Kajal absolutely loved how Ma had accepted her as her elder… as her mother. Their journey together was nothing short of outlandish: it started with Kajal treating Ma as her own mother; it shifted to Kajal treating Ma as her elder sister when she started to live with her, and later after Dad’s demise; and it finally culminated into Ma being Kajal’s daughter-in-law, and daughter when Sunil married her! That was an amazing and outlandish role-reversal! Ma loved and respected Kajal as her own mother. That was an amazing thing. Under Kajal’s love, she flourished like her daughter and sometimes behaved as if she were really a child or a teenager.
Who would have thought that such a thing could happen! We often talked about it amongst us. There was a lot of hullabaloos in my family (from my dad’s side) after Ma married Sunil. She was called many names. This made me sever any ties with many of them. It is interesting how people think that they have a role to play in other people’s lives, when they do not! Our ancestral property in the village, as well as the house made by Ma and Dad were now in my name. I decided to keep them, despite Ma suggesting otherwise. I was sure that people can come around. It was also a good thing for the two boys and Abha to see our roots. Kajal and Sunil did not own much of Kajal’s side of family property. So, they too were happy that I kept those properties. There should be some sense of root. Because their family was growing, at my suggestion, Sunil and Ma sold off their two-bedroom flat and purchased a four-bedroom flat. Needless to say, that I pitched in financial support. Sunil was earning well but purchasing a house in that city could be an enormous drain of salary. He hesitated, but I told him that Ma was a majority stakeholder in my company, and money is better utilized doing such things. I argued that a good house is needed to lay foundation of a healthy home! Dad did the same when he and Ma had me. The kind of childhood I had was amazing… and this story was a testimony to that fact! Indeed, a comfortable and welcoming house is an important ingredient for having marital bliss.
Ma and Sunil indeed were in what can be described as a ‘marital bliss’! I mean, I have written much about them, but it still falls a bit short. Ma found the real wealth of marital happiness with Sunil. It was not that with Dad she was not happy: she was. But for most of her first marriage, she had to struggle, and sacrifice and rein in many of her desires. With Sunil, however, she was living a dream! He was fun, he was energetic, he was loving, he was unpredictable, he was possessive, he was liberating… he was so full of life. The way he treated Ma, made her feel much much younger than her real age. Honestly, in many ways, she looked like a woman in her early thirties. That was an achievement! With him, she had two healthy and beautiful kids. She had a beautiful home. She had people around her who loved her… unconditionally! It was pure bliss!
And they had documented each moment of their marital bliss. Ma and Sunil now had huge photo albums documenting their marital journey. In fact, that process started even before they got married. It was Kajal’s idea to maintain a photo catalogue of Sunil and Ma’s journey together. The photos from their honeymoon were because of this idea! There were photos from their leisure walks together, their restaurant visits, Ma and/or Sunil cooking, Sunil and Ma feeding each other, their travels to various places, them exercising, and images from their first house and now the second house. The albums also included so many intimate photos from their lovemaking, showering together etc. It was good fun. Then came Ma’s first pregnancy. There were Ma’s photos from each week of her both pregnancies. That was followed by her recovery. All these small little games made Ma feel very young and special.
If one saw Ma’s pregnancy photos, they would be amazed at how quickly, despite her advanced age, Ma recovered postpartum! Yes, Ma looked so beautiful and continued to look very beautiful. Sunil’s love, the joy of motherhood and freedom to enjoy her life again - all these factors combined to make her feel young! Kajal let her sleep in peace for some time, and tried to finish as much cooking as possible. It was a quiet time in the day – both girls were out to their school and both boys were fast asleep. Oh, all four were bundle of energy. At least Latika and Abha could control their energies well and elsewhere, but the boys needed to do much learning in that department. It would take years before they could rein in their energies. But as long as they were asleep, Suman could sleep. Kajal thought and smiled. She decided that she loved being a grandmother and looking after her children! Being a grandmother was pure bliss for her.
Remarkably, then entire household slept while Kajal cooked. In about one hour, she finished the cooking, and she brought some massage oil, poured it on her palms, rubbed her hands together and started to massage Ma’s legs. Her fingers gripped and slid over Ma’s legs, pressing hard at different points and muscles… at the back of her thighs, the hollow behind her knees, the middle of her calves. Ma sighed with relief in her sleep as pain oozed off her skin. Kajal smiled, continuing what she was doing before finally settling down behind her feet and starting a vigorous massage of her feet. She squeezed and kneaded the soles of her feet, the base of the toes and heels, pulled on her toes, and pinched the back of her ankles.
“Ooohh Amma!” Ma squirmed, unsure whether she felt pain or pleasure!
She was now awake but was feeling a bit tipsy enjoying the wonderful massage.
