An Involuntary Inheritance

My mother was blessed with three biological daughters and a long list of boys and girls for whom she was a mother at some point of their lives. To her they were not her wards by any standard but her very own. I have heard her say as to how she used to care for one of her cousin’s who was deprived of hearing and speech and how this person accompanied her when she went to live as a newly married bride with my father. The person was just 4-5 years younger than her. Again I have heard people older than her by more than a decade call her “Chechi” out of sheer love and admiration. I think she has made an impact on anyone with whom she had an interaction. She was a selfless woman always willing to give.

While we were growing up she was a mother figure to all our close friends. While we were still kids, we had a family friend’s son stay with us for 6 months to learn French. He became the elder brother we never had. Once her 3 girls grew up, she took it on herself to look after her nephew (Raju) right through his school and college education. From a puny little boy of five she nurtured him into a young man of twenty. Raju’s arrival and my leaving the family coincided. (This made me feel that I was never missed). Each time I came on vacation, I would meet new characters of whom she would have earlier mentioned in her letters. There have been vacations when not even once it would be just our family at the dining table. She would cater to the likes of each of her wards and would make them feel so wanted. If it was AVIAL for Sarah, it was Boost for Roy. If it was banana fried in ghee for Raghu, then it was idly and sambhar for Anjali and so the list went on. In between we have had the likes of Cuckoo, Mohan, Arun, Krishna Das, Pramod, Rajeev and many others flitting in and out. Apart from whetting their appetites, she would also be totally involved in all their problems and would try to help them out in whichever way possible. Class and status were absolutely of no importance to her. There was this boy who came in as a newspaper boy who my mother got to know had failed in his SSLC courtesy mathematics. My mother took it upon herself to teach him mathematics and help him clear his exam. Next she put him on to a right contact and saw to it that he started life on a good note. I am happy to say that he is a well known person in our community. (If I were to write of all the people who have been her beneficiaries, this would turn into a book. That gives me an idea, may be I will venture writing one!!!)

So many have benefited from her generosity and have come up well. Having said that I must also say that none of it would have been possible but for the silent support provided by my father. I think we children did not expect her to spend time only on us and took it in our stride that our world was full of people. What amazed me was how she made do with the limited resources that she had. Her idea in life I suppose was to spread it evenly so that it would cover the maximum area. The word EVEN played an important role in her life. She was never partial and treated everyone equally. I feel she would have felt embarrassed if some one had pointed out that she was siding up with one person against the other. I am so proud that I am the daughter of this wonderful person.

It is four years since my mother’s demise and it is not new for us to hear people sing her paeans. She must have touched them in her own marvelous ways what with her kindness and just attitude. However there is this little secret that I have been toying with. I am absolutely sure she was partial to me. By this I don’t mean that she showered me with more affection or left behind all her material possession. It is her knowledge that she has let me inherit. Most of you may not be aware that she was a wizard when it came to Mathematics and had done her BA Honors in pure Mathematics. Numbers and figures came automatically to her and she was in her elements when she imparted this knowledge to anyone willing to listen. Had she been in control of distribution, she would have spread this too evenly. However God had other plans and this I claim as my INVOLUNTARY INHERITANCE. Any challengers!!!!!