My greatest pride and possession is my family which includes Kamatams and Perejis .Apart from my parents,both maternal and paternal grand parents,uncles and aunts loved me and my three brothers Samson David,Christopher David and Wellington David very dearly,supported us in times of need,checked,corrected,counselled and conditioned us in the right way and raised us with good values.We imbibed many qualities like humility,empathy,sympathy,generosity,simplicity and the like from their way of life.Whatever we are today is the result of their influence over our lives.I thank God for the gift of such a loving family.

When I recall some anecdotes narrated to us by our grand mother Mariamma,my mother Rathnamma,my aunts Karunamma and Santhosham(The Kamatam girls)that is how my Dad and I used to refer to them jovially,two words come to my mind.They are Sacrifice and Responsibility.My thatha and mama sacrificed their opportunities and stayed back in the village and encouraged and supported their siblings to go to nearby towns and hostels to pursue their education.They took up the responsibility of the family being Widowers which in itself is a great challenge. The most applaudable thing is that,they ventured to send girls from the family to pursue studies in those days ,against the then prevailing social norms.It is because of this sacrifice that we enjoyed and still reap the benefits of having an educated mother!Thank you thatha and mama.

Manikyam mama was a diligent,intelligent,industrious,humerous,witty,very straight forward yet a simple man.He could start a conversation with anybody irrespective of age,position and status.He was good at debating on various topics which include indigenous medicine,philosophy of daily life and politics.We used to call him,Ethirajarao(a local MLA) and my younger daughter would call him lovingly as Thorri thatha.

Samson anna and Chittanna had the privilege to visit Kothapalli more often and enjoy the fresh produce of the Ancestral land and the village scenery but me and my younger brother had the benefit of enjoying their stories.

Mama, truly you are,MATTILO MANIKYAM ! Your simple way of life enriched with great values,deserves this title.Mama,you will remain in our hearts and thoughts,ever smiling.Rest in eternal peace till we meet again.

Kodalamma.

My memories of mama are very vivid. He always wore a smile. He was a regular visitor to our home and would always come with a bag full of seasonal stuff. He would engage us with discussions ranging from what we studied to what we would become,with many interruptions of hearty laughter, unique to himself.

His trips used to be quite lengthy covering all his siblings and a host of relatives in Hyderabad.He connected with all age groups. 
He was very intelligent and was always seen/heard driving home his point very strongly.

He was very loving and shared something or the other with me. 

He visited my mother(his eldest sister) when she fell sick in 2019 and spent a couple of days with us. I realised he was slowly losing his memory. 

I had an opportunity to meet him in January 2021 at Nirmal. As usual he recieved me with a smile.

He took me to be my Dad and addressed me as Bava,when my folks (Gnani and Vijaya laxmi) asked him as to who I was.

Life moves on, Sweet memories remain of our loved Uncles and Aunties. 

Praise God for each one of their lives who touched our lives! 

RIP Manikyam Mama!