True story

A story of a mother

Cases like these have been etched in the depths of my heart

I went with my mother today to attend a marriage. The guy who was supposed to get married was a bit older than me but I had known him since childhood. I went to the venue after sitting for a couple of hours, we went to the food court to have food, which is what people mainly go to weddings for, I mean food at an Indian wedding is just delicious and bountiful. You have so much variety with different kinds of fish and meat, two to three types of rice, and often an Indian sweet with Yoghurt for dessert, and many more eatery items such as dals, paneer or cottage cheese curry, fried eggplant pieces with white flour.

After coming back from the wedding I saw and gazed at the family’s home, the guy’s residence where he and his family lived. There were two portions that existed in their residence. One portion is his Uncle’s and his father’s the area where they build their house is very narrow but long. They are building a big house with some floors at the back. Their home was awfully small for some reason. When I was in school this is the 2010s I am talking about, they haven’t renovated their home. I often drop my mother to school where she works and upon returning I always see his mother driving and going to her school as she is a teacher.

As I was passing by their house, I gazed at the other plot on the side adjacent to their plot, I am my mother started talking.

Kallol-K Mother-M

K: Maa! Do you remember the old woman who lived here? She was so sweet!

M: Yeah! I always remember how she used to call me every time to her home when I came home walking from work. She always gives me a call to enter her premises and have a cup of evening tea. I was actually scared as I had to do chores at home, so I avoided this route altogether.

K: I remember her as well. She was very sweet, I stayed with her till evening while you went to some work. She always handed me her mobile phone at that time to let me play games. I loved it. And, her son was equally amazing. His room at night had this table lamp that illuminated the room. I bet he was damn studious.

M: Yeah she did keep you company when I had to run errands.

K: It reminds me of my Jethima (elder paternal aunt). Jethima always used to feed me back when I came from school while having lunch she always had extra food she kept for me, especially the side dishes we had with rice. Back when I was in middle school I used to wait at her place so that I could pack her breakfast in my tiffin as well. I miss Jethima, she is my exposure to Indian food. She used to make every dish item that anywhere in India people eat, south, north, west, dumplings, or noodles.

M: Well, I never understood why she fed you all that oily stuff! But its okay you had your share of fun.

(Me and Maa, we walk 10 metres silently)

K: I still remember the police vans.

M: Yes! I still did not know what exactly happened.

K: I just know one scene when that Grandma died. All the neighbours when we went to the field for some sports, came that day and were discussing how many slaps have they hit her son. And then they uttered which is unimaginable that her own son burnt her.

M: The police found nothing just a rolled-up burnt body.

(We are silent again)

K: The entire street was crowded even more than the cultural functions that happen on our neighborhood field.

M: Yes, there were police involved.

K: How can a son do this?

M: He was good at first! People say that after getting married he got distant from his mother.

K: And the other, Animesh’s father (Groom’s dad) did not stay with his mother.

M: Nope she often complained and asked me to meddle and get them both to eat at the same table as the houses are almost on the sides.

K: This is unfathomable how can people burn alight their own mother? I always thought Animesh’s Uncle was good, he borrowed his phone every time I was there. He was so soft-spoken.

M: Yes..true!

K: Did he get to jail? He should be hanged.

M: Nope he went away from this neighborhood. He now stays with his wife. Her father called the couple to their parental home as they lost their only son.

K: How can he not be in jail now? Nobody came forward to testify against him! Not even his sisters?

M: Nope and the case fizzled out.

K: This is such a gross injustice. I mean his wife, is she a joint conspirator on this? How can someone die in such a manner? Animesh’s dad, has he not known about the issue, how can someone burn someone just like that?

M: Everyone is discussing that. I mean people told me this. Moreover, after the son left his home he gave away that home for rent. Someone who lived there even committed suicide in that house.

An elephant mother carries a baby for 18–22 months,

She huddles with her sisters to protect her calf and their calves.

They share the bonds of protection.

They watch their little ones when they go near the pond,

Where crocodiles lurk and wish to find a chance to carry their nefarious intent.

The baby is taught to be inside his mother’s legs while she holds his head by her trunk.

The aunts gather around and form a circle by huddling their offspring up like an impenetrable defence when predators approach.

They move like a strong formation.

I was a 7-month-old baby, my brother too.

Poor women of developing nations when they forage for food.

They pick the best fruit, the goat milk, and their tender parts of meat,

Fishes are often bone-free and then fed to the child.

A dog that lived nearby when he was small on the street, not a person could walk straight on the road.

His mother would bark and scare the shit out of everyone.

When I bring treats she would often bark at the male dogs as they fought for the food.

While now he is big, bulky, and has beautiful hair. The last time I saw him eating, he used to bite his mother and never allowed her to eat any,

The cycle of life is indeed cruel..

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