The invisible Companions

definitely mam...takecare.....

 

Dear Venus,

A beautiful write up.

We had a maid when I was a 6 mts old baby. She also had one son & one daughter son was same age as of my brother and daughter was 3 months elder to me. She was really God sent. She became one with our family. She used to do oil massage to us on saturdays and give a nice hot water bath after we came from school. She was the person who consoled my mom when she was let down. When her husband passed away, we could see how strong she was. She got her daughter married and got her husband's job for her son. When I got married, she left our house because of ill health. Recently, few months back she came to my mom's place, luckily I was there with my kids enjoying the vacation and she was aghast seeing my father's photo garlanded. She cried and was very angry with us in not keep her informed about his demise. Though she was poor, she had brought fruits, cakes and sweets for my kids almost costing 200 Rs. I was just dumbfounded, and promised her that I will visit her. But could not keep up the promise to our preoccupation and 15 days back I met her daughter who gave the news that our beloved maid is no more. She had a silent death after struggling with cancer. But being a very good soul, God also did not allow her to suffer a lot from cancer. Just after diagnosis, 3 days later she just passed away.

I pray for her Soul to rest in peace.

 

Dear Venus,

This reminds me of an elderly lady who came with my mother to Mumbai at the age of 60. She was from Kerala. Imagine an uneducated simple lady accompanying someone to a far off place called Mumbai. This happened some 50 years back.

We used to call her Valiyamma. Her only ambition in life was to see her grandson working in an office. She and her daughter were associated with some task in and around temple.
My promised that she would definitely fix a job for her grandson in retun for the help she would be rendering us.
After an year or so my father need to be operatrd for piles. Those days it was a major operation. While father was in the hospital in a serious condition, valiamma had to be admitted to Arthur Road Hospital(Mumbai) for smallpox. In bombay it had spread like an epidemic and many died. Valiamma at that ripe age was a fatal case.
My mother had to attend to two patients. To avoid shocks to my father she kept mum. Though everyone including valiamma discouraged my mother from visiting the old lady, my mother's concise didn't allow her to do so. She use to visit valiamma and provide all things as told by the doctor. She had also kept an ayah for the night. During the day mother used to shuttle from father to Valiamma.
The day father was discharged from hospital our Valiamma died. Mother cried as if she had lost hr own mother. My uncle sent a telegram to Valiamma's daughter informing of her (Valiamma's) demise. Say within half an hour we received another telegram from kearal saying "Mother expired". The mother and daughter expired on the same day and the telegrams had just crossed.
Here was a family of 4children with no one to look after. The grandson had just appeared for the Matric exam.
The grandson entrusted the responsibility of looking after the kids to one of his teacher's family and came to Mumbai with a trunk.
Fortunately those days getting a job wasn't that difficult. When he went in search of a job mother used to wash his dress and keep ready for the next day.
After working in small firms for sometime the boy got a job in a very good research institution. He by nature is pleasant, hard working and diplomatic to the core. This quality has taken him a long way, full of success.
He married the sir's daughter as a reciprocal to the kind gesture.
Now that boy whom I would like to address as gentleman is wll settled in life. His daughter is married to a rich famly good family. Son is in U.S.
His mother might have swept the temple floors, his grand mother must have reached a far off place just to see the grandson coming up in life- no more are the children of this gentleman destined to do such menial job.

Todate this gentleman addresses my mother as "Amma" and is ever ready to come to mumbai to help her out.

Valiamma though she was invisible, insignificant was an INVINCIBLE LADY! kanaka

 

Dear Venus,
It was a very moving post. No, it's a poem in the form of prose woven with the simplest of words that were tricked into giving the profoundest of meanings.
While almost every family has a fixture or as you say, a miniature person, like Vijaya, I have not seen this fact being acknowledged by anybody. You've done it. There is an undertone of grief and even a profound sense of humour.
You have done it, Venus.
I am ashamed that I did not come to this post directly, read it and then nominate it for FP. I came through the back door after seeing the nomination in FP. Whether it is the front door or the back, if the house is good, the visit is worth the while.
Keep writing Venus. May many such profound posts flow through your pen.
Regards,