Wednesday, May 18, 2005

" Ambi Mama is leading Brahmin relative" - Survey

A survey has revealed that ‘Ambi Mama' is the leading relative among Tamil Brahmin families worldwide, with six in ten families having one of their own (a 60% repsesentation. Apparently, Ambi Mama held off stiff competition from Mani Mama (with 55% representation) and Baby Chitti (39%) for a well-deserved win.

“It's a great day for all Ambi Mamas. All the years of hard work – drinking coffee, criticizing the Indian team selection and complaining about blood-pressure – have finally paid off. Yay!”, said Ambi Mama, a spokesman for the Ambi Mamas Association of Dear Old Rascals (AMBASSADOR), a division of the Hardcore Brahmin Organisation (HBO). [Editor's note – The previous sentence has been roundly condemned by the Society for Prevention of Abbreviations that are Needless, Dumb and Execrable (SPANDEX)]








Some of the stalwarts of the Ambi Mama team pose for a photographer, after blading him with outdated advice on the best cameras, film, and lighting.
Mani Mamas all over the world watched in anguish as the final results were announced, plunging them into gloom. “It's no fun being a Mani Mama anymore”, said Mani Mama. “ Maybe if I change my name to ‘Ramesh Anna', I will have a brighter future”, he pondered pointlessly.

The survey also said that a respectable number of families (or a number of respectable families, as the case may be), have a Vaidhi Thatha, Bangalore Anna, and at least one random guy named ‘Chandroo' who is at all functions, but no-one can really place (and may not be related at all).

Predictably, bringing up the rear were non-entities like Driscoll Periappa, Jessica Alba Anni and Darth Vader Mama, which had zero representation. “Brahmins are way too conservative, dude!”, complained Cleveland Shankar, one of the more modern Iyer boys (or boyz, if you prefer. We offer multiple-choice reading. You're welcome.). “When are they going to drop old duds like Venkatakrishnan, Suresh and Balaji, and start using hipper names like Jason, Beyonce and The Human Torch?”, he asked, to wide applause from a group of people watching cricket on a nearby television.

Not all are happy with progress, however. “These youngsters are ruining everything by naming their children Archish, Dhruv and Plaha.”, thundered Badri Athimber. “ Can you imagine how it will sound? Dhruv Mama, Anamika Athai, Archish Chittappa – Ugh! Phooey! That is so not cool!!”, he growled, using expressions of disgust picked up from his states-based co-brother.

When asked for their response, several Brahmins living in Adyar merely arched their eyebrows, pursed their lips, and continued waiting for the December music season.

268 comments:

1 – 200 of 268   Newer›   Newest»
Anonymous said...

Freakin' hilarious

Keep 'em coming!

Anoopa Anand said...

Most excellently outstanding. I have a Seshadri Mama who was also called Parthasarathy Mama. For the longest time, I thought I had two alarmingly identical wart-endowed mamas. His wife was called Seshadri/Parthasarathy Mami. Pity. Kamala is such a pretty name. Though the Mama solved all problems by calling her nothing besides 'ey' in their 232 years of scintillating, eventful marriage.

Anonymous said...

What a!! truly...
I know of a Bhooma mama as he is the virtuous husband of a Bhooma mami. Pray..do throw light upon the Bathma mamis too...they feel left out otherwise.
YoungBinth

anantha said...

hmmm... thats all i can say.. I am stuck and I think i am going mute.. whatever that means...am blogrolling u guys...

Anand Ramachandran said...

Deep thanks for all your comments.

Anti - hmmmmm . . . is that a good thing or a bad thing? ;) A tip of the hat.

Bathma Mami are languishing in 29th position, between Shekhar Chitappa and Suri Mami.

Anonymous said...

Hey.. cheenu mama va vittutele!!!

Anand Ramachandran said...

Cheenu Mama (sometimes mistakenly referred to as Cheenu Chittappa) !! Rough!!!!

A temporary slump in form, perhaps?

Ambuli mami said...

What happened to the Kitcha periappa? or kitcha athimbar? (whichever applicable)

Anonymous said...

A fine of exposé of the nomenclatural plight of Tamil Brahmins. Some of my own relatives: chandra aththai and her husband chandru mama, meera chiththi, vasu chiththappa, I also have a distant relative called 'baby maami' (I'm not a Tamilian).

Wonder what happened to Raghu mama/chiththappa/whatever?

Su said...

Anand ,

You have no idea how happy I am to see bosey.com again :-) This post was first sent to me by e-mail by my cousin who's father is called " ambi" in our family !!!!! When I say the word " he pondered pointlessly", I almost knew for certain that this had bosey traces in it ! I was having a long and dreary week and " ambi mama" made me laugh over and over again !

Your writing skills are excellent !

Thanks for making us laugh

ammani said...

ROFL!! Hilarious post. The photo is just too funny.
I know of an ambi mama and a baby athai. I know of a distant relative called Kutti. Her daughter was called Kuzhandai. And she named her child Pappa!:))

Krish said...

I too know of an ambi maama, mani maama, baby chitti and I was like wondering, whose family are you writing about!ROTFL...very good!

Harish Kumar said...

Reached this page through India Uncut.
Awesome.
Linking you guys on my blog...

Jagadish said...

Brought a smile on a Monday morning. I don't have a direct "Ambi mama" or "Mani mama", but they do exist in the family :)

Anonymous said...

OMG! Mani Mama, Chandru, Ramesh Anna... we have them all in my family. But my clear favourite is baby chitti esp when she is hurriedly addressed as Babe-Chitti.

Krish said...

You forgot "Thambu" chiththappa. Hilarious! (you do have company) :-)

Anonymous said...

thought u were talking about my family!! that was awesome! the most famous mama in our family is koma mami's husband koma mama!

Anonymous said...

awesome! great laugh. You have to tell us where "thambu" fell in the rankings. I have atleast three "5 thambus" in my family....

Anonymous said...

Makkale,

What about

1. Abbreviated titles
(ASR mama for A.S Ramachandran)

2. City-based titles (Besant Nagar Athimber)

3. Behavioral titles like Nila thatha? (my granpa was called so because he wore a nila-shaped sandhana pottu all the time)..

This is a cool blog. AnTi, dog, ur everywhere.

ET.

Samanth Subramanian / Baradwaj Rangan said...

Oh my god, so funny! I died laughing!! And then promptly forwarded the link to all the Tam-Brahms I know. :-)

Anonymous said...

Curse you! Made me waste an hour of work-time.

By the way, how did Pattu Akka fare?

Anonymous said...

What about the mandatory "Kittu Mama" who is present in every clan??

Anonymous said...

hilarious and bang on, though i belong to the unfortunate family with no ambi mama to show for:(. lots of kannans, sekars and ramus though. completely agree with place based relatives - have grown up quite scared of my thanjavur attai and trichy attai, while the chrompet chitti paati and adayar chitti paati have been nice to me. am still trying to figure out their first names - i know there is a paruvadam and a jagada hidden somewhere in there....

Anonymous said...

Hysterical - great stuff! Thanks

Also providing company for Chandroo at many family functions are an assortment of of Bala's and Hari's

Mani Aiyer said...

ennappa, ippadi oru topic ezhudhi ore nyabaga padithitele. Wow what a funny one. naan ippavavathu mudhalle varalamnu ninaicha, ambi mundhindutele..

ennadha irundhalum ambi udayan padaikku anjalamo.. naan anjamattaen.

priyamulla
mani mama.

