The Nani Days

Our dear Nani passed away with a very appalling health condition. But her name still brings the urge of aromatic fragrances of delicacies cooked in her tiny kitchen. To us Nani was a one hand home in charge in whichever house she chose to have a short stay. But her favorite domain would always remain her little country house in our native place ‘Makti’. Don’t know why and how but the always moist floor would make it sure that she would never have a fall loitering around. The only time I dared walk into her kitchen was when I got those pangs of hunger. Huge dabbas of goodies pompously sat in the corners of her kitchen all through the year.

I and my cousins have spent most of our childhood holidays with our Nani. She easily took care of all the grandchildren in the family, making them eat; bathe, play and sleep without a single huff of complain. What a task it would have been to her lean and aged but sturdy posture? I keep admiring of her abilities of household supervision in contrast with serving my two daughter’s constant demands.

Our Nani had seen no days of glory throughout her life. Grandpa passed away early and hence half of her age she was busy raising eight kids and a bonus extension of eleven grandchildren. Each of us got the chance of sleeping in her blissful laps and ate scrumptious goodies all time. The fragrance of her saree made us hide into a joyful shelter and forget the worries of the world. Her eyes would glitter the reflections of her struggles and the falling shoulders would keep calling us for a sober hug. Her always nibbling mouth full of betel nut had better and stronger teeth until she crossed her seventies. The rhythmically moving jaw was constantly engaged either by the nuts or by her hard core Marathi words of armories scolds.

It was an accepted fact for all of us that the yearly supplies of pulses at our house came only from our Nani’s pastures. She worked real hard to get the crop perfect and properly stored, checked, and delivered the share equally to all members of the family. The taste of her own grown produce was so commonly fit in our taste buds that any other market bought brand was simply unacceptable.

Today she has more achievements and awards in her basket than any equally successful entrepreneur. Let me make an obvious note of why I would compare her to an entrepreneur. All her life she administered people, organized home events and functions of a huge family and cooked for at least fifty family members at a wink of an eye. She served her grandchildren, attended and examined all the family gatherings and made sure that no single person in the family went ignored.

Nani is gone now. Gone with her is the aroma of freshly cooked green mutton, gone is her fresh stock of cereals and pulses. Gone with her are all that was called childhood days of splendor. We all know that our childhood could have been a blank slate without our Nani been around all the time to shower her care and blessings. Her husky and earnest words still roar in our ears, back in our minds building a cozy corner in our heart forever.

Keep the spirit of Nani alive. Keep moving and keep looking back because all that is gone is still the best you had.

Written in loving memories shared with all my cousin brothers, sisters, aunts & uncles. To the loveliest gift received from Nani ever that’s my MOM. To all our future generation kiddies to get the chance to have a life lesson called Nani. Goodbye Nani. We love you. We miss you.