THE “I” IN “ME”

It raised many an eyebrow  when the father celebrated the  birth of his fifth girl child,  with all its pomp and splendour ,naming her Bhagyalakshmy, a synonym  for LUCK. That is ME and the  long journey from there to this Day has been ,true to my father’s speculation  AND  his blessings--------a very rewarding one!!!!!

I had the best possible basic education provided to me as against the “then” existing norms and conditions in and out of the community. I salute, thee, my father ---the soul that had visualized the Gandhian ideology ,the place of women  in the post Independent India.

My  undergraduation, graduation and postgraduation went off successfully in a row  with the extra-curricular,co-curricular activities drawing my attention in between----------------  I  wish I could have made it a little more brighter had I combined  Hardwork and Luck in the required  proportion!!

    

I was given the career  option of serving the people---as a medical doctor or a teacher----------- at one point of time I could prove that my  EQ  overpowered my  IQ and it was then  the privilege of enjoying Shakespeare, Keats, Wordsworth and the like was bestowed upon me instead  of counting the number of bones  in an anatomy  Lab :)- !!!!!!   When the idea of entering the teaching profession dawned on me, I equipped myself with a training  ..And thus I stepped  into the Noblest of noble  professions(they say???????)  which, sadly though,   earns more respect  than money, unlike a doctor…..

Well,I have no regrets……I am surrounded by people who love me---a dutiful husband,a son and a daughter who are my pride and delight!!!!!

My experience as a teacher ,for nearly two decades,in a Public School of International   fame ,in The Nilgiris is my  identity .The holistic environment in which the children were educated influenced me as well----- ----  The youthful spirit of the  children engulfs you so much that one never feels the passage of Time  till one gets an order from the office reminding you of your grey hair.

I was no  exception to this and so here I am settled at the foothills of The Queen of Hills ,yet with a serving attitude to the society.

Though I am signing off now revealing a part of the “I in Me” through the  above lines,I will come back to   you  with the many facets it has………… If you have the time,I have the sands  to fill it with!!!!!!!! 

THE DEAR DEPARTED!

 (dedicated to my beloved AMMA ..and all the wonderful MOTHERS of the world)

It was around 2 o’clock in the morning on the 26^th of May,2011….someone whispered in my ear, "amma is no more”…

Should I believe it or not?...............how  can my mother whom I had always wanted to be my companion …by my side, till the end of the world  ………depart from me or rather leave me in a dark circle?????

Minutes later,I had to gulp that unpalatable TRUTH…yaa…. A  PART of me is gone and the other part has to  live for the sake of those around it !!!!!

Three hours later, I was sitting all by myself in an express train heading towards Kottayam, to have a last glimpse of my  ‘amma’ in a state in which I had never wanted her to be!!!!

The train whizzed past leaving behind the destinations of many and before I arrived at mine, memories flashed through my mind, in a bird’s eye view. I tried to capture and re-live some of those richest experiences with her….but  alas! failed to  do so , since every experience in the span of 6 decades was worth living which could I exclude????                                                                                                       

Amma  was Beautiful. I always thought  that the 16^th century dramatist, The Bard-of-Avon ,would have written, just for her, the following lines, “Age cannot wither her beauty, Nor stale her custom..”

She was a treasure house of LOVE..the more she poured it over us, the less did it  get  drained….I sometimes wondered how amma could give something which she had not received…….(she had  lost her mother at a very tender age ).One of the several occasions where I experienced this selfless, unconditional love was during the two childbirths I had. The depth of the care and concern she showed at that time made me feel as though  I was born to her again!!                                                                           

Amma never preached to us on discipline or values… she led us by example….every act she did, every moment she lived was exemplary…

I would like to end this by quoting a few   lines from a famous  Tamil song, which had touched the hearts of every  single soul that had heard it:

Amma endrazhaikadha uyirillaye

Ammavai vanangadhu uyarvillaye

Neril Nindru Pesum Dheivam

Petra thaai andri verondru edhu………….                                                    

 Eerezhu jenmangal eduthalum uzhaithalum

unakingu nan patta kadan theeruma?

 Mrs Bhagyam Venkitachalam