Bada Dethei has passed away..Thats what the SMS read when I read it
around midnight on 26th April 2012. Just as the reluctant darkness of
the room was sliced by the light of the moblie screen, the news
sliced through me to sink in reluctantly....
Bada Dethetei to my non-Odiya friends is the wife of the eldest
brother of my father.....How could the news be true? I admit that she
had complained of chest pain a fortnight back. But the Doctors had
gone through with the whole gamut of tests and declared that she was
fine....But I knew the news was true,because it was sent by my sister
in law and I know her very well. She would never say such a thing in
jest.....
My wife was sleeping peacefully at the other end of the bed....I had
by that time re-read the SMS atleast 5 times....and it still read the
same....I went blank....I did not know what to say....what not to
say....how to react....My mind became absolutely blank....I stood up
and then sat down...and then walked out to the balcony of my
house......The night was a balmy one and I could see the stars
twinkling.... I read the SMS again....Realization set in...No matter
how many times I read the SMS...it will continue to shout out the same
bad news in its own mute way.....
Words were failing me but strange enough my tears were failing me
too.....I uttered a prayer asking for God to ensure my bada dethei's
soul rests peacefully....I was thinking of calling someone in Cuttack
immediately but decided against it.....I was going to be of no use
absolutely to them.....and my phone call would be more of a nusianse
than anything.....
So many memories flooded into my mings....Bada Dethei....she ad been
named Lakshmi and had been true to her
name....Beautiful....Gentle...
Smiling....Lovable....The one thing that always struck me about her
was that she might be mild mannered but she had a strong heart.....
My first memory of her is from way back when I myself was a couple of
years old and all of us cousins used to visit her place in Talcher and
she used to have these white rabbits....But the memories that can
actually be considered to be as memories were when Bada Dadei (my father's elder brother) got transfered to Cuttack and thier family
along with Bada Dethei came to live in the same house we lived
in......I had been the happiest soul when I heard they were coming to
live with us....the simple reason being we lived in the outskirts of
the then city and I had no friends as I was yet to join school.....I
would get someone to play with and someone to tell me stories
........Innocence at its best......Bada Dethei had the habit of
reading me stories from the magazine "Janhamamu" or "ChandaMama"
I am not a person who displays any love or affection for anyone, at
least not openly, but Bada Dethei had a special place in my heart. May
God rest her soul and give her immediate family all the strength to
tide over these bad times.
around midnight on 26th April 2012. Just as the reluctant darkness of
the room was sliced by the light of the moblie screen, the news
sliced through me to sink in reluctantly....
Bada Dethetei to my non-Odiya friends is the wife of the eldest
brother of my father.....How could the news be true? I admit that she
had complained of chest pain a fortnight back. But the Doctors had
gone through with the whole gamut of tests and declared that she was
fine....But I knew the news was true,because it was sent by my sister
in law and I know her very well. She would never say such a thing in
jest.....
My wife was sleeping peacefully at the other end of the bed....I had
by that time re-read the SMS atleast 5 times....and it still read the
same....I went blank....I did not know what to say....what not to
say....how to react....My mind became absolutely blank....I stood up
and then sat down...and then walked out to the balcony of my
house......The night was a balmy one and I could see the stars
twinkling.... I read the SMS again....Realization set in...No matter
how many times I read the SMS...it will continue to shout out the same
bad news in its own mute way.....
Words were failing me but strange enough my tears were failing me
too.....I uttered a prayer asking for God to ensure my bada dethei's
soul rests peacefully....I was thinking of calling someone in Cuttack
immediately but decided against it.....I was going to be of no use
absolutely to them.....and my phone call would be more of a nusianse
than anything.....
So many memories flooded into my mings....Bada Dethei....she ad been
named Lakshmi and had been true to her
name....Beautiful....Gentle...
Smiling....Lovable....The one thing that always struck me about her
was that she might be mild mannered but she had a strong heart.....
My first memory of her is from way back when I myself was a couple of
years old and all of us cousins used to visit her place in Talcher and
she used to have these white rabbits....But the memories that can
actually be considered to be as memories were when Bada Dadei (my father's elder brother) got transfered to Cuttack and thier family
along with Bada Dethei came to live in the same house we lived
in......I had been the happiest soul when I heard they were coming to
live with us....the simple reason being we lived in the outskirts of
the then city and I had no friends as I was yet to join school.....I
would get someone to play with and someone to tell me stories
........Innocence at its best......Bada Dethei had the habit of
reading me stories from the magazine "Janhamamu" or "ChandaMama"
I am not a person who displays any love or affection for anyone, at
least not openly, but Bada Dethei had a special place in my heart. May
God rest her soul and give her immediate family all the strength to
tide over these bad times.
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