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 |
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.
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