Gomathi peramma, the second of four sisters, passed into the mist of time, around a quarter past 7 this evening. All of 93 yrs, she was bedridden without registering anything over the past six months. She leaves behind a son (Babu chettan) and twin daughters (Kunjomana chechi and Kumari chechi). Kunjomana chechi's son works in Abu Dhabi, UAE and will reach by tomorrow evening. Consequently, the cremation will take place on Saturday morning.
The body was shifted from her house, adjacent to the Puthuvayil House to the hospital morgue till the preparations for the cremation are completed.
Valia muthachhan (P Kesava Panicker, my muthachhan's elder brother) and Neelamperoor peramma have four daughters viz. Maheshwari, Gomathi, Santhakumari and Saraladevi. My mom used to call her, 'kochechi'!
I remember Gomathi peramma, as a very quiet person and full of love. She was very fond of me and used to pluck fruits from the trees, give me bath at the family's tank nearby and feed me while regaling me with a lot of stories and reciting melodious slokas, whenever my parents visited the ancestral house and as a kid, I was very fond of her.
Towards the end of last month, we'd paid a visit and I'd sat with her, trying to elicit some sort of a response from her but to no avail. She was wide awake, constantly chomping empty air and what Kunjomana chechi told us - me, Lekha and Mini, my younger sister - was that she was subsisting only on water for the past so many weeks! Dementia had caught up with her much earlier. When her grandson told her that I was calling her, she turned her head towards him, opened her mouth - as if out of conditioned reflex - to have that familiar gulp of water!
Since there was nothing on offer at that point of time, she reverted to her earlier position of lying flat on the bed, gave me a hard look and clutched weakly at my right shoulder.....I was sitting beside on her bed. Sat for a while wondering as to what life does to us as age advances....
Gomathi peramma lived beyond the 90s, was healthy and capable of looking after herself till probably the last year of her life. Her requirements were minimal and she had no unfulfilled desires, as I gathered from her daughter.
I consider it as a great honour and privilege to have been able to meet her, touch her feet and be with her albeit for a short time.
RIP Gomathi peramme. My prayers and tears. I shall always remain indebted to you for the tremendous love and kindness that you'd showered upon me for nothing in return.
Tailpiece.
Had gone out to the nearby internet cafe to complete a few pending work and thereafter, it was a quiet day. Earlier, Lekha had gone to the Guruvayur temple for her weekly tryst and also to buy the monthly grocery from the supermarket.
The body was shifted from her house, adjacent to the Puthuvayil House to the hospital morgue till the preparations for the cremation are completed.
Valia muthachhan (P Kesava Panicker, my muthachhan's elder brother) and Neelamperoor peramma have four daughters viz. Maheshwari, Gomathi, Santhakumari and Saraladevi. My mom used to call her, 'kochechi'!
I remember Gomathi peramma, as a very quiet person and full of love. She was very fond of me and used to pluck fruits from the trees, give me bath at the family's tank nearby and feed me while regaling me with a lot of stories and reciting melodious slokas, whenever my parents visited the ancestral house and as a kid, I was very fond of her.
Towards the end of last month, we'd paid a visit and I'd sat with her, trying to elicit some sort of a response from her but to no avail. She was wide awake, constantly chomping empty air and what Kunjomana chechi told us - me, Lekha and Mini, my younger sister - was that she was subsisting only on water for the past so many weeks! Dementia had caught up with her much earlier. When her grandson told her that I was calling her, she turned her head towards him, opened her mouth - as if out of conditioned reflex - to have that familiar gulp of water!
Since there was nothing on offer at that point of time, she reverted to her earlier position of lying flat on the bed, gave me a hard look and clutched weakly at my right shoulder.....I was sitting beside on her bed. Sat for a while wondering as to what life does to us as age advances....
Gomathi peramma lived beyond the 90s, was healthy and capable of looking after herself till probably the last year of her life. Her requirements were minimal and she had no unfulfilled desires, as I gathered from her daughter.
I consider it as a great honour and privilege to have been able to meet her, touch her feet and be with her albeit for a short time.
RIP Gomathi peramme. My prayers and tears. I shall always remain indebted to you for the tremendous love and kindness that you'd showered upon me for nothing in return.
Tailpiece.
Had gone out to the nearby internet cafe to complete a few pending work and thereafter, it was a quiet day. Earlier, Lekha had gone to the Guruvayur temple for her weekly tryst and also to buy the monthly grocery from the supermarket.
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