Amma (my paternal grandmother) passed away yesterday. My brother Gaurav and I grew up with her and Baba in our family home, and they had a significant influence in who I am and will be. There is much that I remember about those years; I've attempted to capture some of those thoughts here.
One of the things I recall fondly is how she used to come to the dining room and give me company if I was having lunch alone (usually because I had come home late from school and no one else was home). There wasn't much conversation, but she used to patter around making sure that everything that had been made was on the table and served up for me to choose from. In the summer, she used to make a ginger-chilli achar that was and is still one of my favorites. I wish I had perfected that recipe! :)
Amma was always organized about the supplies that were needed for the house. She had everything ready for the milkman in the morning and took great care with the milk coupons. She used to know when the sabzi-wala was calling in our street, and would assign someone to go get the sabzis for the day. She also liked to put away things in her storage boxes - some of which stayed useful over the years and some that weren't very useful to begin with :). Over the years I've stumbled onto many of those collectibles and recalled her sentimentality with each one! Of the possessions she had, two that interested me a lot as a teenager were Hindi editions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. They were large and heavy volumes, and I remember sitting in their room in front of the very effective large cooler and reading those books. I am now reminding myself to bring those back with me to Seattle the next time I visit... as a keepsake of her memory.
Sentimentality runs in the family, and I do think I got the marshmallow gene from her; she used to get emotional very easily when relating stories of her life. We were very fortunate to visit her in 2009 with Appu (who was 15 months old at the time) and she very much enjoyed our trip and the little pattering and babbling that Appu delighted her with. I was able to record many conversations with Amma at that time... and playing them back later reminded Appu of her. I am so glad Appu got to meet her great-grandmother!
In her later years, Amma couldn't hear very well on the phone (though she could make conversation reasonably well in person). Rather than tell us about her ails, she would instead ask about our lives, and give her blessings and love to everyone each time. It is especially nice to think about those phone calls and the positive energy she always sent our way. She showed us how important it is to have concern for others' well-being and care for friends and family.
We are all very sorry that her positive energy is longer with us in our day to day lives. But she has had a strong and ever-lasting influence on our minds, our lives and our hearts. We will miss her dearly.
No comments:
Post a Comment