At 102, Sreemathi Nair, a Kilpauk resident, is an inspiration for the people around her. It is only recently she started using the walker. She likes to talk about the path – a very long one at that – that she has traversed. As she speaks impeccable English, it’s a pleasure listening to her. She has her family’s history at her finger tips. “Good eating habits and healthy lifestyle is the secret,” she says as she shows her family photo album. The latest set of photos is her 100th birthday celebration where the entire family and close friends had assembled.
Through all the changes she has seen around her, she vividly remembers the time she had to stay in different metros as her husband’s government job would require him to move from city to city. Born in 1912 in Guruvaiyur, Sreemathi studied till Class IV and got married at 17. She says it was her husband P.D. Nair who inspired her to be more than just a housewife. She has four children.
Nair was the first director of agriculture of Independent India. “We spent a lot of time in the Central Province where he served. ( Central Provinces and Berar province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1936 to 1950. It covered much of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur.) I was in Nagpur for a while, where he was posted. He encouraged me to learn veena. In those days, it was very difficult to find a Carnatic music teacher there. I used to read books, shipped from Chennai,” she says.
After Independence, the wives of government employees were responsible for many social activities. “I was part of a group that went to hospitals and offered services.” She also loves gardening and her knitting designs are popular.
