"My heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains my sense"Couldn't have been more appropriate for my mood.Shes dead now two days and I am not sure what I feel.We lost touch a few years ago but the memories of a friend are good.Lots of laughter,her wide smile,her backward slant writing and the many letters exchanges during college holidays all come back to haunt.
I remember we met up again some years ago and marvelled at how we had grown sideways.We talked of old time ,had a cup of tea and parted ways.She on her kinetic Honda,me pillion,wind blowing through our hair as we shouted out our conversation.
I don't know what I feel,shock,emptiness,nothing.....I cannot say,all I know is that one more person on my friend list has turned to dust and I have nothing to say.
tea gardens
Friday, May 25, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Meeting Ms Kalambi
She is 84 and a friend of mine.No not my parents friend but mine.I would like to be like her when I reach that age (the rate at which the weighing sale swings I doubt I will live to see the day)
She arrived in Madras at 12 noon on a day when the temperature was 43 degrees and rising.Dressed in a sunshine yellow saree and a bag that she could fit into herself she got off the train.I haven't seen her in two years but she remains the same.Small bright and always full of beans.
I have known her for some 20 years now.At a time when tenants in Bombay were famous for squatting on premises,she worked her way into the courtrooms for 15 years to fight for what was hers.The rest of the family were ready to give up,the tenant was convinced she would be dead long before a verdict was given but she stayed on.Day in and day out come hell or high tide,she was in court.She won the case and got her flat back.I went to stay with her them and her happiness was infectious.
Her husband died and we watched carefully for the first signs of depression,but she took it in her stride.After the initial shock she picked up the pieces and started a new life.It took her on a journey to far flung lands on countless airlines with only a sister in law for company or alone.No distance could stop her,she was determined to see the world,enjoy life as long as it lasted.
Two years ago I was in Bombay and looked her up.She rushed around her newly remodelled kitchen,cooking up lunch for me.We ate and talked of old time,of our favourite past time .We had spent many hours in Pune talking and speculating about her neighbours,the young,the rich ,the old and the dull ones.
Our paths crossed again last weekend.I was to pick her up at the station and bring her home.She was famous for getting on the wrong train,famous also for finding it most amusing while her family and I rushed around wondering what could have happened to her.She would turn up and act like it was a done thing to get lost.Her family co ordinated her comings and goings with me over the weekend and I ensured that I was at the station half an hour ahead of schedule to catch her before she vanished.She arrived home to find my husband and his friend drinking chilled beer to beat the heat.While I drank water she seated herself at the dining table and ordered a beer.She preferred whiskey but decided that beer was better in the heat.I watch amused as my friend poured out the beer with great care and gave it to her.She them got on to chat with them on all kinds of subjects.
I had the most delightful weekend with my 84 year old friend and when I left her in the good hands of a flight attendant she was already planning her next trip.
She is a woman I will never forget
She arrived in Madras at 12 noon on a day when the temperature was 43 degrees and rising.Dressed in a sunshine yellow saree and a bag that she could fit into herself she got off the train.I haven't seen her in two years but she remains the same.Small bright and always full of beans.
I have known her for some 20 years now.At a time when tenants in Bombay were famous for squatting on premises,she worked her way into the courtrooms for 15 years to fight for what was hers.The rest of the family were ready to give up,the tenant was convinced she would be dead long before a verdict was given but she stayed on.Day in and day out come hell or high tide,she was in court.She won the case and got her flat back.I went to stay with her them and her happiness was infectious.
Her husband died and we watched carefully for the first signs of depression,but she took it in her stride.After the initial shock she picked up the pieces and started a new life.It took her on a journey to far flung lands on countless airlines with only a sister in law for company or alone.No distance could stop her,she was determined to see the world,enjoy life as long as it lasted.
Two years ago I was in Bombay and looked her up.She rushed around her newly remodelled kitchen,cooking up lunch for me.We ate and talked of old time,of our favourite past time .We had spent many hours in Pune talking and speculating about her neighbours,the young,the rich ,the old and the dull ones.
Our paths crossed again last weekend.I was to pick her up at the station and bring her home.She was famous for getting on the wrong train,famous also for finding it most amusing while her family and I rushed around wondering what could have happened to her.She would turn up and act like it was a done thing to get lost.Her family co ordinated her comings and goings with me over the weekend and I ensured that I was at the station half an hour ahead of schedule to catch her before she vanished.She arrived home to find my husband and his friend drinking chilled beer to beat the heat.While I drank water she seated herself at the dining table and ordered a beer.She preferred whiskey but decided that beer was better in the heat.I watch amused as my friend poured out the beer with great care and gave it to her.She them got on to chat with them on all kinds of subjects.
I had the most delightful weekend with my 84 year old friend and when I left her in the good hands of a flight attendant she was already planning her next trip.
She is a woman I will never forget
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