Fading memories !!

Another year is here ! Still don't know whether all these calculations are right or wrong..whether 12 months is indeed a year or 30 days indeed a month!! Anyways its 2013,they say!!

I have been home,December 2012. For a short vacation,was present for a very close friend's wedding. Am glad that,I could be with her on her big day.Could meet some other friends,had a get together at Richa's..could experience lots and lots of love from every where!

This post is about my"Moothappa"( Father's elder brother). He is the eldest in my Papa's family,and he really gave a hand to all his younger siblings,he raised them up,made them study,made them all independent,in between all these he forgot to have a life of his own. He never had a house of his own! I have been told that,before I was born..there used to be a huge crowd to have lunch and all at our "Tharavadu". Almost all our family members are teachers,and all the kids studied in near by school. So all the "Kalarikkal family members" would come for lunch. Not a feast and all..rice,some green gram curry/Dal curry and pappad that's all. But Moothappa with his limited income managed to feed so many people.And the lady who managed to cook and serve so many people was our own "Ayichuttimma ". Her real name being Ayishakutty! She was called "Ayichutty' by elders or "Ayichuttyachi" by the younger generation. But my generation called her "Ayichuttimma" for she was indeed "umma" for us!

I still dont know how she is related to us. But she was indeed my "umma". I guess she understood me a lot. She looked after me since my birth,as my mom also was a teacher,she would leave me with her when she goes to school.Ayichuttimma would feed me,would bathe me,would make me sleep.I still remember her faint voice and the way she used to swing the cradle.She was a thin lady,we could count her chest bones.There was no grinder,no gas stoves,no water tanks nor motors to pump in the water,no washing machine nothing at all,still she managed to cook and serve so many people.She never complained,Ya Allah please reward her in her life after death for all her service. And please bless her daughter and family for all her good deeds done for us.

Ayichutti was the shadow of Moothappa. She served and looked after him than anyone else did.And I know there was a great relation between them,an incomparable love of siblings perhaps.

The post about Moothappa would be incomplete if I don't mention about Ayichuttimma,though she deserves a complete novel to be written about her!

So am gonna write down a few memories about my Moothappa. I don't know what was his profession,he used to work in 'Dayapuram' a residential school office in our area. Then he started working at Mukkam Orphanage office,he still works there. He used to visit all his siblings every Sunday.He used to bring "mittayis" wrapped in a news paper piece and tied to his dhoti.In our place,during "Diwali" all bakeries will display colourful delicious"Diwali sweets" and most of the shops at Mukkam used to gift a box of "Diwali sweets" to its regular customers.We Kozhikodans celebrate Diwali by distributing sweets,gifting it and sharing the sweets.So every year Moothappa will have a Diwali sweets box for his each siblings.Moothappa used to order those boxes at "National Bakery" the official bakery of Kalarikkal family,should say.Same with Christmas,Moothappa always bought a Christmas cake for us. He goes for morning walk and visits the siblings who live near by. He was the only link which kept the love between the siblings alive,should say. He used to be the first person to visit any one who is not well in the family,and he used to spread the news among the whole family.I remember,when my Papa's second younger brother was down with chickenpox,no one dared to visit him,but Moothappa visited him,taking some precautionary medicine.

When I was in school,only 3 were us there for lunch,me and my two cousin sisters and their youngest sister who started schooling some years after. So we were lucky enough to get"meen curries,unakka meen porichath( dryfish fry)", and some other dishes too! By dusk,Moothappa would be home,and we were privileged to sleep with him,on his "achippaya "and "kambili puthappu" was an added bonus. He used to narrate stories and before I would sleep,he used to sleep.The night stays at "tharavadu" always scared me,don't know why,its fun to be with cousins and neighbour hood friends but after the call for Maghreb prayer ,suddenly I would feel so insecure there. Those were the nights,I desperately waited for morning to come, and everyone else to wake up. Moothappa used to take us to the river bank near by,the river was not that scary,with crystal clear water and white sand on both sides,during monsoon there used to be "thoni" service. And Moothappa used to take us for a ride in it,then we would sit on the other side of the river,again he narrating some stories.He used to visit Kozhikode medical college,once in a while,though nobody would be there from our family or friends,he used to visit those general wards and tell us we will realize how lucky we are,when we see people there.He was indeed a great human being.

What made me write about Moothappa all of a sudden is that,he has grown old now,he still goes for morning walks,but he forgets people, names,the short cut roads etc. Moothumma and his children are worried about his safety,as he is well known in our native place,someone will drop him home,or will inform any of us about him.But still he gets in to the wrong buses and gets down at wrong bus stops and all.So now the family doesn't let him know about some relatives hospitalisation,sickness etc,and he is very upset about it.This time I went to meet him,first thing itself,as he will come home if he knows I have come and may miss the road or something.When he came home for lunch,Moothumma asked him"do you recognise her?" He said I know,her mom is just behind her,I guess he forgot what he used to call me,and then he asked me when did I come,where is Hubby and kids,my heart broke,he doesn't remember me even, but he mistook me as my sister,I said I don't have kids yet Moothappa then he laughed and said"why you have been married for a while" !!

When I visited Papa's younger brother,he was telling how Moothappa's memory is fading.Ayichuttimma's daughter's in laws came home to invite all of us for a wedding.And Moothappa couldn't recollect them,so he kept on asking everyone who came home to invite for the wedding and who is getting married and all.When everyone was fed up of explaining him the relation and all he still kept wondering who is getting married.When Aappa ( Papa's youngest brother) explained him that they came from Chavakkadu" to invite "Shihab's" wedding,he was like who is this Shihab,Aappa explained he is our 'Nasar's nephew, that surprised Moothappa,who is this Nasar,then again Aappa told our Jesi's husband,then Moothappa asked who is Jesi I dont remember her who is that,Aappa said "Jesi..our Ayichutti's daughter, brother.You don't remember Ayichutty and her daughter Jaseena,we all together got her married to Nasar ? " Then Moothappa replied "who is Ayichutty I don't remember a person called "Ayichutty"!! Aappa explained Moothappa everything about Ayichuttimma..and Moothappa kept on saying "I don't remember Ayichutty..there was one Ummacha,I remember her " Aappa narrated how Moothappa is getting old and losing memories.

When I went back home,I couldn't sleep. I was startled how someone can forget a person,who was once his shadow.I wont be surprised if he forgets me or any of his sibling's children. But Ayichuttimma..I couldn't bear the thought even.Next morning I spoke to Dada (my elder brother) about this,he told me it happens..Moothappa will remember current things and people around him but wont be remembering people who died some time back.Ayichuttimma died in 2004 so he might not remember people from his past!!

I was flying back on 26th Dec evening flight,and Moothappa came early morning to say "good bye". He hugged me tight,kept on kissing my forehead and cheeks and said,"pray for Moothappa,may be I wont be here when you come back next time".He left us,he was walking ahead slowly,the age has affected his speed.after sometime I couldn't see him,as my tears block my view.That was a person who used to be everything of a huge family,my Moothappa !! Allah bless you Moothappa..you will always be an epitome of how and what should be a sibling! Take care of him Ya Allah.!!