Ladies of the gentler kinds...

A few days ago, the world’s ugliest and the most gigantic moth found a place to sneak in and meditate on my kitchen wall. Home alone and utterly scared of flying creatures, I starved that night but didn’t dare to step foot into the kitchen. On yet another occasion years ago, I remember abandoning my rented apartment and sitting on the pavement till my roommate got home, to chase away a moth whose paper thin body was as big as my palm. It had fish-like scaled texture with horrible hues of brown and green! Honestly, a dead rat looked prettier in comparison. While my folks understand my fear, they step in and drive away these demons rushing in to help at odd and even hours.

In complete contrast to this series of hilarious episodes, I can’t help at times but think of my grandparents, especially my grandmother who continued to reside in what can be a termed as the deepest part of a village in Konkan. All alone after my grandfather passed away, she continued to live in a house that sat right in the centre of a huge farm with zero visibility post sunset. Her companion was the loyal house dog and the roaring tigers lurking in the dark in the abyss of the tall trees and rustling leaves. Any local of this village could identify and was familiar with the blood-curdling roars heard in the middle of the night. On our scarce trips, we would huddle together and I would stay close to my clan at all times, the blurry visions of which brings back nostalgia ignited by shivery goosebumps.

Talking about generation gap, I feel amazed by the way these women functioned. Sculpted with sharp memory, timely schedules, abundant energy and timeless grace. They did not need fancy words like OCD for cleaner homes. It came to them naturally and no magazine was writing about them.

A sneak peak at mumma's world of precious sarees

Talking about a lesser generation gap, but a gap no less is what I share with my dear mommy! I think we became friends after I borrowed her 40- something- year- old saree for the first time to flaunt in my school to deliver an important speech on certain important day! That was only the beginning. I took her for granted till I guess the very last day of my blissful bachelorette life. And knowing her more through living the same path, I can now see traces of my granny in her. The perfection and details of work, the loving hands tending to every nook and cranny of home, the well-maintained three wardrobes which only nurture sarees within them, the neatly folded stack of newspapers, the very carefully assembled Tupperware boxes with a separate pile of lids, the extra bit of currency bills cautiously kept in special purses and so much more.

Although I believe we are living through our own challenges and that time cannot be fairly compared, there still remains beautiful mysticism in the women of earlier generation. While eventually I may purchase a robot to run my kitchen and set up my messy wardrobe, I would love to be told that I have sparks of my mother flowing through me! Besides, the insect-killing sparks would be a sheer bonus.

Wink. Wink.