How to Teach a Grandmother Tech (And Survive): A Ponmanipudi Tale

Saami, Sundarammal & The Secret of the Mind’s Filter

(A Humourous Tale from Ponmanipudi with profound insights)

It was a wonderful Sunday in Ponmanipudi, and Saami had made the biggest mistake of his young life.

He had volunteered to teach Sundarammal, the grandmother of Sriranga Vihara, how to use a smartphone....

Five minutes into the lesson, he regretted the decision he had ever made.

“Patti… swipe this side,” Saami said, tapping the screen.

Sundarammal squinted.

“Hmmm… this is that WhatsUp-aa? The one where people send lies in the morning?”

“Patti, it’s WhatsApp. God! no, not all lies. Some are jokes.”

“Aaama aade da, same thing!” she declared confidently, swiping in the opposite direction.

Saami exhaled loudly.

The Chaos Begins....

“Pattiii...ayoo… don’t press the green button! It will call the whole group!”

Sundarammal looked proud.

“Good. Let them pick up. I will give them my dosa maavu( batter) recipe.”

Saami placed a hand on his head.

The boy was one notification away from collapsing.

Just then, Dr. Chari walked in, sipping coffee, amused by the drama.

“What’s happening here?” he asked.

Saami groaned.

“Appa, paati is not learning! She just presses everything randomly!”

Sundarammal immediately defended herself.

“Yenna da Saami! If buttons were not meant to be pressed, why do they put them? Tell me that first!”

Dr. Chari hid his smile behind the coffee cup.

These two were his daily fav comedy show....stand up comedy..

The Insight Arrives....

“Saami,” Appa said gently, “come here for a moment.”

Saami slumped beside his father.

“You look irritated,” Appa said.

“Of course! She’s not learning at all!”

Appa shook his head.

“Or maybe… you are not teaching.”

Saami frowned.

“What do you mean?”

Dr. Chari pointed to Sundarammal, now opening the camera app and staring at her forehead on the screen.

“Your attention,” he said, “is on her mistakes.

Not on her effort.

Not on her willingness.

Not on her age.”

Saami stayed quiet.

“You see,” Dr. Chari continued, “the mind has a filter. A very powerful one. If the filter is set to failure, everything looks like failure. If the filter is set to learning, even mistakes look like progress.”

Saami watched Sundarammal proudly taking a selfie of only her nose.

“But Appa… how does that change reality?”

Dr. Chari smiled.

“That’s the secret every great teacher, philosopher, and scientist knows.

Where your attention goes, your reality grows.

Vedanta says it.

Quantum physics says it.

Your grandmother’s dosa batter also says it.”

Saami blinked.

“My grandmother’s dosa batter??”

“Yes,” Dr. Chari said. “If you pay attention, it ferments beautifully and you get fluffy dosas. If you ignore it, it becomes a weapon. ...eeleya....”

The Lesson Sinks In....

Saami laughed despite himself.

“So Appa… you’re saying I’m seeing failure because I’m expecting failure?”

“Exactly,” Dr. Chari said. “You entered the lesson thinking Paatti would never learn. The mind heard that… and dutifully created the experience.”

Saami looked at his grandmother.

She was now trying to “Zoom” into a frozen selfie by tapping the screen with unnecessary aggression.

“Appa…” Saami whispered, “should I… try again?”

Dr. Chari nodded.

“Try with a new filter. Not ‘she can’t learn’, but ‘she is learning’. Not irritation. Curiosity. Not frustration. Presence.”

Saami took a deep breath and walked back to her.

"Paati, let’s do it again,” he said gently. “Press this… slowly… like breaking a murukku....”

Sundarammal’s eyes lit up.

“Ah! That I know how to do!”

Within minutes, she made her first WhatsApp voice note.

“HELLLOOOO… YEDUUM, THIS IS SUNDARAMMAL SPEAKINGGG—”

The phone trembled from the volume.

Saami burst into laughter.

Even Sundarammal giggled. "Saami, vaa da....aande Aamerica call panaala."

The Moral from Ponmanipudi

Later that night, Saami told Dr. Chari quietly,

“Appa… you were right. When I changed how I looked at Paati, she changed too.”

Dr. Chari placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“That is the whole mystery of the mind, Saami.

You create your world… not with your talent…

but with your attention.”

The lamps flickered softly.

The house felt warm.

And in that moment, Saami understood something people spend lifetimes missing:

Reality is not what happens to you.

Reality is what you focus on.