Shammi said...

Good GOD, my oldest uncle is called Ambi, and I have a Mani mama as well. Thank GOD no Baby Chitthi :D LOVELY post, nearly killed myself laughing :)

dondu(#11168674346665545885) said...

Well, nice post. I am Dondu maamaa / Dondu chiththappaa to my nephews and nieces depending on the lineage. My cousin Ambi cannot be ignored either. In my family there are Periyapichchais, Chinnapichchais, Vembus et al.

Regards,
N.Raghavan

Anonymous said...

Hilarious.I am in splits.Too good!!!

Anonymous said...

hey 2 gud!!i have a relative by name paiya perippa.
BTW wat abt nattu,kittu,ramani athimber or mama??

Ramya Nageswaran said...

dear anand, very funny post. It was forwarded by a friend of mine and I am glad she did it.

We have a friend who was travelling in a bus to Chennai and decided to get off the bus at Arakonam on an impulse to meet his mama. He knew the street name but not the house. He started asking people and they asked him mama's name. He said "Arakonam mama!!"

Anonymous said...

Wow...it so true and so funny...unbelievable thought to put together something that is so true among most brahmin families...I have an Ambi mama, Baby Chithi and Mani Perippa and knew they existed in my friend's families too...But never gave a thought about this generalisation among most families.

This is simply superb!!!

RV said...

I think the only name missing is "Paappa Periamma" - that should be the leading oxymoron for Brahmin families

Anonymous said...

Too good... I too have a MANI MAMA... where does Shankaran and Krishnan come in this list??

Anonymous said...

Too good! I too have one ambi mama & know one baby chitthi in my family. Dondu's comments were the best of all the comments posted.

Anonymous said...

i love this posting. i have a ambi mama who's name is ......(take a wild guess).........chandrooo.

Anonymous said...

I am 55 yrs. old and am a resident of Madras.(It is still Madras to me.) My Ambi Mama is unfortunately no more. We all still miss him. My brother is Mani mama to all nieces and nephews. My nephew -Mani's son- forwarded this to me.I regret that Mani mama lost out to Ambi Mama. You have missed out Kannan Mama!! A common name amidst T'veli clan.---Chinna Ambi, Periya Ambi, Nadu Ambi, Chinna Kanna. Periya Kanna et al!!!!! Any way this blog was enjoyed by everyone in my house. Thank you, Mithun!!!

Anonymous said...

the mamis are feeling left out about not being polled about..

Anonymous said...

Haha...that was hilarious...
Have bunch of Seshadri p.appas/chitappas....and Mythili chittis in my family also....:)

Anonymous said...

You really hit the NOH (nail on the head) , bringing to light the Ambi Mama Dynasties of the era !! I do think it is a pity that the glorious decades of the Koma mamis and Applacharis are coming to an end. The dull ages of the flippant and unfitting Samira (sam mamis ) Archana (Archie mamis) are ahead of us !!
We can certainly do with reminiscing the panache of the past !

Anonymous said...

This is hilarious, I have a ambi mama and heard a lot of the others. How abt Paapa perimma, kuzhandai anna, pahi kutti ??(trinelveli side uses kutti a lot )

Anand Ramachandran said...

Whoa!!!

Thanks you people for stopping by and commenting on my ridiculous nonsense. The encouragement is what keeps us going.

Now I have to start updating this thing again.

Damn.

Anonymous said...

Hilarious man..
Got the link from a frnd...really cool !!

Anonymous said...

It is hilarious and thank u for this.We have a manis( mama, chittappa, periappa, athimber in our family) I thimk Mani is more a common name than ambi, as the latter name changes once he gets older, but the former is permanent.

chandrasekhar said...

while ambi mama scores high,let us not forget the other contenders--- pichu atthai,chuppu patti,kandhi akka, vengacham thatha,papa chitthi, mookkandi mama-----tirunelveli flavour? poor priest's wife is always vadhyarathu mami -a permanent nom-de -plume making her own beautiful name sundaravalli into oblivion.

Anonymous said...

WOW...this is hilarious.how about work based relatives?..ashok leland chithapa...oracle chithi. state based like nebraska athai?.nice blog guys...fully as hell....sriram

Anonymous said...

Good one! Hilarious!! what happened to venguttu?

Anonymous said...

This was funny. Will forward this to Sarathy mama and Thothadhiri Athimber who calls the Indian Cricket team.... Badava Rascals.

Oka the irrepressible said...

Freaking hilarious !!!!!!

V said...

LOL !!

How about a 'Vaita mama' a "Cheena periappa' and a 'Meena paati' ?

Anonymous said...

This is hilarious! Kudos Anand! :) I have a Bachu mama and a Babu mama and ofcourse a naanu anna along with many others you have mentioned ... good laugh on a tuesday diwali morning! :)

Anonymous said...

Ha ha... awesomely hillarious..

Anonymous said...

Like Ambimama, How'bout Pattu Chitti, Chuppu ( Subhalakshmi) , Pichu, Echi ( Lakshmi ), But nobody beats AMBIMAMA. COOL!

Anonymous said...

Very Good reading.Got this from a fellow tamil IYER!
Well this was indeed very good as it relates to the names/people in every tamil IYER family.Infact in my family and friends circle i had/have Ambi mama's,Mani mama,Chinna Athai,Periya Athai,Mookandi Periappa,Papa Athai,Baby Mami,Chembur Mami,Kannadi Thatha(just 'coz he wore a kannadi;aka specs!)
OH Good lord...so many names...keep writing such notes as it keeps the Tamil IYER network on....

Anonymous said...

Excellent Rib Tickler - We have Mani Mamas, Ambi Thatha, Baby Aththai, Pappa Periamma et al. The best is Pappa mami whose mother is Papu mami. The best is Radha mama/athimber (short for Radhakrishnan).

Anonymous said...

LOL...excellent post. Every Tamilian (yours truly included) who has been out of Tamil Nadu has been unsuccessfully trying to fight this naming-challenge but when it comes time to name his/her own children, you hear the 'call-him/her-what-you-want-but-we-have-to-pay-respect-to-our-ancestors' line and voila! Emotional blackmail seems to win. And we all know the Tamilians' ability on that front - just watch any of their movies! I am a Tamilian too and I should know. And - in a meek voice - in my family, we have ALL the names in the top 30 of this list!! ROTFL at 'ey' as a term of endearment. The response surely was 'aenna'?

Anonymous said...

We have all the top three in our family... Hilarious man... keep 'em coming...

Raga said...

There is this name "Babu" too.
Which can be used for both gents and ladies! We have and "Aan" Babu (male) and "Pon" Babu (female) in our family!
Boy this post made me go on a name-thinking excursion in my family!

Anonymous said...

Genius!!! BUt i think Murthy Mama has to be there somewhere

A R K said...

Genius! But you cant leave out Murthy Mama!

HarishSrinivasan said...

Excellent, Got this from one of my collegue. I have Mani Mama, Papa chitti, Mani Mami:-), Kanna Mama,

Anonymous said...

I am not a Tamilian myself. But have loads of friends who are. This blog was hilarious! You are too good..:)

Raghavan said...

Often heard in close family circles (tamil brahmin; am sure applicable to all other groups too):

"U1 akka (elder sister) and U2 aththai (aunt) are twins".

