It was a calm Thursday afternoon when our parents drove us to a place, close to an hour away from Adyar. We were informed in advance that we would be meeting a palmist. A palmist/palm-reader according to Google is supposedly meant to interpret a person's character or predict one's future by examining the palm(s) of their hand(s). I, for one, do not indulge in believing in palm-reading or astrology or other practises that "predict" one's future because I firmly believe in creating a future for oneself. But I do believe that certain characteristics of a person can be suggested or brought to light through some of these practices.

Our appointment was at 3:00 pm and we reached, for punctuality's sake by 2:47 pm. We stepped into the office which was a small, rectangular room- in the corner of which was a table filled with various lenses, microscopes, and other curious instruments. Just behind the table, on a chair was sitting a peaceful, grandfatherly soul wearing a pair of huge, thick spectacles. We sat in four chairs just opposite him and waited. I was internally excited to see what he would say about us, just by looking at our palms! It was my father's turn first, so he went and sat on an empty chair next to him and Mr. Doraiswamy/Uncle/Thaatha immediately got engrossed in looking at the various lines on my father's hands while measuring them using a protractor.

After close to five minutes of taking notes and reading my father's palms, he explained certain characteristics of my father that were accurate to the last word. I didn't know if I was shocked or surprised. While he went on to read my father's palms again, I looked around to find books of various sciences and came to a conclusion- that Uncle loves to read... a lot! During our conversation, Uncle mentioned that he had studied numerous books on palmistry and his mother was the one who initiated him into this field by teaching him at a very young age. We were all taken aback to find out that Uncle has been practicing in this profession for the past 70 years, from the tender age of 17! He claims to be
83, but his passion and love for this vast subject of palmistry and the energy with which he communicates can fool anyone.

The way he spoke to us made us feel like we were his children and none of us felt like leaving. Uncle's lovely wife, Aunty, was so motherly that she gifted us hand-picked mangoes from her own front yard because she didn't want us to leave empty-handed. It was an afternoon spent with two beautiful souls and all of us cherished and relived those wonderful, happy moments on our way back to Adyar.