My Mother – A Tribute

All of us love our mothers. They are special in many ways. At times we may realize this rather late, may be long after when their ashes have returned to ashes.

I loved my mother. She passed away on 15^th June 1996. I never knew that she was going to leave us so suddenly. She was taken to a hospital for getting a gall bladder stone dislodged by endoscopy that had remained in the bile duct after her previous operation. The doctor had said that it is a safe procedure. She was in good health & had no problem besides hypertension for which she was under treatment. She died of cardiac- arrest immediately after the procedure. I have never been able to forget that day.

We were a large family of 5 children, my grand mother & my father. My father was the only earning member & it was very difficult to bring up 5 college\ school growing children. The times were hard. My father’s pay, whatever he was earning at that time, hardly lasted till the 20^th of every month but she never complained. I never saw her cribbing despite the fact that our house was rather heavily frequented by relatives & visitors. To top it all, my grand mother’s religious functions & consequent fasts required special cooking of one or the other thing. How did she manage it? Did she know some magic? No. She was ingenious. She never wasted anything. She used to turn peals of boiled banana, peals of raw gourd, pumpkin & bitter gourd into delicious vegetarian delights. Even the stems of cauliflower & cabbage & the leaves of turnips, radish etc. turned into highly edible vegetables in her hands. When there was no money to buy potatoes she would use dried potato chips as a substitute. She could virtually turn anything into food.

Besides all this she took keen interest in our studies. She was a graduate herself & knew well the importance of education. My father was busy mostly with his work & his sole contribution to our welfare was restricted to giving money to my mother for the household expenses. She was interested in her husband’s career too. Without her coaxing & show of annoyance my father could never have finished his PhD thesis. All of us are well settled because of her. All of us have done well in our lives because of her. All of us have knowingly\ unknowingly hurt her many a times. All of us miss her. I am her eldest son. She was closest to me in many respects. I miss her the most. She was a Great Home Maker. She was my MOTHER.