According to Meenachi’s fifth child, Amuda Pillay, 55, her mother died at 7.18pm, due to old age.

She said the family is still awaiting permission from the hospital to bring Meenachi’s remains home for the funeral.

“There are still some procedures that need to be done. For funeral rites according to Hindu customs, the cremation ceremony should be held between 1pm and 3pm today.

“However, if we run out of time, we will do it tomorrow, after seeking advice from the temple,” she said.

Describing her late mother as “the oldest encyclopedia” on culture and customs for the Kampung Chetti community here, Amuda said her mother’s death is a great loss for the dondang sayang and pantun culture in Melaka.

“If it was about marriage, work, death, birth or anything related to Chetti customs, they would refer to my mother on how to go about it.”

Always paying utmost care to her appearance, Meenachi, according to Amuda, would dress in beautiful batik sarung with a matching top, and with her hair styled in a neat bun. She often instructed her children to dress appropriately, too.

“My mother’s talent in dondang sayang and pantun was natural. She could just do it spontaneously.

“Unfortunately, none of us inherited her talent and skills,” she said when met by reporters in Kampung Chetti today.

Meenachi, born on Jan 4, 1930, was a descendant of the Chetty community in Melaka, fluent in Malay but not proficient in Tamil.

From as young as 10 years, she was exposed to the world of pantun and dondang sayang, inheriting her artistic talents from her family.

Meenachi used to play the rebana before she started honing her skills in pantun, and subsequently received guidance from the famed dondang sayang activist Baba Kim Teck.

Even at the ripe old age of 90, Meenachi was still able to recite pantun, but was not as active as before due to her failing health.

For her priceless contribution in upholding the art of pantun, Meenachi received recognition from the state government, including the Dondang Sayang Art Activist award in 2019.

Dondang sayang and pantun are popular traditional art forms in Melaka and are said to have started in the days of the Melaka sultanate around the 15th century.