I respect my parents' legacy

 We, as a family, received condolence messages after my mother passed away. Prayers for her peace and words of kindness were truly comforting and will never be forgotten.

On behalf of our entire family, I would like to thank everyone who reached out, sent messages, and offered their love and support during this crucial time in our lives.

Now that the rituals are over and the house is quieter, the reality is settling in. There is a void. A kind of silence that only comes when someone irreplaceable/unforgettable is no longer there.

My mother was not just my mother. She became everything. Mother. Protector. Provider. Grandparent. The steady backbone of our family.

Relatives and neighbours loved both my father and mother very much. If you ask me about the best years of my life, I would say when my mother and father both lived with us. Our family members grew up struggling financially and emotionally. My father and mother built everything from scratch. They saved every rupee. Not to enjoy. Not to display. But to secure our future.

Did they sacrifice their own comfort? Yes. Their priorities were always us. My mother was always seen working - either in the kitchen or in my sister’s room.  I can never be that kind of parent or grandparent.

My father was hospitalised for one month. He was treated at Best Hospital for 15 days. 15 days at J.V.Hospital. He was hospitalised and bedridden for one month only. It was a struggle for life. He was undergoing treatment for cancer at home for the past four years. But he suffered only for one month. We were not able to serve him much. Still, he is in our memory.

But the last decade of my mother's life was very vulnerable, and the entire family became an unshakable pillar for her. From her first fall in 2015, and from 2019 onwards, the entire family was completely dedicated to taking care of her. Since we had served her for a long time, we could not easily forget the absence of my mother.

I did not tarnish the name they earned. It is the honour I pay to my parents. My dear father, mother, now it is my/our turn to choose to live in a way that makes you both proud.

S.Kasturi Rangan