Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Mom has become one with the elements!

The day had begun at 3 o'clock at the Raj Nivas, today. The seven of us had gone through our chores to set off for Varkala, about 55 kms from here and the departure was scheduled at 5. Unni and his Xylo had reached our gate by a quarter to 5 and it was only then that I'd dug out the urn containing mom's ashes. The externals were cleared off the mud, the old cloth that covered it was replaced with a spanking new red cloth and we set off, on the dot at 5.

It had poured rather heavily till an hour before our departure but the sky had cleared as we began our journey with the meagre remnants of mom's earthly being. I had sat on the pillion seat and held on to the urn that was most precious to me at that point of time and to ensure that nothing untoward would happen, I'd strapped myself to the seat(It isn't compulsory out here, but that's another matter altogether on which I wouldn't like to dwell upon at this juncture).

I kept holding the urn firmly on my lap to compensate for the many missed opportunities of hugging my mom when she was amid us and so very close to me! Did she ever wish it? I dunno what sort of a son I was to her but she doesn't have to complain anymore about my spending a lot of time on the computer/personal work and losing time on our interactions!.......Why do I've to rue over wasted opportunities once those moments have passed and can never have them again?

We reached the Varkala beach by a half past 6 and without much ado assigned a portly 'karmi' sitting on the sands - among many others - to guide us through the 'bali' because he appeared to be knowledgeable about the proceedings and except for Lekha and Usha ammayi, the rest had sat down to take orders from him, He was assisted by a spirited assistant who supplied us with the ingredients on the diktats of his boss. The folks from Thiruvananthapuram arrived a trifle late and Indira kunjamma and Suma kunjamma joined us after taking a dip in the sea.

Somewhere after 0715 hrs, I'd stood at a spot facing northward, where the waves lapped at knee deep level and tipped the urn - perched on my head - backwards, finally dropping it into the sea......the symbolic act of handing over mom's last remnants of her earthly form to the five elements! Chandramathykutty Amma, the eldest daughter of PN Panicker and Chempakakutty Amma, wife of KK Nair, mother of Rajeev, Rema and Renjini, grandmother of Ashwin and Shamily and retired Post Mistress of Kura PO, had become one with the elements!

Tailpiece.

(a) We'd all gone to the Janardanaswamy temple, perched atop, for a 'darshan'. It was a short, quick affair. Suma kunjamma had sponsored our breakfast before they left for Paravoor while we hurtled homeward.

(b) After lunch, we'd gone to look up Pidavoor amma. We could only hug each other to convey our melancholy.

(c) Akin to 'con trg'(Continuity Training) for pilots in the aviation net when the type of aircraft changes, I drove Rema's car first, to go to Pidavoor and later in the evening, to drop Padmakumar at the bus stand! 

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