Elegy to a loved one....
People were her lifeline. She wanted them and likewise they too were attracted to her. Her charm and common sense, her piety and her calm, were there for all to imbibe and to emulate. They say a woman is the back bone of the family; she can make it or break it. This lady was the matriarch of our family. Her kind and gentle demeanor was only a facade for an assertive and stubborn personality. She laid the rules, the values, the religious rituals to be followed. All laid down by her dictum. Don’t mistake me, she was not dictator, but I can call her a benevolent despot!! She grew old, her roots firm and secure, enclosed in the protective fold of her son’s family she could now lead a retired life. Handing over all her responsibilities and her chores into the competent and capable hands of her daughter in law, albeit reluctantly, she immersed herself in piety and worship. The first blow came when grandfather passed away. The red dot on the forehead of a married woman is her proud declarat...