Wednesday, September 13, 2006

A tribute to a gentle soul

Today was a sad day for us all. R's mom passed away after succumbing to burn injuries suffered after her sari caught fire lighting a lamp last evening. She was rushed to the hospital but her body went into shock and never recovered.

We are all stunned at this. Chinakka was the gentlest soul in the family and every single one who knew here remembered only one thing - her smile. In my 26 years of knowing her, I have NEVER seen her lose her temper or raise her voice.She was soft spoken and had a shy smile with a tinkly laugh. She was endearing and endeared by all.

Chin - as she was affectiontely known - thrived on fussing over people especially children. Her aim in life was to feed them. There have been many adults who played many roles in the family - some taught the kids, some played with the kids, some disciplined the kids, some told them stories, some scolded, some yelled, but Chinakka did one thing only - she FED them! Her main mission in life was to fatten us all, kids and adults alike. Not a kid in this family has grown up without hearing her say - Have more cereal, another idli?, another dosa?, how about some milk? More Horlicks?. And not a single kid has grown up without replying - Nooo Chinakka, I've had enough!

We will miss her clucking and fussing over us! Rest in peace Chinakka. We love you and will miss you!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely, Kamini. She was one of the gentlest, softest-spoken people I've ever known and I just can't believe she won't be there when I come next. She was so dainty and fragile and I weep everytime I think of her going the way she did, suffering that pain. Chin, you are done with all pain now. Don't wory about Chittappa. We promise to look after him to the best of our ability in whatever way we can, from wherever we are. Rest easy.