The seven year company………..

Some one Special……

She is  Kasturi Aayah…. my acquaintance for the past so many years but someone who became a part of me from 2004. She used to work as a helper in the next door montessori school in my hometown. I have seen her taking wailing toddlers from their parents into the school, doing all the chores inside the school, sometimes feeding the children who are not very keen about having it themselves. Eventually when the school was shut down, aayah had to stay at home. In 2004  i was looking for a maid, a nanny [as i was sure that in the near future, my  mother would require all the attention a baby requires]. She approached me through some other contacts and assured me that she will help my mother. She had taken moral responsibility of bringing up her granddaughters. She was in need of money and i was in need of manpower. Above all it was good fortune of both of us that we met and entered into a mutual agreement !

Initially she used to come and take care of my mother and leave for her house. Gradually situation changed and she used to stay throughout the day and go to her house just to cook food. Later on i suggested that she shifts to my place so that she does not leave my mother and go.

She was a good company for my mom, who enjoyed chatting with her. When she forced my mom for something they had their bit of arguments. She used to sit next to my mom to feed her, and coax her to finish the food. Coffee was always at the right temperature for my mom to drink. Medicines were administered time to time.When mom’s health deteriorated, she did all that, that a nurse in a hospital would do.Even when she bought  fruits or sweets for her grandchildren, she never missed giving a small bite to my mother. I have never seen her having food before feeding my mother be it in the afternoon or at night.  Mom was kept spic and span always.  She became full time caretaker of my mom.

On my visits to chennai, i was pampered too. When i brushed and came  out of the bathroom, she used to handover a cup of steaming hot coffee to me. Right at breakfast time  she used to religiously ask me everyday what i would like to eat and subsequently what was my plan for lunch. My clothes were washed, dried, pressed and kept regularly. She used to pack some sambhar powder for me when it was time for me to leave to bombay – a gesture a mother does to her daughter staying outstation.

She was taking care of petty [yet important] errands too like paying the rent of the house, electricity bill, paying the medical store etc…. I didnt have to bother about those things. All festive occasions, she lit a diya in our puja room and kept the tradition going.

Just before my mom breathed  her last, kasturi aaya was fortunate enough to feed her sips of water.

Now she has gone back to her house. Her eyes well up when she talks about my mother….But she is there when i am there once again taking care of all my requirements.

Its not just a simple relationship, its something different and no words can describe the mental comfort her presence has given me. Seven long years…… since she came to our house to work and she still is one person to whom i owe a lot.

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