They are really twins; just that one likes to be addressed as sister and the other as aunt.

Marrying first cousins/ uncles from mother's side is common too. All kinds of weird addressing happens because of that. Such as 'atthanga manni', 'Thambi Periyappa' etc. If I say hi to somebody in a family get-together I usually add, 'which one are you; my uncle, cousin or a nephew?' similar ones for the female gender.

All in good fun and not meaning any offense to anyone.

Thank god there are no Seshadrimamis and PoN Babus in our family. :) :( Or else I would have burst into laughter in front of them offending them. :-)

I have a male classmate by the name Ramani and another classmate whose wife is also a Ramani.

Malayalis use the nickname 'kutti' and it gets stuck for life; male or female. Sort of 'Chris'es and 'Pat's of the English speaking world.
- - -

Anonymous said...

My grandmother was one of 16 children. My father is 80 and he had three uncles who are just named Mottai (bald-headed). Chinna mottai / periya mottai / retta thalai; I am not including any translations for these tamil words; I hope mercifully.

Anonymous said...

hey ur blog is really hilarious and very accurate....i especially agree with the mysterious chandroo who is everywhere!!!!

Venkataraman said...

Ir ia great that Ambi mama scoring over others. THis is mainly because there will be atleast one Ambi in every Tvly. family. As the name of the living grandfather will be christened to the eldest son and nobody wants to call the child by name, Ambi becomes common. Mani Mama, Subbu Patti, Venkacham (short of Venkatachalam), Kithca (short of Krishnan) are all common in a Tamil Bhmin family.

Anonymous said...

Some in my family :

Lalli Maami ( Lalita )
Picchu Maama
Nattu Maama
Kuppu Maama / Chittapa
Kittu Maama / Maami
and finally the pièce de résistance - Raasthi ( Revathi Chitti)

Anonymous said...

Hilarious!Very true.We have one 'cycle thahtha' in the family...not to forget..rettamandai ranganathan!!lol.

Arati said...

Great ! Many more of us can come out of the closet now. My mother Baby (now a patti) has an older cousin, also Baby. So her cousin is Peribaby patti. But my mum is Office Patti. Cheers, Arati

Anonymous said...

And what about the Pappu Mama and Pathu Mama? periya Pappu, chinna pappu, And these mamis - Ponnu mami, Thangam mami, Swarna mami,

Anonymous said...

We had a Gundu Patti ('fat grandmother'). Politically incorrect by today's standards. She had a big heart and didn't mind us calling her that at all.

Anonymous said...

This is too too good.Yippee to all the Ambi Mamas!!!They won by a whisker.The Thambi Mamas,Baby Mamis(none of whom were baby sized) arent far behind though.
Also are the unknown relatives who were always the"dey Kiccha!,dey Picchas!" and no one was willing to admit them as realtives.
A generation that will soon be forgotten unfortunately.Who could give unsolicited advice on any subject under the sun without feleing insulted if ignored!!
Three cheers to the Ambi mamas!!!

Anonymous said...

very hilarious. We have a mani mama, ambi mama, of course and a anna mama who later became anna mama thatha!!!

Anonymous said...

U all missed KAMALA ATHIMBER. s by vertue of being hubby of Kamala athai. u will see 1 in ten relationship as kamal sthimber . But still nothing to beat Ambi mama as my dad was one tooooo.

Nat

Tar said...

Hey.. that was cute.. but then i guess our family beats it all... we have a chinna meena, a periya meena(tamil for small and big-for the Non Tams... ) , 2 'Baby's (whose grandchildren are old enough to have babies), a maternal Paachu and a paternal Paacha, and quite a few names like Coma!!!(eeekss.. mebbe i spelt it wrong... it should have been Koma, short for Komalavalli... now, isnt that stylish??!!) ;p
Anyways, Dhruv Chitappa and Archish Athimber would sound far okay as compared to my 2nd christened name - Koperundevi , after some long lost great grand mom of mine!!! Can i hear a Kops Patti somewhere??? :$

Radha said...

great one! this is Radha from mumbai...kerala ishtyle radhai! my father was called Ambi but as someone pointed out, it changes. But Mani yes...it stays...many cousins, my brotherinlaw...and Baby is omnipresent... not restricted to women....we have Baby mama! and yes paappa and echu amongst women.
I guess soon we will be having barry, harry, shanks, sheks, venky, krish (not difficult to trace the original)...Sri is also there....but dont know if it goes with srikant, sriram....and the gals have anu, mini, ...the older nimmi, pammi, kamu becomes nims, pams, kams....
guess, i would turn Rads!

Anonymous said...

In our village near Trichy there were 7 Ambis (PeriAmbi, Chinna Ambi, Gundu Ambi, Olli Ambi, Kutti Ambi etc) but there only 3 Mani's.
Then there were Seemachu, Subuni, Kottaiuppa, Kittapa. Araiparangi iyer and Uvakundu dikshathar (he recited samavedam). This blog is very nostalgic

Anonymous said...

Our village we had seven Ambis (Periya Ambi, China Ambi etc) 3 Mani's like Vathiyar Mani, Sundakai Mani etc. We also had Seemachu Iyer, Subhuni Iyer, Kottaiuppa, Kittappa. In addtion we had Araparangi Narayana Iyer, Uvakundu Dikshathat ( he reicted Samavedam)

Anonymous said...

one of my friends forwarded this link to me...was really funny reading your post...joining the gang....am proud of the fact that I can add a feather to the success hat of this survey having an "ambi mama" myself..

Anonymous said...

We have 2 ambis....chinna ambi and peria ambi,who also answers to the random Chandroo u mentioned....sad tht u forgot the famous Vicchoo mama....i look fwd to a similar one on the "angachies".

Anonymous said...

There are comments about "thambu" but not "thambi". Thambi followed by "kutti thambi". Heard of the phrase "thambi anna" the mother of all oxymorons? And "thambi mama"- or "younger brother uncle" in literal translation? Really takes the cake.

Anonymous said...

have you heard of Lilyma, Manga patti, Kommuma?????

Well i belong to a family with such interesting names.....

Anonymous said...

I must commend you on an excellently written piece! I was in splits, and I think the laughter generated by your blog and the comments has such potent therapeutic value as to serve me better than some of my daily medication! Thanks!

Obviously the piece was written with Iyers in mind. I am an Iyengar and I thought I should add in some of the gems in my family and in the friends' circle.

There was a Thambi (knew his real name much later in life!)who played multiple roles of brother, uncle, cousin and grandfather!

There was a paatcha, a senior IAS officer, alternatively called baby! There were 4 mamas - checha, chella, chunda and nachhu - all senior ranking members in their respective professions! Pattu was an atthai and a periamma. There was a Kamali periamma too.

My father was a popular Chakrai (Chakravarthi).

'Kondu' (my uncle Kothandaraman)was my favourite of all the corrupted name forms in the family! My sister and I laughed through our teens and twenties at his name. Later, we had to be careful to ask for him by his proper name when calling him up at his office when he became MD of one of the best known south indian business houses in Chennai!

My fathers' friends were London Mani and Tea Board Venkatachariar! I can't forget Dunlop Mani and Manila mami who ruled the roost in Kolkata of the 60s!

Not least of all was Veda maami ( more well-known than her spouse)whose husband was affectionately dubbed Mr. Veda!

Anonymous said...

