Chandran's mother-

M.Chandran is an Irula from Keelkoop village, who is also a colleague. When I first joined the team I used to spend a lot of time in Keelkoop doing up the conservatory, experimenting with seeds, measuring the forests, identifying trees, bee and bird watching.. Chandran's mother was one of the first elders who took me around the village sharing her world view on plants, nutrition and traditional knowledge. I still remember the day she took me out to gather Pheonix leaves. She realised I have a jeep at my disposal and thought it would be a great opportunity to go harvest from Ariyur slopes, where she hadn't been for a long time. We scaled the slopes to get to the top where the plants were growing. I sat, watched, made notes, took pictures while she and her daughter Kanaga labored away. What I remember most was that she was done with her bundle of leaves by 2pm and came up and sat with me and talked away while Kanaga labored on. I was hoping we could both help Kanaga with her harvest so that we could leave the place early, but she was very clear that each one just had to do their bit and that's how this system works. She wasn't going to do my research and I wasn't going to do her harvesting! I did not argue and just waited. I met Chandran's mother after many years recently, she has aged and the lines on her face have grown deeper. She still called me by a nick name she has for me and then told me how she wasn't able to see well these days. I offered her my glasses in jest and she was all game to try it on.