MY MOTHER AND ME

We say mother, motherland, mother tongue, mother's day. We know God but we cannot write about Him. Similarly, the mother. She has so many qualities which you can only wonder. I am now trying to write about my mother who is 91.

I imagine my mother.  Aging is a natural process. My mother is no exception. She has also gone old. She is fragile, grayish hair, brownish eyes, shrunken skin, withered teeth, unable to stand erect, bent at the waist level, always looking at the ground, depending upon walkers, her life has been confined to the four walls. 

These are the symptoms of aging. Even then she is my mother. I love her so deeply. She wakes up early in the morning, and after brushing, she takes her coffee. After combing her hair, she gets up slowly, holds the walker, and moves towards the nearby bathroom to answer the call of nature and for bathing.  Thank God, at this age, she is able to move around and look after herself. 

After a bath, he resumes her work as if she works in an office. She starts writing  Sri Rama Jayam. Her target is one thousand daily. Then she starts reading books. She is a voracious reader. She gets many magazines and books to read. After reading, she cuts the pictures of the Gods or any good article and pastes them in a notebook, and shows it to people who visit her. She takes her food and medicines on time.  

I wonder is she the same mother, I know from my childhood?  My heart bleeds on seeing her condition now. Tears roll down my cheeks. She used to sing lullabies when my children were young. I wondered at her melodious voice. She never learned music from a Guru,  but she developed singing on her own instinct. People used to appreciate her Sruthi, breath control, and passion for music.

She has 9 children and their 9 spouses and their 18 children of whom 12 are married. These 49 people love her to the core. Everyone comes to her for her blessings or for some advice or for some consultation or for some discussion, or for fixing an auspicious day, or for chatting, etc., etc. All of them, when visiting get her some gift say, mp4, tablet, silk Saree, books, a statue of gods, sweets, fruits, etc. Her room looks like a temple. She is able to handle all modern gadgets.

Everyone wants to make her happy. She blesses them whole heartily. She also gives them gifts mostly in cash. All of them are well off and they attribute their success to the blessings of the old lady. I imagine her profile in my wedding album. Time has taken a big toll on her. She was charismatic in my album and in the photo with my father she looked gorgeous carrying me as a one-year-old child.

As the next eldest person in the family, I remember her all through my life. Born in 1925, as Rajalakshmi, the only loving daughter of my grandparents, she was married at the age of 12, to a handsome young man working in the State Govt. She learned the art of cooking and efficiently running the family from her mother-in-law. She also taught these nuances to her daughters and daughters-in-law.  

She had brought up her children in the very best way possible and got them married in time. She looked after her in-laws and her parents in their old age till they breathed their last. All sons, daughters, daughters-in-law and sons-in-law, and grandchildren are very much fond of her and showed her love, respect, and regard. She is full of love and shared all her love with every one of the family.

What a wonderful person she is!! One must be very fortunate to have her as a mother. I can call her a phenomenon and a person par excellence and a noblewoman. She has sacrificed her entire life for the well-being of everyone in the family. The love she shows towards the children is much more than the love we show towards her. Though we are sorry to see her suffering at this old age, we want her to be with us always. We all pray to the Lord to give her strength and long life without much suffering so that she can always bless us.