You are all obsessed with uncles and aunts and forget individuals.
Individuals having long names have never been known by their long names especially in brahmin villages.
Try to expand the following short names into their long names :
kittu, ramakittu, kovali, cheemaattu, pammecchan, pocchanna, thotcha, matcha, anantharu, vengacham, cheelu, ponnai, chacchu, shaalaakshi,komu, vengu, paru, chelli,
chaathaaman, viccham, chuppaa, chuppaani, chuppaamani, and many more to be made known by others.
-- Perin

Anonymous said...

Very curious to know how Ambi Periappa did in the poll. Must have at least come second. Was he deemed ineligible?

Anonymous said...

Scintillating stuff! Its bound to split a lot of "AMBI"lical chords! Keep it going.

Anonymous said...

Some classic names that I thot dint appear
Ramji
Delhi chitappa
Thanjavur thatha patti
Visu
Amsa (Hamsa)
Sandanam
Balu
Vaitha
Ppl from Mannargudi will defintely have one Rajagopal a.k.a. Raju for every family
SEGAR
.........will come back with more

prasadgc said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Very funny.

We have a whole bunch of them; ambi from my wife's side, mani mama (most popular in our family, he was also called thambi mama), I guess one person takes the first and second place, baby chitti, raghu mama for the next generation, how about manu uncle?
Even though my parents named me Vaitheeswaran, the name Manohar stuck with the family and vaidhee or vaidhya got lost. How about Pakkathathu mami? (neighbour) and banu mami? They should be up somewhere. Thanks so much for the so called modern names. I was called Melatooran by my teachers thanks to our native village. Abbreviations are common too. RV (President and there will be one close to you too), SK, CM (Chandru Mama?) etc.,

Entertaining piece of article. Enna ambi, naan solarathu sarithaney?

prasadgc said...

OK, I finally stopped laughing and I can't think of any more people to forward this link to.

When I got married, there were three Ambis together at one point in time. I have an Ambi mama of my own, who attended the wedding. My late father-in-law has a younger brother whom he called Ambi (unfortunately, since they have no sisters, the poor man has to be content with Ambi chittappa status). My own dad (being the second son of his parents) is called Ambi, and is therefore Ambi mama to all my athais' kids. We realised this with surprised amusement when my father-in-law called out to his brother during the function and three people responded.

I know of a Baby mama, though not a Baby chitti. There is also a Ramesh Anna in my wife's family, and yes, there was this random guy (no better term!) called Chandroo (mama) at some family functions. For a moment, I felt that one of my family members had written this post.

Nowadays, I suspect that among the NRI Tam-Brahm crowd, kids generally have a "Madras Thatha-Patti" and a "Bombay Thatha-Patti". My son certainly does.

Anonymous said...

Infact my brothers are Ambi and Chandru. I think u should add another to this list - Ramu. It must be one of the most common of names besides Ambi.

Anonymous said...

Hey, this so good...there is no Ambi mama in our family but there was one Ambiya mama ! I read recently that Kitcha (nick name for Krishnan)is widely used as well...nice article

Anonymous said...

I have a Ambi Periappa, Vichu mama, Ramani mama, Baby mami, Bombay Kichanna, Thambi Anna and a mani mama as well.....We tend to forget theie original names...

Anonymous said...

Fine observation and writing. My wife and I read this over and over, laughing each time.

Anonymous said...

Your piece is priceless! You forgot the Babu Mamas (of which there were at least three in my family)--now only Periya and Kutti remain!

I wish to add that in the next generation, Priya would provide Ambi Mama with stiff competition and in the one after that, so will Aditya! Their general disdain for titles like Chittappa, Chitti, Athai, etc. will only make future family gatherings even more chaotic! (And future nicknames more embarassing!)

My name, which I will not share with you (and is not Ambi or Mani), is one that I would bet that every North Arcot Brahmin family has at least one of! I leave you to wonder what it is.

Do keep writing!

Hawkeye said...

i have a Thamby periappa and a Bbaby athai. I guess that gives me something to comment about on this wonderful blog

Anonymous said...

So true. Very funny. How about Kitchami, Saama, Vichu, Seenu and Pitchaa mama.

Anonymous said...

hilarious post!! Had tears of laughter!
Reminded me of the very funny
S. Ve. Shekar drama "Aayiram udhai vaangiya apporva sigamani" where there is a series of "komli", "paapli", "thakli",
"jillu", etc..etc :))

vumamaheswaran said...

Beautiful research indeed. I am trying to find out whether I can find anyone I know in that photograph. It looks more like a group of old 'bhagavathars'! As a member of AMBASSADOR, I have another paradoxical name:AMBIANNA! We have many such paradoxes like Ammapon, Appapullai, Babypatti &c.
In case you like to have articles on funny names or about typcal old timers of our commune, you can contact me at umasaras@yahoo.com
Umamaheswaran, Chenni 8 Nov. 05.

Anonymous said...

very funny....but u guys missed out Kichcha Chittappa..:)I have one Ambi athimber too :)

Anonymous said...

What about Nattu (Natarajan) Mama? I have one in the family. His wife is called Laddu (Lalitha) mami! Very Sweet name isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I myself am a Tam-bram and found the names very much part of the typical family. How can we forget direction/geography based names like "Keezathu Mama", Kazhakathu Ambi,etc .And a person whom we refer to as Kannan Mama - my young son calls Kannan Mama Uncle.
For the ladies who feel left out there is Delhi Meena,Bombay Jayanthi, Bhajana Ambujam, Alwarpet Radha. Also there are many men who are adressed by their wife's identity
e.g Jaanu Athimbar(Janaki Athai's husband),Chaaru mami aath mama(still havent found out the mama's original name!)

Anonymous said...

Hilarious....What about the employer's name prefixed like "sandoz maama", "glaxo athan" and the likes. You are bound to have a couple of "kondhey" maamas too in a typical t'nelveli / kerala family

Anonymous said...

very funny!...my dad is called as ambi maama by my cousins...His chithappa was called periya ambi and my dad chinna ambi!... what about pattu athai, kitta maama &raman?...

Anonymous said...

It was hilarious.

What about the second person in the family with the same name getting a different pet name.

First Krishnamurthy gets Kittu and the second one kichu (and if there is a third, he will be kitchaa)
First Subramanian is Subbu and the second one is Suppuni.
First Viswanathan is Visu and the next is Vichu.

We have samikkutti, Podusi (she was tiny when she was young)and Echumi (Lakshmi). The number of Ramus and Rajus should not be ignored too.

Anonymous said...

good one indeed!!!
its true...there are a lot of ambi mamas(i have one) mani maama(my mom's mama)& of course 'baby'..... not chithi though!!
my periyappa is affectionately called by the name "baby"
ramani,manga paatti...oops the list is endless...i myself being a "kondhey"!!
Truly awesome!

Anonymous said...

har! i have a Century anna and a Simplex (pronounced Simblex) anna..erm, the former worked at Century Mills in Bombay and the latter, yes, you guessed it, at Simplex Mills

neel said...

Ambi Mama indeed! I know one Kunjambi Mama and one Periambi Mama as well! Incidentally, somebody has mentioned about a Pappa Periamma.Ha! Ha! I am being addressed as Pappa Periappa, Pappa Chithappa and Pappa Mama as the case may be by my numerous nieces and nephews! To boot my cousins call me Pappathan !!
Neelakantan

Anonymous said...

