Chumma Varumma?



Values That Shape Us: The Ramassery Legacy


We all grow up with a set of values - some obvious, some subtle - that evolve over the years. These values shape who we are, what we stand for, and how we navigate life.

They do not come from a single source. Instead, they are a quiet blend of influences that mold our character over time.


Where Values Begin

One of the most powerful sources of our values is family - especially the adults and elders we grow up around. They, in turn, absorbed these values by observing their parents, grandparents, and generations before them.


In many ways, values are handed down unconsciously: one parent at a time, one child at a time, one generation after another.


Values That Stand the Test of Time


Some values withstand everything: The test of time, generations and modernization. 


They transcend language and geography, becoming so deeply rooted that they form the very DNA of a family.


The Ramassery family is no different.


A Living Bridge to Our Past


Our senior-most member today, Jamna Parameshwaran, now in her early nineties, often reflects on this truth.


She reminds us that each one of us is who we are because of the values embraced by her parents, R.E. Narayanani and Seshan, and by the generations before them.


These values did not appear overnight.
They were not taught through lectures or rules.


Values like these don’t come just like that.


They are absorbed through a child’s observant mind - not merely through eyes and ears, but through lived experience. 


Once they take root, they stay forever, quietly flourishing so future generations can observe, learn, and carry them forward.


Values like these varum - they will come.


Two Words That Became Our Family Philosophy


But in her unmistakable style, Jamna Parameshwaran poses a simple yet profound question:


“But do values like these come just like that?”


And with just two powerful words, she delivers her point:


Chumma Varumma?


Did I mention that our darling Jamna Parameshwaran is a woman of very few words?


Sometimes, that’s all it takes.


The Voice of Our Ramassery Doyenne


We are sharing a precious recording of Jamna Parameshwaran reminiscing about her parents and the values they lived by.


Listen to a piece of our family history:


Hidden gem: At 2:20 in the audio, Jamna Parameshwaran first utters the now-legendary phrase “Chumma Varumma”, a phrase that has since become part of our family’s DNA.


The Chumma Varumma Bite Series


A collection of stories inspired by our shared values in Bites form will follow soon - 

  1. When Innocence Welcomes Before Words Do
  2. Honesty That Speaks
  3. The Straight Path to a Steady Life
  4. The Shape of Love in a Child’s Hand
  5. Ten Fingers, One Ramassery Soul
  6. From Murukku to Memories
  7. One Meal, One Kind Heart
  8. Chatthees Saal Baad — 36 Years, One Bond
  9. Dhanyo Ramassery: Our Song of Togetherness
  10. One Family, One Offering, One Legacy
  11. Chumma Varumma Values: Stories of Service
  12. Trikaal Sandhya, Timeless Values
  13. R.E. Generation Formulas — Love + Legacy
  14. #RamasseryHello


Closing Reflection


Values are not inherited like heirlooms.
They are lived, observed, absorbed, and passed on.

And sometimes, all it takes to remind us of this truth…

is a gentle voice asking: Chumma Varumma?


From Our Hearts


Values aren’t things we inherit like jewelry or land.
We receive them in quieter ways in shared meals, kind gestures, patient elders, and the way we are welcomed home.


And every now and then, a soft voice reminds us of this truth with just two words:


Chumma Varumma?