Sunday, November 15, 2009

That's the spirit

My friend lost his father and his in laws, three of them, in a space of a year. The elderly were bed ridden for four long years and were looked after by my friend, his wife and two daughters. Despite their official routine and daily chores, they tended to the elderly and were at their beck and call. The last of the elderly passed away last week.

I went to offer condolences and to appreciate them for their grit and ‘never say die’ spirit. During the conversations we had, what appealed to me was the part the elderly had played in the bonding of the family. The two daughters in particular were sharing the various lessons learnt from their grand parents, and felt those spaces would never ever be filled again. The anecdotes, folk tales, mythological stories and life experiences taught to them by their grandparents would always remain etched in the children’s mind. They conceded they had matured so much in the last three years and learnt their lessons on care, love, responsibility and accountability. Having been through thick and thin in looking after the bed ridden elderly , the entire family had in just a few years grown so much in love and affection for each other. They are today, as I look at them, a more complete family.

My friend, his wife and their two daughters were in close embrace when the preparations for the last rites were on. They hugged each other, sobbing that the last of their dear ones was gone. I saluted them for their endurance as the van carrying the body tugged along. May the spirit of the ‘Ramakrishnan family’ be always alive.

13 comments:

Sylvia K said...

A beautiful and moving post. There are many lessons we can all learn from your friends and hopefully we will. Thank you for sharing this, we can all benefit from their experiences.

Have a good week! And thanks, as always for stopping by and for your comments -- always appreciated.

Sylvia

Neha said...

and people these days marry only after they have a house of their own minus parents...elders are blessings, and we need them more than they need us..

thank you for sharing..:)

Kavi said...

Thank you sharing sir ! These are both deeply touching and evoking a chord deep down !

My namaskars to the family.

nsiyer said...

Sylvia, experience is the best teacher, especially if we learn from others experience.

I agree, Neha. I believe in blessings from elders. My experience here has been rich.

nsiyer said...

Kavi, as always your comments are important.

Yadayada said...

you never fail to teach me something new with your posts :)

Aidan Donnelley Rowley @ Ivy League Insecurities said...

This is lovely. What a meaningful nod to the power of family and the spirit of survival. Thrilled to have found your blog.

nsiyer said...

Hi Yada Yada. Thanks for your inspiring comments. These mean to lot to me.

nsiyer said...

Thanks Aidan. It is my previlege that you have come over to my blog. I thank Debrah for it. I shall keep visiting your blog and be wiser.

Debra Lynn Shelton said...

Once again, a beautiful story from a talented writer. Thank you for sharing it. And, yes, may their spirits live on.

nsiyer said...

Thanks Debrah!Me a writer, then what are you? All the same, these comments keep me going.

Urmi said...

Very nice, beautiful and excellent post. Nowadays people do not marry soon unless they are well settled, having good bank balance and own house. Learning is a never ending process and each and everyday we learn something.

Preeti said...

THANK-YOU for the lovely post.

G.Ramakrishnan & Fly