ammachi narrative

8/2/2019 Ammachi Narrative

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Kuriakose 1

Jenny Kuriakose

Mrs. Taylor

English II Pre-AP - 7

2 December 2010

Knots Tied Over the Years

As I sit on the lavender-colored front porch overlooking the overgrown ripe banana trees

and the skyrocketing coconut trees, I come to think about the times that these plants have lived

through: almost thirty years of drought and monsoon rains ravaging the land of Kerala, India. My

state is my home and commonly known as "God's Own Country." I have never left this state or this

country in my seventy years of life. This is the land that I was born, and this is the land that I hope

to lay rest on. This is the land that I have spent the past fifty-one years with my husband on.

The year was 1959, and I was only nineteen years old. In those days, it was common to

marry one's daughter off to a new family at a young age. My husband was to be twenty-one years

old, and we were both very naive and inexperienced in life. Traditional to our society was to

conduct an arranged marriage. Therefore, it was my parents' choice on who I would spend the rest

of my life with. My father had traveled to the pineapple industry town of Vazhakulam, Kerala to

meet up with some friends. In those days, there were brokers that lived in the town that would

make connections for a marriage proposal to happen, it was a business. When in Vazhakulam, the

broker came up to my father and told him that there was an eligible bachelor looking for a wife,

and my father went to go see him. My father was satisfied with the new town that I would move to

and the financial opportunities that this man's family offered: he invited this man, named Iype Jose,

to our home in Chennadu to meet me. At the time, I wasn't looking forward to getting married and

starting a new life, I had just wanted to live life as it had been for the previous nineteen years.

Because I respected and honored my parents, I complied with their


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Kuriakose 2

wishes and agreed to the marriage. When Iype came to my house to meet me, I acted polite

because I didn't want to disrespect my parents.

Soon, the marriage was finalized, and the wedding was to take place on November 30,

1959. It was during my generation that saris became an official outfit for a bride. My mother and

all female relatives before me had worn a simple cotton clothe wrapped around that waist (like a

towel) with a crudely stitched loose white cotton blouse. I was the first to wear a sari in my family.

Back then, there were no grand beauty parlors to go to, or veils to be bought at the store. On my

wedding day, I wore absolutely no make up, yes, I kept it all natural. As for the veil, my mother

and I hand-picked flowers from the yard and bought some cloth and made it at home. When I see

the weddings today, where brides smother on make-up to transform their faces into a plastic

artificial looking complexion and spend thousands on the feasts and clothing, I can't help but notice

how much things have changed. Our reception was conducted at my husband's home, which was

also my home from that day forward.

Today, I wish I had spent more time in my parents' house. I feel like I was forcefully

whisked away, and things have never been the same as my childhood since. In contrast to popular

beliefs, I still believe arranged marriages are applicable to today. The reason why that is at the age

of twenty, young adults do not know what they want out of life, and they have never been through

the struggles of a marriage before. A parent has been with a child and nurtured their child since

he/she was born, and they will continue to use that caution when looking for a suitable spouse for

their child. This will keep teenagers especially from getting distracted in their young life, and

enable them to focus on their studies better. Recently, I had told my granddaughter that I would

like to see her one day go through an arranged marriage, and she had abruptly refused. So much

has changed through these past two generations. People and things come and go, but those trees on

the front porch have been there a while, and I hope they stay.


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Kuriakose 3

Works Cited

Groban, Josh. "You Raise Me Up." Perf. Josh Groban. Closer. Reprise Records, 2003. MP4.

iTunes. Apple. Web. 1 Dec. 2010

Jose, Mary. Telephone interview. 30 Nov. 2010.

Sadlowski, Christopher. "Simplicity." Poetry Buffet. N.p, 1999. N. pag. Web. 1 Dec. 2010


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Home Is Where the Heart Is

This House.

nestled amidst the trees miles from the rode

a well-kept secret found through patience, time, and trust.

hidden to be safe from harm

renovated changed and altered on the outside,

yet the same foundations

kept six children under its roof

and room remains for their children's children

survived hard times

never has given up

This Heart


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Like that house, my Grandma's heart is available for everyone who chooses to take the time and

develop the trust needed. One has to travel and search for trust to get into her heart. My Grandma's

heart always has room to love somebody else like the house always has room for more people.

Even after a long and tough life, her heart is still in one piece and remains unchanged on the inside.

Simplicityby Christopher Sadlowski


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When your days seem goneand your nights are still,

please take the radiatingLove I gave to you.

As you travel into waters,let the liquid clean and kill,

purge your soul of all that hinders,allow your mind to still.

Let the flame surround,burn away all that's bad,

let your tears evaporate,incinerate the sad.

Feel the wind pass through you,

take away the old,let the new into your heart,

cherish it like gold.

Walk upon the sliver beach,

let the sand erode the skin,

guide yourself into the sun,and melt away your sin.

Don't rush down the road of life,

cherish all these, small and big.

