After a certain age (say upwards of 50) most of us start to idolize our parents who are no longer there, forgetting that like all mortals they too had their share of strengths and frailties (not to talk of idiosyncrasies !) but were remarkably, so special in their own way ! Whenever I remember our Mom, I think of a true fighter, someone who could take on a big fight and emerge victorious, an old-world ‘Mary Kom’ without the red boxing gloves !
Her big battles, we recall, were ones she combated against all forms of dependence, infirmity and old age, which she always found so exasperating. Back in 2005, during her stay with us in Mumbai, she fell very seriously ill and had to be hospitalized. Our good family doctor didn’t give the 75 year-old much chance but after many trips in and out of nursing homes and our home, she pulled through. This amazed Doc so much that he’d say to us in Guju-Hindi ‘Mataji has a tryst with God, Bless her !’ Within a year she was back to her favourite place, her home in Lucknow and her own pursuits.
In 2014, she was still 84 years young but one day suddenly, as it happens, she developed acute hernia needing immediate surgery. The senior surgeon declared that at her age there was equal risk in surgery or avoiding it. Mom agreed to get operated but asked to see her son before it was performed. I did reach while it was going on and to us the rest was history. She had again beaten the odds – within months made fair recovery albeit slowly this time.
Two years ago, Mom went into coma, never coming out of it and passed away on 10th February, 2016. In my profession as bankers with mobility, we had always resisted transfers out of our comfort zones in our service life. Figuratively speaking, I think our Mom didn’t resist this last transfer too much – maybe it was peaceful and painless and she was eager to meet Dad !
Working on Living 