Mother like cousin we all loved From her behavior and looks you can conjure her pedigree. Her maternal grandfather Suppar Ponniah was a famous village headman who hailed from Manipay and related to the founders of Victoria college in Jaffna and her paternal grandfather Ramasethu another village headman who too hailed from an elite family in Jaffna. History will record that Rathinam acca was a humble, kind, beautiful and calm soul whose God- like qualities can’t be imitated, I don’t conjure that she would have ever raised her voice against any one and that’s why the village , children, grandchildren , friends and neighbours are all shattered by the death of this great soul. I never had the privilege of seeing her mum, my Periamma, because she died when I was two years old and Rathinama acca would have been fifteen years old, from that age she started playing the role of the mother in fact her younger siblings treat her like her mum even now, thus the pain is visible and unbearable. Like her mother she too was born with the boon to make others happy in their presence and touch and they both treated others with respect and kindness. Her horse riding maternal great grandmother’s wealth not only made a name in Malaham but also to the villages in Mannar which made her brand name even bigger and made RATHIANM ACCA stand tall. When anybody dies you cry and utter good words but when an exceptional person like Rathinama acca dies your soul starts to bleed and life becomes hollow, and meaningless. I am very certain that I will never see anyone like her in my lifetime, such a wonderful human being who is loved by so many. With love Nirmal