Chandy

It will be a year since my mother passed away--she passed away on February 13th last year. It's a year, but I can't bear to delete this blog.

I've been thinking about my mother alot. Firstly there was my father's first death anniversary on May 2nd. Then recently I came across videos on YouTube of some of her favourite, songs/singers, like Nat King Cole singing 'Ramblin' Rose', Joan Baez singing, and a recording of a 30s song 'Long way to Tipperary' which I know because she sang it. She particularly liked the song 'Ramblin' Rose' as sung by Nat King Cole and later, during the 60s she got to hear Joan Baez and Simon and Garfunkel through us and loved their music. Then, today when I came across a short video clip from the ballet of 'Giselle' (she loved ballet), I felt really sad that I had not been able to find these things for her before she died. She would have so enjoyed them.

Several of RC's grandchildren were here for the 40th day prayers after her demise. Many of them have said how much they will miss her and about the happy times they'd had with her in Trivandrum. So for all of them I want to say that she and I had a conversation about Happiness. She told me she found it very difficult to let go and just be happy. She told me that she couldn't remember any really happy times from her childhood. So, I told her that a great deal of that is a question of attitude and I asked her whether she couldn't dredge up any really happy memories. She thought for a while and then said that among the really brightest and best memories she had were when her grandchildren came to stay with her and the when she did things with them. Every holiday, there was atleast one grandchild/children with her. I guess with them she was able to let go and relax and enjoy the simple joys of life with them. So I want all her grandkids to know that you gave her as much joy as she seemed to have given you. Here are 2 pictures of her with a grandson and great-grandchildren.

These were the last two pictures my mother intended to put up on the blog--or which I had asked her to write about.
This first one is of my grandfather--her father.

It's one of the early color pictures (he died in 1979). She has written a great deal about him earlier in this blog. He was a big influence in the life of his children and us grandchildren.
The other picture is also of her father. This is a contraption he rigged up when he found he could no longer stand on his head! He said that as one got older and circulation got slower, less blood supply to the brain was what caused most old age problems. So this was his solution; this way he got the benefits of a headstand much easier.

This is Chandy's daughter again. I just wanted to say that till the last day she did her Sudoko, got the furniture rearranged, and got herself a new set of clothes stitched. On Monday evening she showed me the new outfit she had got stitched, but with some last minute alterations.
At 3 p.m when I went over to her flat to test her blood sugar, she was doing Sudoko. Her home nurse told me the last minute alterations on her outfit were done and that she planned to wear it the next time she went out--a kurta, with matching skirt and shawl! She then got her driver to rearrange the furniture in her room. In the meantime, she read me something out of some book she had got and when I left, close to 4p.m., she gave me last minute instructions as usual.
I was away only for around half an hour, when I got the call to come immediately. She went in around 15 to 20 minutes of my returning there. It really was such a shock. Here is a picture of she and my father.

This is Rebecca Chandy's daughter writing. My mother passed away suddenly on February 13th at around 5 in the evening. It's true she was 89 years old (her 90th birthday would have been on May 17th) but she was young at heart. She had got some new pictures to put up on the blog and had promised me that she would write something in a notebook to go with the pictures. All not to be. So this is the last post in this blog.

This was in January 1948. My parents had come to Bombay to visit us. But the main purpose of their visit was to receive my younger sister, who was returning from England after completing a 2 year course in Meteorology (I expect I am correct).

We took my parents sightseeing around Bombay. (The picture above was taken at the Malabar Hill gardens during their visit.) On one of the days we were in the area of the Gateway of India, when we heard some commotion and the streets started emptying. Everybody was buying the newspapers a vendor was selling. My husband too rushed back with a newspaper and said that Gandhiji had been shot and that we must get back home immediately as there would be trouble. With 2 young children it was worrying. My husband somehow managed to get a taxi and got us home safely.

The next day the whole city seemed to be dead. There was no movement on the road and everything was silent. But my sister was arriving that day. Her ship would be coming in.

We did not possess any vehicle. But my husband went and fetched her. I do not how my husband managed to reach the ship and bring my sister back home. She could not bring her luggage with her though. The luggage was only collected much later when things started returning to normal.