The dream of a happy family

It appears strange at times to the common eyes that time has the unknown capability to move back into the past unobstructed by limitations of nature. There were once a group of people who were infact not really a group but isolated individuals, parted from each other by the barriers of communication and the nonexistence of a reason to stay united. With the passage of time, these reasons came to light and civilisations developed. Man came to be termed as a social human being. Centuries have been lost in the darkness of passing time. And today we stand at a point where time is reluctant to move forward and is eager to take steps backward to that age when words such as ‘we‘ and  ‘our’ were alien.
The thing being referred to here is the dissociation of joint families into nuclear families and their further disintegration into isolated family members separated by curtains of unfamiliarity. Read the account one Mrs Rekha, one among the thousands of elderly women who wished that time hadn’t stepped backwards.

There were days when nights were joyful with the eyelids never taking rest. There were days when the burden of work paid me with the smiles on the faces of my ‘giant’ family. And there were days when every ending day bought with it the promise of yet another wonderful and a better day. But today, I stand all alone in the centre of my large house in one corner of the village that housed the smiles, the pranks, the joy and every other wonderful thing in the world. But as it is said that every cloudy has a silver lining, so does it in my case. The day after this night would see the entry of my four sons, two daughters and their children on the occasion of Deepavali. Time would pass by in seconds but the joy of those few seconds would stay with me and has the necessity to stay with me till the next year when they would be arriving again. With a hope that the ensuing day would bring with it unbound and innumerable surprises, I give my body and soul a temporary rest for this night.

The tiredness that has been swept over me the previous day had made me a late riser this day awaken by the horns of the six cars jam packed with my lovable grandchildren who would make my house a paradise atleast for this one day. There was a guilt in me for not being prepared for their arrival but this guilt was overtaken the next moment by the promise of a once in a year unbound happiness. Without wasting precious time over the not so useful thoughts that can be postponed to the next dawn, I proceeded to the door and opened it.

There wasn’t a word exchanged with my sons and daughters but only were smiles exchanged that self-contained in them everything that has a need to be contained. On the contrary the 2X6, a total of 12 voices all at a time started acknowledging my presence over there with a rhythmic verse of a single word ‘Grandma…..’ Would there be a more pleasant greeting in the whole world?

Without wasting another second, I moved on to refresh myself for there were loads of things to be done. After taking bath, I moved to the portrait of my husband who passed away the previous year. How unlucky was I to have lost him and how unlucky he is to have been devoid of this happiness! Before I could think about how the work for that would come to an end, I could see in front the entire family bringing the work close to a need. And I was taken to the children and asked to remember my childhood days for a few hours. There was a demand from those naughty but cute children for a story and I started with the not so interesting and the highly familiar story of the King and his seven sons. I appreciate the maturity of my little grandchildren to accept my way of storytelling and reward me with applause.

The offering was made to the Gods and then we had our share. Before lunch, we all sat in circle, everyone- the elders to the small children and started sharing memories of the lost past and the little children revealed to us the tricks they used at home to get a holiday.

The lunch was scheduled to be held in our lush green fields. We all hand in hand walked to our destination, occasionally a few of the elders bearing the weight of the children on their shoulders. Savouring the beauty of nature and the presence of my dearest people, I had on that day the best meal in my life. It was then followed by a few games, turning each one of us into a small child.

Then the time came for lights to illuminate the space and sounds to send messages of a happy family all around. A fire racer was lit and it exploded with a loud sound and I was awoken all of sudden…..

I looked at the clock. It was already seven. My dream would be coming true. I looked out through the window and found six cars parked one behind the other. But I wondered where my daughters and sons were! I opened the door and moved out only to be startled by the fact that they were reluctant enough to set out their feet from the comfort of their air conditioned cars!

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