Everyday Moments – (#SOL -2020)

13-10-2020

The last few days have been cloudy ones, it was raining at night and early in the mornings. But today morning we woke to the sound rain pouring down furiously. It rained the whole day as if we were in the middle of the monsoon season instead of being at the end of it. It stopped by evening. We read this is due to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. But whatever the reason everything is unusual this year.

Saturday morning I talked with my cousin, he said Doddamma is not at all well. She has not been well for a month and most of the time could not connect with people around her. Till then I used to write to her. She passed away Sunday afternoon at the age of 89. Sujata told me Doddamma had taken bath and listened to Vishnu Sahasranama. She asked whether the morning puja was over. Sujata said yes and Doddamma took a deep breath and it was her last one. I loved her very much, that is why I wrote to her every week for nearly three years. She will always be a part of my life.

She and my mother were very close to each other. Due to some reason or the other my mother could not go to Bombay to be with Doddamma. She was planning to go this year in March and corona happened. In 1963 my father suffered from spinal TB and was in the hospital in Bombay for a year. I was jus one and my brother three years. We all lived with my Doddappa and Doddamma for a year. My mother was only 22, she was very worried about my father and we were so small. My grandfather was in the hospital from morning to night. My father learned tatting from a nurse 😊 , he taught it to me. But I have not tatted for a long time. My Doddamma looked after all of us with so much love that my mother believes that this life is not enough to repay her.

Sunday morning, I had prayed to God to take her as she was suffering so much. I felt that I should not have done that. Then my cousin, her daughter, told me not to worry because she too had prayed to God to end her mother’s suffering. She told me her mother left because her time had come.

We all have to go when our time comes and that is not in our hands. She will always be a part of my life.

This was in 2014, my mother and son and Doddamma

( Doddappa and Doddamma)

Depression over Bay of Bengal delays withdrawal of monsoon: IMD https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/trends/depression-over-bay-of…

https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/stinging-caterpillars-nd-poisonous-news-900275.html

https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/fighting-the-internet-rebel-against-the-screens-a-bit-900278.html

https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/the-pitfalls-of-polarisation-900276.html

By Lakshmi Bhat

I am a person who believes there is not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of a small candle. We live in a small place in South India. I love reading, blogging, stitching, traveling, photography, listening to people and many other things which make life so very nice and interesting. Blogging is a fun experience, it has brought me into contact with people in different parts of the world and it is good to read about their everyday life. In spite of the differences there is a sameness which is fascinating. I have learnt and am learning something everyday. I have learnt to write haikus. I enjoy combining the thought and the number of syllables. I have always read books and I was happy to write short fiction. I had thought I would not be able to do so. Stream of Consciousness and photo challenges are fun too. Yes, there is so much in life that is sad and that hurts us. Many a time I wonder why life is so unfair to so many. We all have problems in life but the problems of many seems unbearable. This makes me feel so helpless. It is not possible to help everyone but we can do our bit, we can do something to help some in whatever way we can. I go to the Home for the Mentally challenged in our campus twice a week. I have been going there since 2011. The members are an important part of my life. I did not go there last year. There have been so many changes in our life, we will always remember the year 2020. There have been many challenges in life and we have faced them with a positive approach. Our grandson and granddaughter have made life so much more richer.

24 comments

  2. I am so sorry for your loss Lakshmi. She was a very beautiful lady and obviously very dear to all of her family and friends. You will miss her, but have many happy memories to recall.

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  3. So sorry for your loss. I am also sad to hear of her passing. She sounds like she was a wonderful person. Thank you for sharing your stories about her and those you told her as well. I feel lucky to have read them.

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  6. My condolences on the passing of your Doddamma. She seems to have known that it was her time. She leaves behind her a lot of people who loved her and she gave them a lot of her own love. Not everyone can say that!

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    1. Yes, mothers are precious. Doddamma is my father’s elder brother’s wife. Doddamma literally means ‘ elder mother’. I used to write letters to her every week for three years. My Slice of life posts were the edited versions of those letters. Thank you.

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  10. I am very sad to learn that she died. I treasured the letters that you sent to her each week since I learned so much about life in your part of the world from them. I am glad that she passed so gracefully.

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