My Mother

She was born in a rather prosperous family. Her father was a Tehseeldar (District Collector in the
pre-independence India). Later impressed with his management sills! the "ahara#a of $irmur
appointed him the %eneral "anager for all his affairs. He was so prosperous! that when &t.
'awaharlal (ehru! the first &rime "inister of independent India )isited *ias (agar!a small
township near DehraDun to inaugurate a dam! he stayed in the bungalow of my grandfather! for
se)eral hours and had lunch there+ because the officials could not find an alternate )enue. ,b)iously
she was a pampered daughter and grew up to be rather proud.
$he has a beautiful and attracti)e women and my nanna (maternal grand father) could find an
e-ually handsome man of a prosperous family to marry her. $he tells me! that the marriage party
arri)ed with the groom on an elephant! and my fathers family showered so much money that people
could find it e)en after many many days. .ut things did not remain that rosy for long. "y nanna!
soon remarried after the death of his first wife! and sired more ids! in total a do/en. He was indeed
)ery effecti)e in lo)e maing00 $o he got busy taing care of his big family and my father1s family
also! a rich /amindaar (landowner) family also soon lost most of its fortunes. $o my father too up
a clerical #ob in the go)ernment! but soon lost it! (because of some corruption charges.) 2ny way he
soon found a pri)ate #ob as an accountant! the #ob he ser)ed almost all his rest of life. .ut my father
was a dreamer! he aspired to be rich and he could thin of no other way! but to see his fortune in
his ids. He too sired se)en! hoping one of them will pro)e to be lucy for him. I am the eldest.
Here the real story of my mother starts. .rought up and married in prosperous families! she was a
pampered woman. .ut she soon learned to compromise! learned to de)ote all her time and energy
for her family! with not much family income. $he is a typical woman. $he spent her entire youth!
almost all her life caring for us. $he was not educated much! but she can read and understand
3nglish well enough. $he spent all her married life thining all the while how to manage the family
budget with limited resources. .othering all the day for our meals! our clothings and so on.
Then one day! my father bid us all goodbye! on the call from the almighty. $he was then around 45.
Ha)ing almost the entire family of unmarried sons and daughters+ se)en. .ut by that time some of
had grown up and got employed! so it was not )ery difficult to arrange marriages. 6i)e of us! soon
got married one after another! in rather well to do families. (37cept myself and my youngest
brother). "y youngest brother was )ery sic almost after an year or so after birth. It was my mother
who nursed him too care of him day and night. .ut as the fortune had it in store! he was not to be
as intelligent as his brothers and sisters! so could not find a good enough employment that could
last. 2nyway he is paying bac his debt to his mother! by nursing her day and night! now when she
is rather old! abo)e eighty! and had been suffering se)eral health problems.
$he is now no more between us! she left us for her hea)enly abode on 8 'uly 9:;8! after much
suffering. <es! my mother suffered a lot! e)en though she has four sons and three daughters! who
lo)e her a lot. =hen she left us she was more then >? years old! and in that age most humans do
that00
Rakesh Mohan Hallen