1948.

 

Dr. Prema Michael spent a couple of weeks meeting us in our respective departments to get to know us and acquaint herself with the functioning of the departments. My first meeting with her ended in a disaster, or so I thought. But very soon I learned that this woman of substance had her eyes set on one thing: raising the bar for the college in general, and for all of us – students, teaching and non-teaching staff – in particular. Students and staff could meet her anytime she was in the office to share or discuss matters. That approach made decision making/taking easy and time-frame friendly.

 

When during our monthly Faculty Meeting (at LDC everything pertaining to the college is always discussed with the faculty and then carried out) Dr. Michael expressed the need to lop off some of the lower branches of the trees on campus so as to “crown raise” (make the tree’s canopy higher) them, the idea faced dissent from the floor. But when she eloquently explained the significance of the “method in her madness”, the need to raise the green canopy, all of us understood and came around. It was Dr. Prema Michael who introduced the carnival spirit of fundraising for the college which saw everyone working together as one towards the cause of the college. Peace and prosperity continued to flourish in every dimension of the college.

   

 

And all this was almost three decades ago. I was too much in awe of Dr. Prema Michael to even remotely consider keeping in touch, though I always hoped to. It was sometime a couple of years back, at a memorial service, that I was able to get Dr. Michael’s email address through my friend, Dr.Jessie, the current Chaplain of the college. This started one of the most beautiful and meaningful phases in my life, when (Dr. Prema Michael) Ma’am became my ‘Mem’ too! Interestingly, the moniker, ‘Mem’, finds its origin in her small sons, Tim and Vasanth’s abbreviation of Prema (minus the ‘a’). Melwin and I had the opportunity of meeting them at their Dad’s memorial service, and later, at home with their families, every one of them radiating God’s goodness, greatness and glory in and through their highly successful, purpose-filled lives.

 

As far as Mem goes, age is just a number. The love, joy and agility she exudes belies her octogenarian status (says that she has long made peace with her pains and aches). “Felicity”, Mem’s beautiful home presents a picture of perfect peace no sooner than we step into her pretty, petite, portico surrounded by pulsating potted plants, Mem’s ‘Porch Perch’ in the evenings that finds her snuggled into her basket chair, nose in her favourite book! That Mem loves books is an understatement, for she revisits books she’s read ages ago with the same interest and excitement that held her spellbound the first time round. My best friend, Melwin and I have been the recipient of Mem’s elaborate and sumptuous lunches and dinners that she happily cooked herself, with some help from her Man Friday, Sekar. Add great conversations to the meals and you’ve got yourself a day to remember! That’s what’s it’s like every time we visit Mem! She’d regale us with amusing anecdotes from her life. As a brat of five, with a mind of her own, she decided to leave the school she was in simply because she didn’t like it. But thanks to a kutty herd of buffalos she espied sauntering on the road, little Prema ran back to school as fast as her chubby legs could carry her! She was mortally scared of these docile beasts! I guess we are indebted to this herd for herding little Prema back to school, thereby ensuring her fascinating, multi-faceted future that has many of us in it too! Mem recalls with affection the many beautiful people God brought into their lives when her husband, Rev.Dr. George Michael served as the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the North Eastern Hill University. Her life at the laboratory and the people she met in Holland where she was pursuing her doctoral degree, a recipe she tried out for the guests that turned terrible-tasting, to her unceremonious skidding down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom, but none the worse for the acrobatic feat, are stories that make one laugh out loud! Definitely God’s chosen one, our Mem! 

 

Losing her beloved husband, Rev.Dr.George Michael, her dear sister, Mahima, and her dear friend, Amritha, in quick succession, is a cross not easy to carry, but our Mem continues to smile through her grief; her home, like her loving heart,  wide open, warm and welcoming. Mem always gives credit where it is due, be it her house help, Sekar, her auto drivers, Prabhu and Sudhakar, and her dear friend, Lilliya who lives right across, Mem’s grateful and thankful heart brims over when she speaks of these and the many other lovely people who light up her every day! Mem’s life shines the light on acknowledging the good in others, and around us. Her super prompt replies, my Treasure Trove, are a powerful and profound fount of love and laughter, wisdom and understanding, respect and reverence for all life. My darling sweetheart Mem’s life is an embodiment of this amazing Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Truly, this living legend’s life is her message.