Ahalya's passing on was very sudden!
She had a heart attack. I don't know how the time and the way of passing on, is fixed! In her case it was in the middle of the night! A time when there is no horrendous traffic of namma Bengaluru. Dr. Ankit and Indraneel, staying as PG, were at home. Ahalya knocked on their door as she felt uneasy. While Indraneel came up to tell us Dr. Ankit seeing her slump, tried to resuscitate her, and then called for an ambulance. Doctor works in the nearby hospital. The ambulance came and she was in the hospital in less than 30 minutes. However it was not to be, she did not make it at the hospital.
Shrikanth and Mohan, arrived the next day. Incidentally Rohini and family arrived later in the same morning. She just missed meeting Ahalya. Rohini who studied in Mumbai, J J school of Architecture, it was her weekend home! She would visit often.
Things move fast in such occasions. The thirteenth day soon came, and Indraneel who was there for the cremation, missed the Vaikunta ceremony, wrote a letter of remembrance and Srikanth rightly chose to read it for us after the ceremonies. It is so beautiful a memory, I thought I will share it with others in a blog. Shrikanth spoke about his mother next. Tara sang a few prayers from the Upanishads and explained its meaning. Shakku added a few words about Ahalya's helping nature. As Mohan and the rest of us, having nothing more new to add, walked down to have lunch!
It was nice to see our relatives and friends being part of the ceremony!
Shrikanth rightly chose to read Indraneel's memoir first!
Indraneel wrote:
It has been 13 days since Ahalya aunty left us for her heavenly abode. And I miss her every single minute. When I first came here to meet her about staying here as a PG, I could tell right away that she was very innocent. I told her I would join in the middle of the month. But from that day, she started calling me every day. “When are you coming? Are you really coming?
Which pillow do you want, hard or soft? I bought one, but then I thought maybe I should have waited for you to choose yourself because pillow is personal choice .” She would keep asking, “Why aren’t you joining early? Will you surely come? Others came, but frankly, I didn’t like them much.” All of this happened just within a week of my first visit. I can feel her loneliness and she just wanted to talk to someone.
When I finally moved in, I realised living here with her was one of the best things that happened to me . I have never had a chance to live close to my own grandmother, but with aunty, I found that motherly and grandmotherly affection . She used to say, my house is a lucky one, you will do good. Indeed, it’s a lucky one for me! I got appraisals and promotions, and she was one of the few people with whom I share all the good news and she made sure that she will retell all those stories to everyone she talks .
She used to joke, “Do you want to call me aunty or paati?” And when I asked what she preferred, she would laugh and say, “Kuch bhi chalega." When I worked in my room, she would quietly come and sit there, then say, “Why don’t you work in the hall, so I can talk to you ?” Slowly, the hall became my workspace. She herself never cooked much, usually just curd rice, but once when I was stuck in meetings and couldn’t go out, she made rotis for me and silently placed them on my desk, whispering, “Thoda thoda kha lena.” That small gesture still stays with me❤.
She was always worried when I ate outside every day. “Kya haalath hoga tera, roz bahar khayega toh. Ghar mein curd rice kha lo.” That made me start cooking at home, and whatever I cooked, she would praise. “You should have been a chef ,” she said. Paneer pulao became her favourite, and tragically, that was her last meal .
We shared everything. We talked late into the night, she will enquire what happened in my office, she will have her own versions of how things could have been done , We watched KBC together, the news, Arnab Goswami tearing Rahul Gandhi apart, watching IPL and test cricket, old Hindi songs, and her never-ending Chembur stories. She was updated on everything, even random You Tube gossip like Sara Tendulkar and Shubman Gill ! And now, I miss all those conversations .
When I slept on the diwan cot in the hall, at 2 AM she would wake up to drink water, see me in the hall, bring a huge blanket, and cover me so I wouldn’t fall sick . And today, I don’t have that person on the sofa asking, “Aagaya tu? Kab se intezaar kar rahi hoon.”
I used to call her “Chembur ki rani,” and she called me “Tirupati ka raja .” She loved people, and I could see her happiness when someone spoke to her. She would retell all her stories with joy. Even when I couldn’t be around after mid-July due to work related travel, I still made sure to call her every two days. She once told me, “I was afraid of my parents, then my husband, then my children, then Shakku and Tara... and now, I’m afraid of you also. You’ll scold me if I don’t eat on time !” And we laughed together.
Her heart was pure gold❤, and her soul was innocent. I was with her for just a year, but she gave me memories for a lifetime❤. And today, I miss her so badly, And aunty, I Know now you will be telling all your stories to someone in the heaven , Take some rest now!
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