Ottapalam: For years, 86-year-old Rukmini Pattathyar of Mayannur in Palakkad had been waiting abound with motherly affection. That wait finally ended when musicians Stephen Devassy and his brother Sam walked through her door, bringing with them a flood of memories and emotions.

Rukmini, fondly known as Pattathyar, had once been an inseparable part of the Devassy household. She had bathed, fed and cared for Stephen and Sam in their early years, becoming a beloved maternal figure in their lives. Her bond with the family dates back over 50 years, to the time of Stephen’s grandfather.

The Devassy family once ran a lime kiln near the Ottapalam railway station, with their house adjacent to the kiln. Even after they relocated to Kanniyampuram, Rukmini remained closely connected with them.

Recently, she expressed a heartfelt wish to see `her children' again. Moved by her words, Stephen and Sam made their way to Mayannur to fulfil her request.

What followed was a tearful and touching reunion. Pattathyar embraced the brothers with the same love she had shown them as children and they returned that affection with deep emotion. Stephen captured the precious moments on video and later shared it online, where it quickly gained attention and warm responses from fans, fellow musicians and friends. The video, later featured on Manorama Online, resonated further wide.

“We always called her Pattathyar. She cared for me like a mother when I was a child. She even attended our parents’ wedding. She used to bathe me until I reached a certain age,” said a visibly moved Stephen. “It had been a long time since we last met, but she still remembered everything. She was so happy, retelling stories from our childhood.”