Yet another Christmas eve is upon us and as the gaiety and the frolic of the festive season encompasses me overwhelmingly, I cannot help but be nostalgic about the celebrations of the past, when I was a kid and part of a huge joint family that I've talked about, time and again.
I remember the 'Neena' family who used to be our immediate neighbours and the broken boundary wall between the two houses facilitated easy and almost continuous interaction between the two families which was a boon to us, children. The family consisted of Neena's dad, mom, a brother and four sisters, out of which Neena was the eldest. Her grandmother, Neena's mom's mom and affectionately called 'paatti', was very fond of me as I used to sit and listen to her talk and always found time for her. When Neena's dad used to be on tour, me and my young uncle used to sleep at their home as 'guardian angels'! And that goes without saying, Neena, her brother and sisters used to be our playmates!!
The depth of the relationship between the two families can be understood by this one incident that I'm gonna narrate. When Neena's dad was seriously ill with 'Meningitis', both the families prayed together for his early recovery and a few of the elders from my family even kept vigil at the hospital, where he was being nursed, to augment the family's efforts and lighten their anxiety.
The family used to celebrate every festival and I used to look forward to their generous dinner spread on such occasions and eat myself silly. I can still recall the taste of the delicious Christmas cakes that Neena's mom used to bake on such occasions! Paatti and I used to maintain a covenant, according to which, I was to remain mum about the special helpings that she used to savour for me, in addition to my normal intake along with the others!
Those were fantastic days and I must hasten to add that Neena continues to be a dear friend joining us in our family get togethers even to this day, while her mom(her dad is no more) and the rest keep track of each one of us.
And yes, I do say my little prayer for Paatti everyday.
I remember the 'Neena' family who used to be our immediate neighbours and the broken boundary wall between the two houses facilitated easy and almost continuous interaction between the two families which was a boon to us, children. The family consisted of Neena's dad, mom, a brother and four sisters, out of which Neena was the eldest. Her grandmother, Neena's mom's mom and affectionately called 'paatti', was very fond of me as I used to sit and listen to her talk and always found time for her. When Neena's dad used to be on tour, me and my young uncle used to sleep at their home as 'guardian angels'! And that goes without saying, Neena, her brother and sisters used to be our playmates!!
The depth of the relationship between the two families can be understood by this one incident that I'm gonna narrate. When Neena's dad was seriously ill with 'Meningitis', both the families prayed together for his early recovery and a few of the elders from my family even kept vigil at the hospital, where he was being nursed, to augment the family's efforts and lighten their anxiety.
The family used to celebrate every festival and I used to look forward to their generous dinner spread on such occasions and eat myself silly. I can still recall the taste of the delicious Christmas cakes that Neena's mom used to bake on such occasions! Paatti and I used to maintain a covenant, according to which, I was to remain mum about the special helpings that she used to savour for me, in addition to my normal intake along with the others!
Those were fantastic days and I must hasten to add that Neena continues to be a dear friend joining us in our family get togethers even to this day, while her mom(her dad is no more) and the rest keep track of each one of us.
And yes, I do say my little prayer for Paatti everyday.
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