I AM REALLY AN AFFECTIONATE MANI
MAMA TO MY BELOVD NEPHEWS &NIECES;
UMA RAJA
BAMA HARI
PRAVEEN RAJU
PREETHI GANESH
KARTHIK RAJAN
KAUSHIK RAJAN &
KUTTIPAYAL BADRI.
ALL OF THEM SHOWERING LOVE & AFFECTION ON ME.
I COULD PRACTICALLY ENJOY THIS ARTICLE.
-subraMANIa sivan

Anonymous said...

Angry Iyengars Demand Recount!
The surprise omission of Cheenu Mama and Raghu Chittappa from the survey has led to allegations of a "Pro-Iyer" and "Anti-Iyengar" bias in the survery from Mr. N.M. Parthasarathy, president of TIYG Squared TIYG (The 'Iyer You Go The 'Iyengar You Get).

Anonymous said...

Hey! We have almost all these ppl in our family. I have a Radha mama and a Radha mami patti.Vasantha mami is called Babu alias Mani mami because she is the wife of Mani mama.My mom and her bros and sisters call their own mother Manni (bcoz their cousins did so)and we end up calling her Manni Patti.My mom also has a Mel-atthu ambi and Keezh- atthu ambi who stay on the west and East sides of their village houses. We have Yechi for lakshmi and Yecha for Laxmanan. We can proudly boast of atleast 5 manis-chinna mani, periya mani, london mani, thennur mani and sada mani. Narayanan is Nananaa thatha.Alamelu is Ammu patti.

One unique nomenclature is Periyamma Patti.....

APAM NAPAT said...

Besha romba nanna irulkku.
Avaallam nammala mattam thattardhu poraadhunnu, nammaley vera aarambichaachaa.
Dravida katchigal ellam azhinjaadhan nammalavaalukku vimochanam.
Engaathulayum irundhaa ivaa ellam, ippo illa. Poi sendhoodthugal. Vayasaidutho illayo.
Thappu naa. Idhellam romba thappu.
Indha HBO la member agardhu eppadi. Therinja sollungo.

Anonymous said...

Awesome. Went back to my childhood village days!! Always an iyer at heart and soul!!

Anonymous said...

we have an ambi mama, a few mani mamas and a baby chitti!! how cool is that !! we are on the list !! hahah.. my mami sent this to me and said she could not belive they missed out on her ... ladoo mami !!!hahahahahah

Anonymous said...

FUNNY!!!We had a Metal Box Ambi,VAAYAADI RASAMMA& Sputnik Parameshwaran!!!

Anonymous said...

and i thought v tami-brahmins were 'THE INTELLIGENT IMAGINATIVE CULTURED ONES'!

Anonymous said...

oh LOveLy! i have an ambi chitappa, mani mama, some distant relative called baby whose sisters are paapa and kutti and kunju too, i think. Kittu mama, vaitha mama, koma chitti and koma chitappa, meena paati are all there. And wat do u know?! A stray Chandroo who i dont know exactly how i'm related to! Lakshmi chitti, loads of Bala's, not to mention a Rukku chitti too!

Anonymous said...

grt guys..whosoever is doing this..a grt favour to all tambrahms..
but with the kind of culture policing on in doen town TN..u will all get banned..so quickly include comments about ppl like munuswamy naina, karuppayi aatha etc..
venkat iyer

Anonymous said...

Wow, brought back so many memories from my childhood in Kerala. I grew up next to a Brahmin neighborhood and the only Thelugu family in the proximity. One of our neighbors, a Kuppacchi mami used to bring a dish of aviyal, undai kuzhambu, sweet puttu etc for me. I loved her cooking. Matter of fact we have a Thampi annachi in our family:):).

tris said...

I don't have an Ambi/mani mama. Can' believe it!

Anonymous said...

Simply superb ! Had a good laugh and promptly forwarded it to everyone I know who is Tam and Bram.

Anonymous said...

i too from a telungu family from kerala .sister of former.i have a name.but my elder sister called me pappa.now i have 3 grandchildren,up to this movement i am pappa to her.my elder brothers called their younger brother thampi .we the 5 younger sisters called this brother as thampi anna.his name is krisha swamy.from my grand mother i have heard some funny names of her friends.uppu kada razathi.nuthiyada chellamma.[well side chellamma].

Anonymous said...

Hey... besh besh romba nanna irrukku.

It was such good fun reading through this blog. However, you forgot the Madhu Thatha, the Balan Chithappa, the Vendakkai, the Baama, the Vadhiyar mama, the Saanthi, the Vaidehi, the Pichumani etc...

Incidently, though my actual name's different, my Patti's name (and thus now mine too...) happens to be Chuppu...

Anonymous said...

Just Too Good!!

I would like to know whether the omission of Mani Vadhyar was intentional or just an oversight?

[For those few that know him not - Mani Vadhyar, though not a relative, is prominent as a guest of honour and a master of ceremonies at most functions.]

Krish said...

this was hilarious.......too good.
and i completely agree that all functions have the random guy chandroo.
but i would like to know the standings of people like kitcha/kitchu, raghu, babu, balu, kannan, etc.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Simply hilarious to say the least!!!

Am a tam-bhm too, and have heard all these names when I was growing up. Brings back nostalgic memories.

Is there a tam-brahm group somewhere out there in the cyberworld where the ambi mams and baby aathais jam??. Would luv to join one!!!

Dilip

themadrasi said...

Hilarious

Ambi papa, Rajambi , Rajam are other nicks . I have a set of relatives who are called the following.

Kutti Chitti
Paiyya Chinna Thatha,
Paiyya Kutti Periappa,
Kutti Paiyyan Periappa Thatha .

with Kutti Paiyyan being the eldest of the lot.

Anonymous said...

ok..here goes my list of few relatives' names:
chinna mottai
periya mottai
maangottai
(these were names of my seshadri athimber's brothers)
well,komli,apithakujalaambaal,etc are names which have become stale in the lot...

Anonymous said...

ajay : But standin there at the top ... as solid as a rock ...

The defaults always wen it comes to referrin to brahmins ...

the all famous Mylapore Kittu mama and Pattu mami ...

They are way ahead i guess .......

Anonymous said...

I am sure it will be really difficult to call all those new age kids by names and their relative position in the family for eg how would it be to call Anirvan Anna, Aakanshaaaaa(the extraaa As added for numerology purposes) Akka.

And regarding the mama calling his mami " aye" well various other versions also has existed ranging from "engai" to "Anna" imagine your own husband becomes your brother!!!!

Please do not forget to add the ever existing Calcutta Mani, Delhi Kumar etc.

Another major trend in all TAMBRAM families is when you share the name with n cousins and and get referred by peria shankar, chinna shankar, kutti shankar etc!!

BTW I am chinna Shankar!!

Tara Prabhu said...

what about kondai chittappa, amala athai, kunjamma? Wonder how would it sound if someone has to address Tara mami or Tara patti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
This is really interesting...
i too have Ambi Anna,mamma,chithappa ect...
Cheenu is next commen name... we have few other names like Thangam mamma, Rathanam....
geetha

Anonymous said...

Hey a cool survey i shud say... but based on the current trend i would predict that in another decades time chandru mama take the prime post and would be most likely followed by kamala mami... wud like to know where pattu mami stands now

Anonymous said...

Hilarious! do these often!

Anonymous said...