Still your life and stop to think -Take life as it is, even thick and thin

Like this poem, my Grandmother is very religious and has a very strong faith

in God. She has cared for many children in her life time including her siblings,


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children, and grandchildren. She is some one to seek advice from during

troubled times, and she always knows how to help and make anyone feel

better.


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"You Raise Me Up"

Josh Groban

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;You raise me up... To more than I can be.


I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;You raise me up... To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;

But when you come and I am filled with wonder,Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up... To more than I can be.


I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;




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Like the character mentioned in this song, my Grandmother is someone that is always there

to help. I look up to her as a role model on how to treat others. She has helped me through troubled

times with her advice, and she has taught the importance of a strong faith in life. She helps me to

be the better person in all situations, and shows me what I am capable of when I don't know it. She

is always there to encourage me and give me hope.


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Table of Contents

Picture of

Grandma.........................................................................................................1

Picture of Grandma and

Grandpa.............................................................................2

Drawing of

Home...............................................................................................................3

Poem: Home is Where the Heart

Is.............................................................................4

Explanation to

Poem........................................................................................................5

Poem:

Simplicity.............................................................................................................

...6

Explanation to

Poem.........................................................................................................7

Narrative..............................................................................................................

.................8-9

Song

Lyrics....................................................................................................................

.......10


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Song

Explained.............................................................................................................

......11

Interview

Questions....................................................................................................12-13

Works

Cited.....................................................................................................................

..14

Researching my PastJenny Kuriakose . English Pre-AP -7

Mary Jose


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Joy Luck Project Rubric (Notebook) One daily grade

Cover 5 pts. _____k___

Table of Contents 5 pts. ____k____

Picture 10 pts. __k______

Original art with explanation 10 pts. ________

Two poems with explanation 20 pts. ________

Narrative 20 pts. ________

Written explanation of music choice 10 pts. ________

Interview questions/notes with signature 10 pts. ____k____

Works Cited Page 10 pts. ________

Total _________

Project Presentation Rubric One Daily Grade

Presentation behavior: 30 pts. _________


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Eye contact

Speaking rate

Voice quality

Purposeful gestures

Content of presentation:

Explanation of art 10 pts. _________

Reading of Poem 20 pts. _________

Music 20 pts. _________

Relating narrative in conversational manner 20 pts. _________

Total _________

For your Works Cited page, make sure to alphabetize your entries by last name or title and use reverse

indentations. You should have at least three entries: one interview, one piece of music, and one poem

that was not written by you.

To cite an interview that you conducted, give the name of the person interviewed, the kind of interview

(Personal interview, Telephone interview), and the date of interview.

Pei, I. M. Personal interview. 22 Nov. 2010.

Reed, Ishmael. Telephone interview. 20 Nov. 2010.


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In an entry for a commercially available recording, list the composer first, or if there isnt a composer (or

if the composer and the artist are the same person), list the artist first. List the title of the recording, the

artist (if different from the composer), the title of the album, the manufacturer, and the year of issue (if

the year is unknown, write n.d.). Indicate the medium, neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks

after the date of publication: CD, MP3, etc. Place a comma between the manufacturer and the date;

periods follow the other items.

Holiday, Billie. God Bless the Child. The Essence of Billie Holiday. Columbia, 1991. CD.

Bizet, Georges. Carmen. Perf. Jennifer Laramore, Thomas Moser, Angela Gheorghiu, and Samuel Ramey.

Bavarian State Orch. and Chorus. Cond. Giuseppe Sinopoli. Warner, 1996. CD.

For an online source, add the title of website in italics; the publisher or sponsor of the site; the date of

Web publication; the medium; and your date of access. R

Groban, Josh. "You Raise Me Up." Perf. Josh Groban. Closer. Reprise Records, 2003. MP4. iTunes. Apple.

Web. 1 Dec. 2010

Handel, G. F. Messiah; An Oratorio. N.d. CCARH Publications: Scores and Parts. Center for Computer

Assisted Research in the Humanities, 2003. Web. 6 Jan. 2010.

Harrell, Thaddis Laphonia, Beyonce Knowles, Terius Nash, and Christopher Stewart. Single Ladies. Perf.

Beyonce Knowles. I AmSasha Fierce. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, 2008. MP3. iTunes. Apple. Web.

16 Nov. 2010.

To cite poetry from an anthology, give the author of the poem followed by a period; name of poem in

quotation marks, title of anthology in italics, editors of anthology, city of publication, publisher, date,

page numbers, and medium.


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Brouwer, Joel. The Spots. Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century. Esd. Michael

Dumanis and Cate Marvin. Louisville: Sarabande, 2006. 51-52. Print.

To cite poetry found online, cite as a short work from a website or part of online book.

Bell, Acton [Anne Bronte]. Mementos. Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell.

London, 1846. N. pag. A Celebration of Women Writers. Web. 18 Sept. 2010.

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