-- By Aravinth K.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
   - Aristotle

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.
   - Steve Jobs

Amma (Tamil for mom) to me was the true example of doing the simple and ordinary things in an extraordinary way. She had a source of energy that was bottomless for doing things not just well but stood head and shoulders above the crowd. She knew she always could improve in things she pursued with passion and had no qualms about seeking out information or input.

I felt that this wanting to perfect and not be perfect, to excel, was the core reason for her boundless curiosity for information - be it her chosen subjects of science (biology, nutrition, health) or the culinary art. She discussed these with us and also those she felt had acquired the credentials to give her new input. I have seen her rapt attention in listening to someone who was in general considered an authority in the medical field. Her respect for physicians was consistent unless they gave her a strong reason not to!

Second best was not an option and I remember the one incident when my Anna (Tamil for elder brother) actually allowed a classmate to share the number one rank for academic performance for a single trimester in high school. She was so not fine with it and could not understand how he could let someone catch up. 

In our time with her, in her last few weeks right around her birthday (January 13, 2015) were some of our biggest lessons on what a keen mind could focus on and not slip on standards established through an entire lifetime. I had baked a cake for her with white rice flour using zero residue food ingredients due to diet restrictions imposed by her illness. It turned out more like a dense Indian sweet dish with no fluffiness to it. Barely able to eat, she still critiqued and discussed it on how I could have done different things to make it better! What a profound lesson in standard of excellence in whatever one does and regardless of what the situation is! Salutations, Amma. We will hold this lesson close to our hearts and live up to it!

Dr. Kanthimathi's recipe collection has been started with four of her signature desserts. These were delicious and tasted exactly the same every time she made them. That's how her food was - precisely cooked, tasty, tasteful.

Click here to see the recipes

-- By S. Natarajan

The year was 1962. My sister Kanthimathi completed her S.S.L.C., which would be high school's 11th standard these days. She scored 100% in Mathematics in the public examinations. In those days, 53 years ago, it was rare for girls to be in school and even rarer to complete school and be in the school final exams. So, the news of my sister's achievement spread in Tirupur, our hometown, and everyone talked about it. Newspapers flashed the news,  "Kanthimathi, daughter of Mr. Sellamuthu, cotton merchant, got 100/100 in Maths" and carried photographs of father and daughter on the front page. I was in the 6th standard then and it felt great for me to say that my sister got a state rank like that. A function was arranged two months later and a gold medal was given to her. A Mr. Sundaravadivel, Chief Educational Officer, gave her the medal. All the school teachers and important VIP's in Tirupur attended the felicitation. 

My friends were asking me to give them a treat to celebrate my sister's achievement. In those days, masala dosai was famous as nobody would make it at home and it was only available in restaurants. There was a famous restaurant called Venkateswara Cafe. I took six of my friends to that restaurant. I got them one masala dosai and one tea each. One masala dosai cost 50 paise and tea was 15 paise, so the total for one person was 65 paise, and my total cost for treating my friends that day was 6 x 0.65 = 3 rupees and 90 paise, an unbelievable price in this day and age.