OMG!!!i hav to say,although this is ridiculous,it brought back grt memories!!couldnt stop laughing for hours!!i had ambi thatha(he is no more),baby akka, cheenu mama,periya raja,chinna raja,chandoo mama,lachu mama,vishu mama, dakooriya raja mama....et al!!oh man!it was like visiting my own family again!!kudos to all who r behind this "survey"!!

Anonymous said...

All human beings are, in the eyes of Isvara, brothers and sisters. The mama/mami form of address is an expression of this truth. Whereas chittappa and chitti are actual relationship definitions within the family, Mama and mami are universal, for all non-related persons also acquire these titles! Attend a wedding and you will find that practically all guests come under this genre- the large group that is NOT related to the speaker. One needs words that invove both respect and affection.

Sahodaran/sahodari sound artificial and respectless. Anna/akka could do, but still lacking in kowtow effect. So mama and mami are best, for various reasons: mama is mother´s brother, and one is usually closer to the mother than to the father, suggests not only respect but also affection. So mama is better than chittappa. Mami is derived feminine of mama, not to be confused with atthai or chitti, the respective aunts!

So, in general, just as every brahmin man bears the name "Sarma" (ref. abhivadaye etc.), everyone is a mama to some nephews and nieces, but to all humanity as well. An honour indeed.

Being a Mani Mama is not easy if one has to set examples, but otherwise okay. It is a special appelletion, being associated with "Time" - an aspect of Isvara as Kalapurusha, and also reminds us of the Jewel in the lotus, Om Mani padme hum! Also refers to
Mani too, or as the Amerindians call him, Manitou, the Creator!

Statistically "Mani mama" may lose, but the moral strength of the designation is invincible - unless scurrilous youngsters add the letters ac to mani.

-A Mani Mama (Our name is Legion!)

Anonymous said...

Hey guys..I fully enjoyed reading all the above comments..but am sure you must have also heard of the Jolly atheys' pattu mami, the kicha mamas.....just thot i'd share in too.......but a great blog.cant wait to make some of the oldies in my family to read them!!!!!!..am syure they'd enjoy it too.....

Anonymous said...

I never felt more proud of being a part of this 'Oh so cute' community of Tambrams guys! My sis forwarded this blog to me…must admit all the giggling has made my jaws hurt! Had a blast reading it!

Yes! I can proudly say we that my family has its share of Ambi anna/perippa/mama's and Baby Chithi too! What's more… My dad's called 'Babu' and my mom is called 'Thirrupu' by their people!! Granddads were 'Balu' and 'Nagu' as also ' Madras thatha' and 'Jaipur thatha' for us kids thanks to where they lived. The pati's are Patta and Viji respectively. My favorites athai's and periappas are called Pattu, Lathu, Jessie, Jwelly, Bobby & Seenu'. Incidentally, dear 'ol Seenu periappa was also called 'Mottai' when he was a kid. Talking of Seenu's, we have a Seenu Chittapa too…who is Seenu Chittapa to my dad and to me and am sure my kid will call him so too! My mama's a 'Kiccha'(although we modified it to Krish as he seemed too young for a 'Kiccha' tag)……and my mami…..very aptly a 'Mythili mami'!! They do make a great pair as do their names! Even the Gen next of our family isn't far behind! My lil daughter will have her set of Pappu chithi, Pappu mama, Tippy mama, Kannan mama and the like to write about when she is old enuf!

In addition, we also have a fair share of Visu's, Rukku mami's, Suri mama's, Dommi's, Picchai's, a Clutch Auto Mani mama, a Thambu uncle and so on. But the one who takes the cake is an 'Enna Sollarel mami'…..Why? Simple…..she would end every sentence with an 'Enna Sollarel?'!! Haha!

We guys can't get cuter than this! Hilarious!! A 'must share with all tambrams' blog!

Anonymous said...

I never felt more proud of being a part of this 'Oh so cute' community of Tambrams guys! My sis forwarded this blog to me…must admit all the giggling has made my jaws hurt! Had a blast reading it!

Yes! I can proudly say that my family has its share of Ambi anna/perippa/mama's and Baby Chithi too! What's more… My dad's called 'Babu' and my mom is called 'Thirrupu' by their people!! Granddads were 'Balu' and 'Nagu' as also ' Madras thatha' and 'Jaipur thatha' for us kids thanks to where they lived. The pati's are Patta and Viji respectively. My favorites athai's and periappas are called Pattu, Lathu, Jessie, Jwelly, Bobby & Seenu'. My chittapa is a good 'ol Ramani. Incidentally, dear 'ol Seenu periappa was also called 'Mottai' when he was a kid. Talking of Seenu's, we have a Seenu Chittapa too…who is Seenu Chittapa to my dad and to me and am sure my kid will call him so too! My mama's a 'Kiccha'(although we modified it to Krish as he seemed too young for a 'Kiccha' tag)……and my mami…..very aptly a 'Mythili mami'!! They do make a great pair as do their names! Even the Gen next of our family isn't far behind! My lil daughter will have her set of Pappu chithi, Ambi chithi,Pappu mama, Tippy mama, Kannan mama and the like to write about when she is old enuf!

In addition, we also have a fair share of Visu's, Rukku mami's, Suri mama's, Dommi's, Picchai's, a Clutch Auto Mani mama, a Thambu uncle and so on. But the one who takes the cake is an 'Enna Sollarel mami'…..Why? Simple…..she would end every sentence with an 'Enna Sollarel?'!! Haha!

We guys can't get cuter than this! Hilarious!! A 'must share with all tambrams' blog!

Anonymous said...

Already in deep anguish (due to the defeat)

The blog is like the descent of dust from the shining stars of "Ambi Mama" upon us -the losers club of "mani mama" just parallels the offering of "oosina vadai" to the guests in a wedding. Just the satisfaction of hearing the rendition of these words by our nephew/nieces - will keep me going in the year forward

May He help us get to the crux and crown of the competition next year

[ :) Merely happy that "Giri Mama"s (my brother) did not make to the final round ]

Poor
One Mani Mama

Gai said...

May the clan flourish with the likes of Nai Ganeshan mama (by virtue of the Alsasian he reared), VTV mama (Vazhukkai Talai Venkatraman), Papa paati, Kunju tata and of course, the erstwhile dorai mama - now, who dared to miss out on that one!
This comment is dedicated to Ponamma Mama (Ponamma mami aatha mama, of course) - may his soul rest in peace.

Anonymous said...

I am a pucca Tambram guy (Tamil brahmin) I cudn't stop thinking about those relatives whose sex cannot be determined going by the way they are called ...JOLLI, BABLU, CHICKU

Anonymous said...

Simply superb people@never laughed so hard!!Hey I have a relative people keep referring to as "Ganapati pondatti"when asked why not use her name...the answer was that there were too many rajam's to confuse her with.There's a mukaandi,a baama and a paahi mami who seem to be in all stories my pati ever told me.

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to Paapa Mama? In our family, there is a Paapa Mama and a Paapa Mami and they are married to each other!

So we affectionately call them He-Paapa and She-Paapa.

I think you are being unfairly partial to Ambi Mama at the expense of Paapa Mama. Paapa Mamas of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your monikers!

Rubic_Cube said...

