IMPRESSIONS

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

To Mother D, with LOVE.

How do I thank thee enough?

Today you leave this body creating a vacuum and as I’m trying hard to accept reality I look back at the days gone yonder and its richness. My five years at Loreto, Darjeeling was my crucial formative years, a time when I was neither a child nor an adult ,when I did and did not need help. In that important period of my life, you nurtured me; you answered those innumerable questions that played at the back of my mind, at times by word and at others by action. You were there to guide and lead. You were a figure of strength, fear, love and hope. You taught not just Greek Literature but the more important values of life and the essence of being a woman. You taught me endurance, morality, acceptance and pride. You taught me to believe in myself, to strive and reach for the stars, you told us all that we were God’s loving children radiating with talent, it was for us to put in the effort and shine thereon.

The fame of Loreto, Darjeeling is the result of your dedication, devotion and sacrifice. You gave us your all and today we are without your physical presence, heart broken and grief stricken.
MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PEACE, MOTHER, I OFFER YOU MY HEARTFELT PRAYERS.

All that I have now are memories, memories of Christmas celebration when you shared stories of your childhood and hey days; that was the only time we saw you smile and express your emotions, our picnics and trips, the sound of your footsteps, your blue habit, your veil , your voice…

We teens in our bubbling youth wondered at the reasons behind your life of sacrifice and your days in the hills in a culture so very different. Your connection to your world was that one hour between 7:30 to 8:30 P. M when on your retiring to your room you played the BBC on your radio. We, the wondering lot, wondered what emotions it generated and whether that one-hour connection was really was enough.

We were also curious to know how you looked in your nightgown and loose stresses or if you had one. We wanted to delve into ‘you at close quarters and that’s the reason why I guess we asked those questions during the cozy bonfire chats in the cold, cold Christmas celebration.( Cold by weather but warm by feeling)

Your routined life never changed just as the color of your habit, shoes and stockings. Even your lunch bag endured the rough weather of Darjeeling. There never was a time when we spotted you idling away time.

You were always at work, spic and span, prim and proper and that’s what you taught us to be. We had to tiptoe on wooden floors, dress formally for meals and be gentle and mild. These rules weren’t imposed on us, we picked them up by seeing, you were an example and we followed,

Along with these trainings you allowed us space and freedom. Those movie nights at the hostel, weekend and Wednesday outings, 7 to 7:30 pm dancing time, social nights with the Paulites and yes, permission to attend the Open Air Rock Show.

You told us you believed in us and allowed us to prove that trust. In my final year at college, you came into the Exam Hall and asked us to write the three hour Board Exam without an invigilator and truly just as you had instructed none of us 60-65 students turned our heads or even bend to pick up a fallen pencil. We wrote the exam in pin-drop silence.

That’s what you taught us Mother, strength of character, integrity, honesty and trust.

Today you leave us but just in body, for can a mother betray her children?

Your guiding light will shine upon us from the Heavens above and with that assurance we move on.