Take a trip along with me to late 60s into a temple town in Kerala....
In the town of Guruvayur, lived a girl 'Nalini' in her late teens. Just out of school, she was excited to start her college life. Her life was the idyllic filled with the simple joys n innocence of a small-town 'temple town' life. She was bought up in a house full of strong ladies - her mom and two aunts as her father was a govt employee in the far away land of Andra(Ho! the distance of 1000 Km was indeed v far those days). Hers was the typical middle-child life - her mom had her hands full with the younger bro in crucial class ten and the elder sister having given birth to the first grandson in family. So Nalini's time was spent frolicking with her maiden friends n pampering her little nephew - as picture perfect as it could get!
But(there is always a but) the good times didn't last - tragedy stuck n Nalini's father suddenly passed away! Our hardly eighteen year old Nalini had to become the bread winner of the family (Sister already married, Bro was still a school student). Overnight she finds herself in city of Hyderabad to take up her dad's job.
Now imagine being in her shoes - shes somebody who's never ever stepped out of Kerala, her medium of education (n well the only language she could comprehend) was Malayalam. This was the pre-TV, pre-internet era and her exposure was next to nothing! All of a sudden, she finds herself in Hyderabad where her job needed her to read n write Telugu, the food was a far cry from what her palette was used to n the room she called her house was smaller than the store room of her home back in Kerala....
Fast forward to 40 years later, Not only did she manage to master Telugu(thou the 40 years couldn't wipe the Malayalam accent :-P) shes recognized today as one of the most valuable contributors in her department.
BTW 'Nalini' is none other than my mom :).
Ho what I wrote here is just icing on the cake - life threw many other googlies at her but she faced them all with her chin up - goes without saying that I never needed lessons on being a strong woman :).
Funnily thou, it took me more than 30 years to recognize my mom for the strong woman she is!
Written for As Beautiful As Your Work as a part of Mia contest, for Womensweb
Linking this to AtoZ challenge - N is for 'Nalini'.!
In the town of Guruvayur, lived a girl 'Nalini' in her late teens. Just out of school, she was excited to start her college life. Her life was the idyllic filled with the simple joys n innocence of a small-town 'temple town' life. She was bought up in a house full of strong ladies - her mom and two aunts as her father was a govt employee in the far away land of Andra(Ho! the distance of 1000 Km was indeed v far those days). Hers was the typical middle-child life - her mom had her hands full with the younger bro in crucial class ten and the elder sister having given birth to the first grandson in family. So Nalini's time was spent frolicking with her maiden friends n pampering her little nephew - as picture perfect as it could get!
But(there is always a but) the good times didn't last - tragedy stuck n Nalini's father suddenly passed away! Our hardly eighteen year old Nalini had to become the bread winner of the family (Sister already married, Bro was still a school student). Overnight she finds herself in city of Hyderabad to take up her dad's job.
Now imagine being in her shoes - shes somebody who's never ever stepped out of Kerala, her medium of education (n well the only language she could comprehend) was Malayalam. This was the pre-TV, pre-internet era and her exposure was next to nothing! All of a sudden, she finds herself in Hyderabad where her job needed her to read n write Telugu, the food was a far cry from what her palette was used to n the room she called her house was smaller than the store room of her home back in Kerala....
Fast forward to 40 years later, Not only did she manage to master Telugu(thou the 40 years couldn't wipe the Malayalam accent :-P) shes recognized today as one of the most valuable contributors in her department.
BTW 'Nalini' is none other than my mom :).
Ho what I wrote here is just icing on the cake - life threw many other googlies at her but she faced them all with her chin up - goes without saying that I never needed lessons on being a strong woman :).
Funnily thou, it took me more than 30 years to recognize my mom for the strong woman she is!
Written for As Beautiful As Your Work as a part of Mia contest, for Womensweb
Linking this to AtoZ challenge - N is for 'Nalini'.!
Wow! Your mother is a Star! Very inspiring. You all must be so proud of her and her achievements!! Give her a hug from all of us here! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sweet tribute Meena :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this post from the bottom of my heart! Moms are the strongest.
ReplyDelete"Funnily thou, it took me more than 30 years to recognize my mom for the strong woman she is!" I guess it happens with all.
<3
You're lucky to have a mom like her. Funnily enough, it takes a long time to recognize brilliance inside our home or at our doorstep.
ReplyDeleteDamyanti @Daily(w)rite
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013
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Thank Heavens we do grow up mature enough to acknowledge the strength and sacrifices our parents make for us... as kids so many times we take them for granted..
ReplyDeleteThat is truly some story, Meena. You must be so proud of her!
ReplyDeleteWonderful tribute to your mom
ReplyDeleteA wonderful tribute to your mother! She's definitely a very strong woman!
ReplyDeleteWow! Hat's off to your mom.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice tribute to your mom. Thanks for sharing her story.
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring story :)
ReplyDeleteNice tribute to Nalini !True,sometimes inspirations are just a breath away but we are the last ones to spot them .
ReplyDeleteYour mom sounds like a winner and you should be very proud of her. I love reading such stories of courage and determination.
ReplyDeleteIt was very inspiring to read, thanks for sharing ! loved your expressions !
ReplyDelete