My cellphone had begun to ring incessantly around a half past 3 in the morning. Calls at such unearthly hour, usually, are bearers of bad news except for some freaky friends who want to break into your sleep time just to irk you and have a good laugh at your expense.
Tonight's call was the former.......it had that insistent tone. As my ears perked up, I could catch young Ranjith's clear voice, "Chetta, ammachi passed away around 0130h. Her cremation will be around 4 in the evening and hope to meet you then". It was just that, no queries as to whether I'd be able to attend!
Around 6, my mom had called up to wish me many happy returns as today happened to be my birthday as per the Malayalam calendar. And then she said that we'd to attend the cremation and more importantly, she wanted to have one last look-see at my grand aunt(They did indeed have an affinity that I'd observed many a time). I tried to tell her that there were so many things lined up for the day, many people were scheduled to visit the house for getting things going, Lekha wasn't quite okay after yesterday's unpacking and therefore, I'd go and offer my condolences sometime within the next 16 days but it fell on deaf ears(no pun intended please)......Having been left without an alternative, I then decided to obey mom's diktat.
Kalyanikutty Amma, my grand aunt(Kochammachi), all of 95 years and Mrs. PN Panicker's younger sister had passed into the mist of time after a brief illness.
We'd reached the house at Ettumanoor well in time and saw her swathed in a bright red shroud lying in state in the spacious sitting room where her writ ran large for decades. She looked tired and withered and time had really taken a toll of her once beautiful face.
At 1717h her mortal form was shut off from view as the red shroud was draped around. I was one of the six who'd participated in her last rites and carried her frail body to the cremation point in the backyard.
RIP, kochammachi. I shall remember you for the love and affection that you'd showered upon me.
Tailpiece.
Flashback of events from the same room came zooming in as I waited for my turn in the final ceremonies:-
(a) My great grandmother telling my mom, in utter anguish, about my joining the Sainik School,
"Chandramathy, why have you dumped your son into the defence forces?" I was on my first
vacation from school in the summer of '67.
(b) My mom's uncle conducting the after death ceremony of my great grandmother chiding me
for the string of mistakes that I was committing, "During your free time you must practice
performing the last rites". And mind you, he was dead serious! It was Dec '71.
(c) The tearful farewell for Kochu muthachan by a mammoth gathering as he was a
very popular teacher. The occurrence....17 years back in time.
PS.
1. Realised that mom was right on her insistence about me attending the funeral.And thank god, I could make it after the initial hesitation!
2. It's the end of an era in our family.
Tonight's call was the former.......it had that insistent tone. As my ears perked up, I could catch young Ranjith's clear voice, "Chetta, ammachi passed away around 0130h. Her cremation will be around 4 in the evening and hope to meet you then". It was just that, no queries as to whether I'd be able to attend!
Around 6, my mom had called up to wish me many happy returns as today happened to be my birthday as per the Malayalam calendar. And then she said that we'd to attend the cremation and more importantly, she wanted to have one last look-see at my grand aunt(They did indeed have an affinity that I'd observed many a time). I tried to tell her that there were so many things lined up for the day, many people were scheduled to visit the house for getting things going, Lekha wasn't quite okay after yesterday's unpacking and therefore, I'd go and offer my condolences sometime within the next 16 days but it fell on deaf ears(no pun intended please)......Having been left without an alternative, I then decided to obey mom's diktat.
Kalyanikutty Amma, my grand aunt(Kochammachi), all of 95 years and Mrs. PN Panicker's younger sister had passed into the mist of time after a brief illness.
We'd reached the house at Ettumanoor well in time and saw her swathed in a bright red shroud lying in state in the spacious sitting room where her writ ran large for decades. She looked tired and withered and time had really taken a toll of her once beautiful face.
At 1717h her mortal form was shut off from view as the red shroud was draped around. I was one of the six who'd participated in her last rites and carried her frail body to the cremation point in the backyard.
RIP, kochammachi. I shall remember you for the love and affection that you'd showered upon me.
Tailpiece.
Flashback of events from the same room came zooming in as I waited for my turn in the final ceremonies:-
(a) My great grandmother telling my mom, in utter anguish, about my joining the Sainik School,
"Chandramathy, why have you dumped your son into the defence forces?" I was on my first
vacation from school in the summer of '67.
(b) My mom's uncle conducting the after death ceremony of my great grandmother chiding me
for the string of mistakes that I was committing, "During your free time you must practice
performing the last rites". And mind you, he was dead serious! It was Dec '71.
(c) The tearful farewell for Kochu muthachan by a mammoth gathering as he was a
very popular teacher. The occurrence....17 years back in time.
PS.
1. Realised that mom was right on her insistence about me attending the funeral.And thank god, I could make it after the initial hesitation!
2. It's the end of an era in our family.
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