Got this link from a dear friend of mine. My Ramana Mama is already angry that his name has not even been considered. And, Echmi Athai (some contorted pronunciation of Laxmi) is jubilant that you have written such a hilarious article. My grandfather is pondering over the Ambi factor as he is also the family's Ambi. MY FIL is happy about the mention of Cheenu Chitappa. Manga Athai, as usual, is quiet. She always maintained that she wanted to be called as Mangala but everybody called her Manga. Naan enna pazhama? :-) Vichchu Athimber is planning to approach you to convert this article into a full fledged Tvly family saga. :-)) njoi man! This was brilliant...

kgroupie said...

Great article.
Did'nt you miss out on the various "kutti" and "chellam" extensions.

Anonymous said...

Nannaa sonnell pongo...

This one is just enough to bring out a gusty laughter on the face of the readers.

Lemme add some more.. There must be at least one, if not more, "Padma" (the so-called "Baddhooo") in every family.

Another one... "Sulo" (read not "SLOW") abbreviated for Sulochana...

One "Paappaa" (no one knows her original names...neither she does..)

Isn't true?

Anonymous said...

Great time reading this blog. Am now forwarding this to my AMBI THATHA my sweet thatha who has become net savvy at the age of 87 to keep i touch with all his grandchildren and the family yahoo groups.

Anonymous said...

My Mama's name is Ramachandran...and is called chandru....well he is at a lot of funtions..so he might be on of the chandru's u meet in Bombay's ..matunga area

Anonymous said...

Ambi Mamas can give advice unasked for - on Iraq War, mosquito menace, mars in the 7th house or the origin of Pal payasam. Those Ambi mamas, whowere stopped by the two Rakshas - English and Mathetics, still mesure the level of decoction in degree coffee and the successful ones are adept in Algorithms. Let the Ambimamas of the world unite - you have nothing to lose except mamis' wrath and the adorable Ambi- world to gain.

poorna said...

Freakin' Hilarious - they all sound so familiar - how about the raji akka / lalitha mami and venkittu mama !

poorna said...

trying to realate my extended family members - Echmu/Shanta/Chamba/Ambi/Sundari/Padma(Badhooo..)/Bhuvana/bala (M+F)/Balaji/Srinivasan(cheenu)/kumar/venkatesh(venky/venkittu/venkat)/murthy/mani/thyagu/ravi/baby/kannama/viji/thangam/visu - of gosh! so many more..

srivats said...

other funny names

thambi mama
amni akka
balu athimber

Anonymous said...

Absolutely hilarious!

Keep it going dude!

Mahadevan said...

Chandru is like Johnty Rhodes of the team - seen eveywhere in the field, be it a marriage or a funeral.

Anonymous said...

Your blog made to roll on the floor and laugh. In addition it reminds of one of our neighbours who were called Dunlop mama/mami as the man worked for Dunlop and another funny name was Accoundant mama and mami as the man was working as an accoundant :)

Anonymous said...

I have two brothers and a sister called *ambi*,*mani*and *baby* respectively who are now known as ambi mama ,mani mama and baby chitti to all the second and third generations in the family.

her said...

I have an Ambi mama and Ambi chittapa..scores of Balu mamas and Raju mamas and Ravi mamas and Shankar mamas and Sekar mamas...and a Manju Athimber (who is the husband of Manju Perimma..dunno how the kinship works..)..I hv a thaatha who is called Mama and a Paati who is called Manni...and another paati who is called Akka..ore kozhappam..and lots of Manis in the family too..

Anonymous said...

Very funny article!
I am tam brahm but incidentally, I don't have an Ambi mama, Mani mama or Baby Chithi. Surprisingly however, I do have a friend who named her newborn baby boy Dhruv!

Anonymous said...

Amazing!!!... is the only thing that comes to mind....aai certainly yenjoyed!!
...btw, I have a sure shot champ, 'Raju Mama' is a clear cut winner not only amongst tambrams but cutting across India...wanna bet!!
-Neeraj Iyer

Anonymous said...

Superhilarious a la ,CRAZY MOHAN--he introduced an APPAMAMA(short for appadurai mama!) and AMMA MAMA(short for Amavasai Mama!)
'Mani Mama 'is rather colourless compared to "CHUPRANI' and "CHUPRAI" in my Palgat friend's family:-)
I was totally drowned in a mob of BALU VADHYARS all living in SWIMMING POOL EXTN. in tambram infested Malleswaram of Bangalore:-)Finally I could locate our family Vadhyar by his id-CROP BALU:-)))

iam_not_intruder said...

Request not to spend time on such false pride/ trivial matters .......or defining our own caste values.

Seek scriptures for the meaning of the caste "brahmin" and see if we fit on that ........
Else seek the following URL

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part3/chap6.htm


Just want to spread this .....

Anonymous said...

It's very nostalgic.
We had two periyambis,one chinnambi and an ambi in our family.
Also Bathma, Paddu, pattu mami, Baby patti and many Vichus and Kichas.

Anonymous said...

I did enjoy the attachment reg " Ambi Mama". Well my grand father had a vaitha mama, babu has mottai mama, achha mama, and papa mama, one baaji mama, on my mother's side, peria suri, chinna suri, chokkar mami, vembu mami, Really makes one nostalgic. Lots of "Angachis" on my patti's side, like Arriyalur Anagachi etc.
My dad's mama's, Kicha Mama, Bala Mama, Anaikutti Mama !
I guess the list will go on.

Anonymous said...

Who said that Mani remains while Ambi changes? I started life as a mere non-descriptive Ambi and got gradual promotions as Ambi Anna, Ambi Mama, Ambi Athimber, Ambi Periappa, Ambi Thatha and Ambi Mama Thatha. If I live for another 15 years, I may yet become Ambi Kollu Thatha! Among the several Ambis in the other wings of my family, I am known as 'IAS Ambi'!
KS Ramakrishnan, Chennai

Anonymous said...

Absolutely Funny?

Ambi is any day better off than
Harwinder Singh alias Happy
Lakwinder Singh alias Lucky & so on

3 cheers to Ambi Mama

Anonymous said...

whoever thought the ubiquitous ambi maama and baby athai would reach such levels of popularity (notoriety) in the saadhu paapaan world! Loved it!

Anonymous said...

Dear Friends

Somebody had asked for an iyer group on the net -- there are at least 3 of them
groups.yahoo.com/group/Iyer123/
groups.yahoo.com/group/pattars
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/4brahmins

Anonymous said...

excellent..was laughing for 2 hours..alo the comments were superb esp:TIYG squared..wow!!
we had a pattu patti, papanna and pachu mama to complete the series.yes I had a kamala athimber too...
way to go iyengars....yea man

Sriram said...

funny and hilarious!

we had Sambu maama (sambasivam), and kodi aathu saama (swaminathan) though a relative his nick is Kodi aaathu saama.

Anonymous said...

This is interesting.we have chinni chitthi, bombay chithi, ambi mama in our family.What about common name Raji (Rajalakshmi/Rajeswari)

Raji

Unknown said...

Quite an interesting survey! But guess u missed the Sriram's and Kannan's of the clan! quite omnipresent... also the Meena patees... Of course, of the queerer lot, v had a ChaloBhai uncle (but unlike the Simplex or Century (Mills) anna), this gentleman used to say a characteristic tam-delhite 'Chalo Bhai..........' for a parting note to earn that name!

Anonymous said...

