MONDAY BLUES (15)

TALES FROM MY MOM

Good morning friends,

Last Monday, I presented my views on the concept of sad demise. We also know that we live and die only once. But there’s an exception. Yes. Our favorite day of the week, Sunday, dies every week to mark the birth of a new week, where we are full of new hopes, aims and aspirations. I would like to share some experiences of my mom and my maternal grandfather, as she told me.

This incident happened when my Mom was in fifth grade and my aunt, her younger sister, was probably an year old. My mother took her to the children’s park that was diagonally opposite to my ancestral house in Nagpur. They were playing together for a while. My aunt was intrigued by a small water tank built in the corner of the park. The water tank contained several species of fish. My aunt watched them in fascination. Unfortunately, she slipped and fell into the tank. My mom, though shocked, by the turn of events, didn’t lose her cool and immediately held her hand tightly, after the baby came floating back to the surface, to prevent her from drowning. Now, My mom was blessed with an extraordinary vocal chord. My uncles used to tease her saying that she was born with an in-built loudspeaker. Mom called out loud for her father who was having his meals. He heard her and immediately rushed to help her. He rescued my aunt and pressed her abdomen to get rid of the excess water. My mom was appreciated for her quick thinking.

My maternal grandpa had five children, two sons and three daughters. But my mother was his favorite. Once, my mom decided to help my grandfather in designing a new model of gas stove that would consume less fuel and be more energy efficient. They tinkered with various chemicals which went horribly wrong. There was a minor explosion and my poor grandfather lost his eyebrows. I couldn’t help laughing in spite of my grandpa’s suffering. 😀😀😀😃.

My grandpa was a cool guy. He and granny raised me and my brother for our entire childhood. They guided us and continued to support me, mom and my brother after my father passed away in 1998. Grandpa had an excellent sense of humor. He regaled us with many stories from his childhood and when he was young.

My grandpa was quite handsome with an athletic build, when he was young. He loved playing football. One fine day, he and his friend went to visit the Maharajbagh Zoo in Nagpur after playing a local football game. He was wearing a red jersey with Khaki pants. An unpleasant surprise was awaiting him. A wild bison had escaped from its enclosure and spotted him in his red jersey. It headed straight towards him and his friend. They were so scared that they had started running at their maximum speed with the bison, hot on their trail. Finally, he spotted a mango tree and both of them climbed up to save their skins. The bison was finally captured with great difficulty. Grandpa and his friend heaved a sigh of relief. He made sure to avoid wearing red clothes on his subsequent zoo visits.

Grandpa loved watching Horror movies, especially those from Hollywood. He went to see the late night show of the Old Dracula movie in 1974. It was midnight when he was coming home alone. He couldn’t sleep that night. The movie images probably replayed in his mind, stirring his imagination. He saw his briefcase moving on its own and felt as if someone was trying to open it. He thought he saw a Dracula coming out of the briefcase. He ran away from his room, screaming in fear, and pounded on my great grandma’s door. He spent the rest of the night in his mother’s room, chanting Hanuman Chalisa, a prayer dedicated to Monkey God who’s a great devotee of Lord Rama and chanting His Holy name wards off all the evil spirits including ghosts away.

Way to go, Grandpa! Miss you and grandma. I will always continue to love you both until my last breath.

Thank you so much for taking your precious time to visit my website. Hope you enjoyed reading my blogs. 😊😊