Good bye Ajji...

I never had the luxury of a maternal grandmom, she passed away a few years before I was born. My paternal grandmom passed away exactly 2 days before my 21st birthday.


I remember that day very well because I had my 8th semester engineering exams going on then. After the exam, Dad and I went to Nasik to perform her last rites.


When she passed away, I was very sad because from that day onwards, there was no one who would run behind me on the stairs with a cup of milk. From that day onwards, there was no one who would make potato chips for me with the same enthusiasm 3 times a day. From that day onwards, there was no one who would read Shravan katha every day of Shravan month and from that day onwards, there was no one who would tell my mom to not scold me just because I was still a kid.


But somehow I did not miss my grandma that much. Because... 


The day I came back from Nasik after completing the last rites, my neighbor Ajji was standing right in the door. She told me - "I know you must be sad after your loss, but I am here for you... I want you to know that you still have an Ajji"... 


My home and her home were exactly opposite each other. So I used to call my grandmom just Ajji and I used to call the neighbor grandmom -- samorchi Ajji (the Ajji from opposite home)... She used to get really angry with that word "samorchi"... She felt alienated and ostracized by that word... But after my grandmom passed away, the word "samorchi" just vanished... 


She was just Ajji from then onwards... Not just me, but my sis, my parents, the entire neighborhood used to call her Ajji... She was the Ajji of the entire 300 apartments in our residential neighborhood... And I just realized, I dont know her first name even today -- she was just Ajji... 


She knew pretty much everyone in the area and everyone knew her... If a baby is born somewhere, she would know the weight and the gender of the baby... She would be there on the street with a bowl of curd for every student going for his/her 10th or  12th standard exam... And she would know the percentage of every student -- right on the day of the result and the college where the kid got admission -- right on the day when the kid got it... She would be there to tie the sari for every girl if an alliance was coming home to "see" her... And she would know the moment the wedding was fixed -- and the wedding date... If someone was sick and admitted to the hospital, she would know the hospital, ward number and the visiting hours timing... If someone died, she would be the first person in the deceased home saying what she told me that day -- "I know you must be sad after your loss, but I am here for you... I want you to know that you still have an Ajji"... 


She was with my mom in her cab on her way to the hospital for her first delivery... My sis was too small for a woolen garment purchased from a store, so OVERNIGHT she knitted a ultra small woolen cap / sweater / socks to keep her warm in the January cold... When my family suffered a severe bout of food poisoning, and the entire family was hospitalized, she cleaned and sanitized the whole house and attended 7 ppl for 4 full days at the hospital -- all by herself...


I loved her Valachi Khichdi (beans and rice) and even now, every time I visited Mumbai, my mom never prepared breakfast on the first day, because without fail, 2 servings of Valachi Khichdi used to be ready at 8 am... The day she knew that my nephew is coming home, his favorite fish curry would be ready... And on my dad's birthday, a special pomfret curry used to be waiting on the dining table... 


But all good things have to come to an end... Today, she passed away after a brief illness... She was admitted but even on her way to the hospital, she was telling my mother - J, just see, I will be perfectly healthy in a few days and will come back very soon... but somehow, that was not to be... 


Today, I really feel how it is to be without a grandparent... It has been particularly hard on my parents because my dad has spent 40 full years with her and my mom has spent 35 years... My mom has actually spent more time with Ajji than with her own mom... Not a soul today returned from her home without a teary eye... 


I can not wish anything more than a special place in heaven for Ajji... May your soul rest in peace Ajji... Keep your smile and blessings showering on us from up there...