Tonight me and my sister will be leaving to Chennai to attend the 10th day ceremony of my aunt who passed away last Thursday. She was a very brave lady........
She was the one who showed me how live in a dignified manner even when braving tough circumstances in life without ever talking about it to me on a personal level.
A lady born in the pre-independence era, in a small village tucked away in the interior of Tamil Nadu. She was the eldest daughter in the family after two sons and thus the responsibility of rearing up her younger siblings fell on her. My father was the youngest of her brothers and to this day refers to her as more of his mother than my grandma. She had a solid impact on the upbringing of my father and her other siblings.
She got married at a very early age (as was the norm in those days) to my Uncle who was working with Binny Mills in Chennai. Uncle was a genuinely nice and understanding person and my aunt was lucky enough to be married to him. Though money was not very abundant in those days she managed to adjust and run a family comprising of 5 children (four girls and a boy) very efficiently.
A very smooth and untroubled life has not been lived by anybody on this earth and so was the case with my aunt. Binny mills got locked out due to a prolonged stirke and my Uncle was out of work. This imposed great hardship on the family. Though Uncle tried very hard he could not get any alternative job. Aunt somehow managed to run the show by taking on cooking jobs and other small tasks at other homes. My cousin started to work in a small business of his own and managed to get in some money monthly. This was just about enough to feed everybody and save a little. She somehow managed to get all her daughters married off and finally also her son, which was the highpoint of her acheivements.
She was happy managing her sons house, bringing up her grandchildren and generally leading a contended life till last year when cancer struck. I still can't fathom why god makes the good people undergo such severe trails. She bravely managed for a year, was running the house till she was bedridden for the last four months.
My abiding memory of her over the years has been her uncomplaining and kind nature, cheerful conversation and her positive attitude in the face of hardships. She has taught me to persevere in toughtest of situation and things will get better. I have tried to change my nature becoming more calmer and accomdative because of her.
This is my small tribute to a very brave lady......................
She was the one who showed me how live in a dignified manner even when braving tough circumstances in life without ever talking about it to me on a personal level.
A lady born in the pre-independence era, in a small village tucked away in the interior of Tamil Nadu. She was the eldest daughter in the family after two sons and thus the responsibility of rearing up her younger siblings fell on her. My father was the youngest of her brothers and to this day refers to her as more of his mother than my grandma. She had a solid impact on the upbringing of my father and her other siblings.
She got married at a very early age (as was the norm in those days) to my Uncle who was working with Binny Mills in Chennai. Uncle was a genuinely nice and understanding person and my aunt was lucky enough to be married to him. Though money was not very abundant in those days she managed to adjust and run a family comprising of 5 children (four girls and a boy) very efficiently.
A very smooth and untroubled life has not been lived by anybody on this earth and so was the case with my aunt. Binny mills got locked out due to a prolonged stirke and my Uncle was out of work. This imposed great hardship on the family. Though Uncle tried very hard he could not get any alternative job. Aunt somehow managed to run the show by taking on cooking jobs and other small tasks at other homes. My cousin started to work in a small business of his own and managed to get in some money monthly. This was just about enough to feed everybody and save a little. She somehow managed to get all her daughters married off and finally also her son, which was the highpoint of her acheivements.
She was happy managing her sons house, bringing up her grandchildren and generally leading a contended life till last year when cancer struck. I still can't fathom why god makes the good people undergo such severe trails. She bravely managed for a year, was running the house till she was bedridden for the last four months.
My abiding memory of her over the years has been her uncomplaining and kind nature, cheerful conversation and her positive attitude in the face of hardships. She has taught me to persevere in toughtest of situation and things will get better. I have tried to change my nature becoming more calmer and accomdative because of her.
This is my small tribute to a very brave lady......................
It is a typically Indian gesture, regardless of religion, to start any new thing, by doing namaskars to the elders.
ReplyDeleteYour remembrances of your aunt on your maiden blogpost , are like that.
A typical story of those days when closure of the textile mills brought uncertainity in so many lives. One salutes her memory....
Dear Madam,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for being the first to visit and comment on my blog.
People like her continue to live and teach. Through the people who they have impacted for a lifetime. Like you !
ReplyDeleteAnd when you write about her, it teaches me and inspires me. To do something more. To disregard my pet peeves and the sordid tales. And focus on whats good !
its a wonderful tribute ! And as i said earlier, she continues to live !
Dear Kavi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for those lovely words. Indeed she continues to live on...........