“Idlis To Ipads” by Nirmala Ramaswamy

I had the chance to read this delightful book called, “Idlis to Ipads” recently. The author, Nirmala Ramaswamy very aptly sums up what the book is about when she gave it the by line, ” Tales of a lifetime.” The book is published by Nirmala Publications and the copy I have is priced at Rs. 120 making it a total value for money proposition. In fact, I would urge you to  order copies directly from her by writing to : nirmala200a@gmail.com

Nirmala begins with an introduction to the book, ” Women in my generation were caught in between tradition and emerging modernity.” Her story, not untypical of many in the middle class of India of those times, is that of a young bride from a family steeped in traditional values who begins her life as the wife of an Indian Air Force officer. She writes of the challenges she faced when setting up a new home, of wading into the new role of wife and member of a new family and later on as a young mother of two energetic boys. She closes with thoughts of her current life as a grandmother who is taught the intricacies of the net and modern technological gizmos by her grandchildren.

I will not spoil your reading pleasure by telling you some of the stories in the book. They are largely anecdotal and autobiographic in nature.

I was so pleased with the book that I had to reach out to her and tell her how I felt about her book. This is what I wrote to her:

” Dear Mrs. Ramaswamy,

Ever since I read your book, ” Idlis to Ipads” I have been meaning to write to you. Congratulations! May I say it was a delightful book? You have captured the atmosphere and issues of the times you write about so very effectively. Those of us who have experienced the Madras milieu will appreciate the nuances even more than others. You have written so well about the travails that most middle class families in the India of those times went through.

I liked the honesty, the modesty and the subtle sense of humour. I thought the only drawback was a tendency at times to be more self-deprecating than strictly necessary.

I look forward to more books from you.

With warm regards,

Prem Rao”