Of recent , many loved ones have been leaving us behind embracing eternity. My Grandmother's sister Saraswathi Ammama passed away yesterday. Ammama was always the different from her siblings from the time she entered the earthly world. Unlike her siblings born in Iran, she was the only one born in India in 1930. She excelled in studies being the first of her school in both year 10 and 12. Her fervent patriotism made her take part in the freedom struggle march despite our great grandmother's disapproval. Our great grand dad , bless him believed the empowerment in women allowing her to pursue her dream to study. Ammama was the only one in her entire generation to complete a postgraduate degree in Sanskrit, economics and Law from the prestigious Benares Hindu University. Her philanthropic nature was the reason for choosing a teacher's path rather than the legal path. Ammama always saw the goodness in people. She had a powerful aura around her.
Ammama was a wealth of knowledge. She was our encyclopedia of stories. I cant even remeber even one time where she refused to tell us stories however tired she was. My cousins and I loved to have friendly debates with her regarding the mythical charecters of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Let me share one such incident.
In my childhood , I always thought Lord Rama's step mother Kaikeyi was a wicked lady and was the root cause of all the trouble Rama faced. But according to Ammama, Kaikeyi was a good lady and was made to become jealous of Rama so that he goes off to Lanka to kill the evil king Ravana...All happened for a cause was Ammama's reasoning.I was the only grandchild who was fortunate to hear her beautiful stories when I was pregnant..
Health was never one of her strong points. Ammama opted not to marry as she felt she could not do justice to her partner due to her erratic health.Ammama , I'm told has scared everyone quite a number of times. Two years ago Ammama encountered a disaster similar to our veteran actor Sukumari. Ammama was in deep prayer when her sari caught on fire. She endured pain which cannot be explained in anyway. She recovered...As always when I am in India, I make sure I spend time with her. Eight months ago when I visited last, we were the last to sit down and have a meal with her , few hours after which she had a stroke and went into a coma...It was so painful for her and others around her,....She breathed her last yesterday. Ammama lived to the true meaning of her name Saraswathi- Goddess of Knowledge, Rest in Peace.......
Death is a painful situation. Rather than grieving about it , it is so vital that we enjoy people when they are around.The ability to live in the present is a gift.....I am still learning that... I was a person who lived in the past, caring the least about the present and anxious of the future...What good does that do other than brooding and worrying. Being mom to Ammu made me look back at my attitude. When she came into our life, we were always anxious about the next stage....Currently we were going though the stage where she totally admire us...Enjoy to the fullest has become our motto...
Life is like a game. It throws us balls of opportunities to tap our potentials and joys in the forms of people and moments...Grab it, enjoy it and cherish it when it is in your court....
Love
Chad
Ammama was a wealth of knowledge. She was our encyclopedia of stories. I cant even remeber even one time where she refused to tell us stories however tired she was. My cousins and I loved to have friendly debates with her regarding the mythical charecters of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Let me share one such incident.
In my childhood , I always thought Lord Rama's step mother Kaikeyi was a wicked lady and was the root cause of all the trouble Rama faced. But according to Ammama, Kaikeyi was a good lady and was made to become jealous of Rama so that he goes off to Lanka to kill the evil king Ravana...All happened for a cause was Ammama's reasoning.I was the only grandchild who was fortunate to hear her beautiful stories when I was pregnant..
Health was never one of her strong points. Ammama opted not to marry as she felt she could not do justice to her partner due to her erratic health.Ammama , I'm told has scared everyone quite a number of times. Two years ago Ammama encountered a disaster similar to our veteran actor Sukumari. Ammama was in deep prayer when her sari caught on fire. She endured pain which cannot be explained in anyway. She recovered...As always when I am in India, I make sure I spend time with her. Eight months ago when I visited last, we were the last to sit down and have a meal with her , few hours after which she had a stroke and went into a coma...It was so painful for her and others around her,....She breathed her last yesterday. Ammama lived to the true meaning of her name Saraswathi- Goddess of Knowledge, Rest in Peace.......
Life is like a game. It throws us balls of opportunities to tap our potentials and joys in the forms of people and moments...Grab it, enjoy it and cherish it when it is in your court....
Love
Chad
Dearest Chintu mol,you have managed to pinpoint the essence of Sarasulema's character & personality to the dot.
ReplyDeleteShe was all that you have said & more.She was the personification of patience & kindness;I have never heard her utter an unkind comment about anyone;as you said,she always found only the good points in every single person she came across.
Parvathy & I were reminiscing about the time years back, when Sarasulema bravely decided to accompany two giggly 17-year olds to Jamshedpur to write the medical entrance exam.We went by train which took us almost 3 days; but those memories are so precious to us; we both laugh about our experiences even to this day.
The sheer number of people (her old students,friends & colleagues) who attended her last rites is testimony enough to what a popular & wonderful person she was.
Chintu, you are truly lucky to have been able to listen to the puranas from her especially when you were pregnant with Ammu. Acha, Raghumama & I were the lucky ones who were the first in our generation to be exposed to the wealth of knowledge that she had to impart.She truly made the puranas so interesting.
I only wish that she did not have to go through so much suffering in the last few years.But now I am sure she is in a better place.
We will miss her ! Lots of love to you & thanks for writing such a wonderfully touching piece about Sarasulema.