You god damn Iyers are so parochial... Jews are better. You guys have strange chip on yr shoulder. Carry your purity, rituals, clanish cultutre where ever you are- US no exception., While globalization brings together cultures beyond the narrow straits of `Iyerism', iyers or tamilians will remain frogs in the well ..... Good luck to your Yougurt Rice mindsets.

Anonymous said...

..my ambi was ambi thatha...sclerotic livered....drank stronnngggggg kaapi to nurse hangover...

..thambi mama allowed???

Lakshmi said...

..may i know what 'ambi's' abbreviation is ???

..like mani mama for subramaniam...etc.

Anonymous said...

Srini..
That's for mamas.Now let me tell you the periappas in my family..
Kunjaapa periappa,
Pattappa (which is shortend version of Pattabi periappa),
Kunjamma(which is shortend version of Kunjama Attahi),
Seenu Periappa,
Doobu Chitappa,
Doodu Chitappa,
Babu Chittap,
And cousins called Thumbi,Thambu, Nokki,
Tilly,Gobbi,America Babu,Tikri, Chikri,Vichu,
On mamas we have Chechu mama,Babe mama(please note not baby mama)

Srini said...

Beat this guys...
Kunjappa periappa,
Pattappa(originally Pattabhi periappa)
Kunjamma(originally Alamelu athai)
Cheenu periappa (stylised eh!)
Doobu chitappa,
Doodu chitappa,
Thumbi,Thambu,Nokki,Tilly,Gobbi, Chikri,Tikri..all cousins,
Chechu mamas adn babe mama (notice it is not baby mama)
How is that for numbers and names!

Srini said...

Beat this guys...
Kunjappa periappa,
Pattappa(originally Pattabhi periappa)
Kunjamma(originally Alamelu athai)
Cheenu periappa (stylised eh!)
Doobu chitappa,
Doodu chitappa,
Thumbi,Thambu,Nokki,Tilly,Gobbi, Chikri,Tikri..all cousins,
Chechu mamas and babe mama (notice it is not baby mama as it is in the orginal document)!!
How is that for numbers and names!

Vikram, Son of Bala said...

what abt the suppuni's of the brahmin world?

i had a neighbour aunty whose name was 'janaki'. I used to call her 'chakrapani mami' wo knowing that it was her name.

Srini said...

Beat this guys...
Kunjappa periappa,
Pattappa(originally Pattabhi periappa)
Kunjamma(originally Alamelu athai)
Cheenu periappa (stylised eh!)
Doobu chitappa,
Doodu chitappa,
Thumbi,Thambu,Nokki,Tilly,Gobbi, Chikri,Tikri..all cousins,
Chechu mamas and babe mama (notice it is not baby mama as it is in the orginal document)!!
How is that for numbers and names!

Anonymous said...

Great post and lovely comments.

Not withstanding that the Chamis (Swaminathan), Kichamis (Krishnaswami) and Nachamis (Narayanaswami) of yesteryears feel extremely slighted on the omission of their names in the blog.

shyam said...

well i do have ambi mama, pappaperimma,chella perimma.....a cousin who is annasamy but called thambi and his brother cheena....

Anonymous said...

Hey tambrams
Your site rocks man! I am mani(mani mama only to my one nephew!)But have you heard of Ekkachambi mama, Chuppamani Athimber anc chaachi akka(Visalakshi for the uninitiated!)and how about chuppuni(subramanian) uncle, SRS Manian(S Rama Subramanian)
I have a Ambi Mama, An Ambi Anna and nothing very AMBIguous about them. Rock on guys!

Anonymous said...

Had a family friend who was called "Chinna Kondai Mama". He was close to 90 when he died.
Shubha

BlissfulMom said...

tis tooooo good ! i have an ambi mama, papa athai, echumi, chachchu, chuppuni, periya baby and chinna baby scattered among my relatives...i wonder if our generations will ever have the chance to savour the presence of these names in their lineage...unless of course we forget the Archish, Dhruv & Adarsh and start naming our kids Vaidyanathan, Subramanian, Visalam, Mangalam...

oaktree said...

We have a mottai (as in bald) mama....so his wife is mootai mami..imagine when asks us if we remember her...we still say no...cos' we dont know her real name..

Anonymous said...

good one. i cant forget the cheenu chittappa and baby chittis of mine... never knew they were in a clan of their own. hilarious

Ramnarayan said...

Great stuff! I had one Ambi Mama, a Peria Ambi Mama, both maternal uncles--ythe second one once removed--and another Ambi Mama for my father-in-law! All fabulous guys, and all, unfortunately gone, to be with other members of the Celestial Ambi Mama Club, I'm sure.

Anonymous said...

Along the same lines my dad had several friends whose names were qualified by their company or trade affiliations. There was Drum Sundaram, Lorry Krishnan, Kannan Devan Venkidy and more.

George Bernard Waah! said...

Never heard of Ambi mama and all. Heard many people call many other random people "YENDA AMBI" in movies. thats it. this is konjam too much.

Anonymous said...

good one ,from where do people get time for such surveys ?
any way keep it up
what about ambulu chiti/athai,
naanu mama/chitappa/athimber
pattu athai/patti
and for ur information this is now silk patti/athai for today's kids

Anonymous said...

my nickname is bosey, i was wodnering if there actually was a meaning of it?

aramki said...

Good one. BTW, from where did you get this information?
And how about the names of Raman, Lalitha, Kamala...

Anonymous said...

bossssss........great article.......

Anonymous said...

hey...jus remembered..i think this petname(or wotever) called
"pappa"...is vvvvvvvvery common esp among tirunelveli tam-bramhs...i remeber i got a shock once when introduced to a "pappa"..who turned out to be a 5 ft 8 in ...pachyderm-esque mami......

Anonymous said...

Excellent. Hillarious. Outstanding. Now for my take: My father whose nick name happens to be Chennu is definitely someone's chittappa and mama as well. There is one Vaidhi athimber in my family and strangely enuf, he is an expert in carnatic music (he belongs to the Anantharama Dikshitar clan). And, my own mama is Kittu Mama (Krishnan shortened).
There is a mottai thatha and a mottai patti, doctor krishnan -- and thanks to the number of Lakshmi's and Raju's, therefore all of us become Kutti Lakshmi or Periya Raju. The best in our family is "Peekaattu Dorai" (the owner of this name doesnt know of his nick name)-- wonder from where this name came from. Then, we also have "edir veetu Pankajam" to the list.
Great posting....Lets have more fun....

Anonymous said...

Super article ! Let us not lose sight of reference to pre-1950 'paddhu -s'. You can't tell when one adverts to Padmanabhan or Padma

Anonymous said...

David Hasselhoff ROX!!

Othersall SUX!!!

U 4got "Baby Chithappa" a.k.a "Baby-pa"!!

Proud 2 b last comment.

PS : Don't I also ROX?!!

Anonymous said...

OMG! Holy Shit!

My mother has an Ambi Mama, Mani Mama *and* had a Baby Chithi. I also knew/know them by exactly thos e names.

Anonymous said...

You have left out the rolls of Lakshmi manni and kummonam uppili

Swaminathan

Anonymous said...

Gr8!!.. It was really wonderful..Worth a dekho as my cousin who sent me the site..

Ambi Chitappa, Baby Mami, Papa Chitti...O WOW...we have all in the family...one Baby Chittappa too...O and don't forget Pichu Athai...and as someone says..Chandru Mama comes by default...

Thnx Anand (i have 2 bro's of the same name!!) for making us laugh.... :-)

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