From the memoir: How religious orthodoxy and poverty shaped freedom fighter TSS Rajan’s childhood

“The owner of this pattani (roasted green gram) shop doesn’t have an iota of mercy”, was my conclusion. Every year, the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival was held in Srirangam for 20 days. The crowds were humongous. Business was brisk in the shops. What profit could anyone earn from selling roasted green gram? I wouldn’t know. There were many kinds of measures: from tiny round padis of half a finger’s length and a finger’s width to pattanam padis with the volume of around a litre. Sale was made according to what the buyer could afford. The turnover was never more than a rupee. Most people bought roasted gram for copper coins and small change. A thatched shed was erected next to the white tower entrance of the temple. Inside, the shopkeepers mixed turmeric powder with the green grams to make them yellow, roasted them on a wood stove and piled the pattanis in heaps for sale.

When they were poured on fine, burning hot sand and roasted, why did raw peas acquire such a heavenly fragrance? Was it meant to captivate me as I sat idly on the front pyol of Ahobila Matam with no money in my pocket? When that fragrance was in...

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