Pardise Lost

[JUSTIFY]
Mani mama’s house was filled with guest. His mother laxmi passed away.Mani mama must have scratched his head to know whether the entire guests are his relatives. His house was over crowded. He stood in white dhoti & folded hands. All came to console & his throat became dry explaining what happened to Laxmi Patti (Grandma). What would happen to a person at the age of 82? She died in the mid night as if dramatic all the middle aged ladies surrounded him & asked him who was there when she died. Like India laxmi Patti too got freedom in the midnight!

My relative told me to offer coffee to everyone. What an easy job I thought but when I reached everyone asked coffee or Tea? Coffee I replied. Is it hot or not? I nodded. Is it with sugar or without sugar? Is it strong or not? I wanted to bang my head but stayed calm like laxmi Patti. Now its fairy tale time & all folks of near or less her age grouped to tell tales about her. From the age of 8 to 82 laxmi Patti from two plaits the life story was narrated with many twist & turns. Now all those who came before wiped their tears & became ease. Their eyes looked for the other person whom they are awaiting. Each person is waiting for someone or the other to team.Gomu dint come? No her ankle got sprained? You don’t know va? Is it? Yes when? Last Thursday at 5pm, which Doctor she is seeing? Dr Ragunath.My ankle too is paining Im not able to climb stairs & the chit chat continued.

Suddenly there was pin drop silence when Laxmi Patti’s daughter came. After all cries she mingled with the group. Now few sharpened their tongue & ears & moved towards laxmi Patti’s daughter.Dont cry di someone go & get her coffee. Now they all looked at me as Laxmi Patti would struggle to get up I gathered my strength to get her one. One Patti told hey don’t keep on crying & don’t leave all your mom’s jewels. Her daughter suddenly stopped sobbing & looked pale. Don’t be so innocent you too have a daughter; is it not your birth right to get your mothers jewels as share? What ??Like Bal Gangadhar Tilak told “Swaraj is my birthright & I shall have it” having mother’s jewels is also birthright & one shall have it? I hope he forgot to mention that?

Laxmi Patti’s daughter’s eyes became courageous; she wiped her tears & sternly looked at her SIL’s movements. One lady asked do you remember what she was wearing & having. Ya said the daughter. Then go & check. One Patti asked why are you asking her to go? I was feeling bit relived as aleast one Patti understood the situation & stopped all this menace. Like a pack of towered cards my thoughts came down crashing when the Patti continued if she goes near her SIL will suspect her.I now know why laxmi patti chose to get freedom in midnight

I hanged my head down & went inside the kitchen as I dint want to think in laxmi Patti’s shoes. Death is inevitable but are our relatives taking & dealing it naturally? Are we allowing the person to Rest In Peace? A person’s death is emotionally affecting someone & unbearable lose but what is there to trade in there? What makes them to suggest & give judgments about who should have the jewels & rest other things? Where were they when laxmi Patti was in short of money during her daughter’s wedding? Where were they when she was struggling to seek an alliance for her son? Where were they when she lost all her faith when her husband died, whom she got married at the age of 14? Where were they when she was alone in the house when the whole family left to Munnar? Where they were when her age overtook her? When she couldn’t hear properly, when her companions death gripped her with fear, blurred vision that affirmed that she in the end of her journey!

Another gang of ladies gathered around laxmi Patti’s Dil & gave same set of advice. I do remember Adam & Eve story & how a serpent tempts the eve & how Eve succumbs but not seen so lively! Any epic or story with an apt message for life remains in the books as stories itself but any actor, actress story we can recollect anytime, our ring tones reflect that in our daily life!!

No one has ever told us how to use our 6th sense correctly? Or no user manual available I guess!! .Not to hear the serpent’s voice & version; No one told us the quotes that says “If you tell your problems to others, 90% of them are happy to hear that”! No one told us to be aware that few others tongue doesn’t speak what their hearts wanted to.No one told us that the dead person wanted to comeback to put things right.Laxmi Patti wanted to get up from the grave & hold peace at her home where her daughter & Dil inspite of differences managed to cope up together; her death not only created a vacuum but caused a gap In-between their hearts. All her near & dear ones are waiting for the strings to loosen which she bonded with love.

Sometimes I feel we give more importance to least things & least important to best things. We have locked wooden boxes for our electricity meters, lockers for our jewels; burglar alarms for our gate but what about our heart & mind are we allowing it to get tampered by others? Don’t we have a place where it can feel & act on its own? Doesn’t it have any lockers to be safe? My heart aches a little thinking how one can influence a person in the wrong way but most of the time we are initially innocent like the Eve & forget that God is waiting with his judgment. We cannot blame the serpent or search for Adam’s to share the blame. We need to control our senses & heart, be true not to a person like laxmi Patti alone but to ourselves too.
[/JUSTIFY]

 

Dear Raba,

Thanks for your first fb.Yes one has to understand what is important & for whom it is more important.

 

Dear Kamalji,
Thanks for your blessings.You dont forget to give a pat.Yes you have put it right one person dies & others make merry but at whose cost?!!Really feeling sad to see such happenings.

Many thanks for your nomination Im delighted..