Glossary (Malayalam to English to Hindi)
Amma - Mother (Hindi: maa)
Appa - Father (Hindi: pita)
Cheriyamma - Father's younger brother's wife (Hindi: chachi)
Cheriyachan - Father's younger brother (Hindi: chacha)
Achachan - Paternal grandfather (Hindi: dada)
Achamma - Paternal grandmother (Hindi: dadi)
Opa - Elder brother (Hindi: bhaiyya)
Ammamma - Maternal grandmother (Hindi: nani)
It was your usual busy day at the Simon household, which meant that Mom was busy with getting ready for the last day of school. The summer vacations were about to begin from tomorrow, and there was a lot to put away in the cupboards. On the other hand, she had to prepare bed coffee for her spoiled daughter who could never seem to wake up before eight at the very earliest. Not that the spoiled daughter in question was a pampered little princess, but Mom did occasionally excuse such incidents by saying, "She'll learn when she gets married." Of course, my aunts had a lot to say about Zemirah never waking up on time and having everything handed to her on a silver platter.
"How will she adjust to her life after marriage? She'll have to wake up at four to prepare breakfast for her husband, sweep and mop the floors, feed the birds and water the plants..."
Mom looked at cheriyamma with some disbelief.
"Have you ever seen me waking up before anyone in the house just so that I can serve them bedtime tea? I only do that for Zemirah sometimes... only when I'm extremely indulgent with her."
Cheriyamma chuckled.
"You're right, chettathi. To be honest, it's really exhausting for us women... it's like, the entire household depends upon us. What to do, societal conventions."
Mom smiled, "It's up to us to follow them, or to defy them."
Not kidding, but the Simon family was probably one of the most conservative families you'll find in Jew Town. I don't know how half of my family was still stuck in the Middle Ages, where they believed that women should be strictly confined to domestic matters. It's a wonder that a free-spirited woman like Mom managed to spend some twenty years with such people. With my personality at hand, I would have divorced my husband and moved out long ago. For many reasons, I liked cheriyamma better than the other members of my family. She wasn't much older than me, and I liked the fact that she chose to wear dresses and skirts like Mom sometimes did. Of course, dear valiya amma did have a problem with it but she couldn't stop her without any kind of support. Thankfully, my cheriyachan was an open-minded and liberal man (unlike my valiya achan). He had actually encouraged his wife to pursue a PhD degree in Chemistry and apply for a full-time position of a lecturer in college, and that's something commendable when it comes to our family. She was indeed one of the luckiest wives in the house, and one of the happiest ones as well.
And, I desired for a free and independent life as well. Sometimes, I wondered how Mom had survived this crazy household for more than two decades. Had she never felt like running away from this mess, and carve out a new life for herself?
If I were in her place, I would have done so long back. Especially if I had a valiya amma like that.
I had never seen my achachan and achamma, and the household was pretty much managed by my eldest paternal aunt. Like I've said, ours was a traditional joint family living together in a large house. My grandparents had a room of their own (which I had to share with my two younger cousins), and so did my two other uncles and aunts. Though the house itself would be at least fifty years old by now, its white walls still shone in the sunshine and the woodwork was polished bright every three years. Mom preferred to live in her own room, though she sometimes allowed me to stay there when I had my examinations. I craved for some peace and silence at times, but it's difficult when you have two middle-school girls living with you. Thankfully, Puneeth opa decided to move out in college itself and I was spared of having my hair constantly pulled by him.
Yes, I lived in a chaotic household all right. With such a big house at hand and two brothers (and Mom), fights regarding the property were quite common.
"You know, you're one of the privileged ones who stay on in their husband's house even after everything has happened! If you had some shame, you would have moved out by now!" I could hear valiya amma screaming at Mom, followed by a loud crash.
Unperturbed, I went up to the door and closed it. I had to study for my diploma examinations, and I could not afford to defend Mom at this time.
"Why so? This is my house as well! I have lived here for twenty years, and I have as much right over this house as you have! My daughter was born in this very house, so who are you to send her away from here?"
"This house has been managed by me for the last ten years, I'm no less than the head of this house!" I winced as valiya amma screamed at the top of her voice.
There was silence for a moment.
"Look, all I'm asking you is to let us sell this house and move away to somewhere better. There's nothing left in this old shack, I tell you!"
Mom roared. "You have your husband to take care of you, I cannot bring up my daughter on my salary and pay the rent at the same time!" After a pause, "You are free to move out to wherever you want, but I will not leave this house just because you want to sell the house!"
I shut my ears. We had been through this argument time and time again, and it was going beyond my breaking point. Unbearable, in other words.
Again, there was silence for a moment. And, what valiya amma said after that could be one of the most hurtful things one could ever say to Mom.
"Maybe if you hadn't been a burden on the rest of us, we wouldn't have had to face these issues. We would have just sold this damned house and moved to Trivandrum! It's all your fault that you've made a mess of your life, and have to depend on us for your survival!"
That was enough.
I shut my books, opened the door and ran downstairs.
Just as I was about to step downstairs, I saw Mom looking at valiya amma with poison in her eyes. I understood that Mom wanted to deal with this situation herself.
"I'm a burden to all of you, am I?"
Her voice was cold and bitter.
Valiya amma tried to say something but failed, but even she knew that she had gone too far with that one.
Mom stood up.
"Of course, I'm a burden to everyone in this family. I have educated myself despite the terrible conditions I have had to endure in this house, and have made myself self-dependent. I have never asked anyone for anything in this house and have single-handedly raised Zemirah on my own salary. I have always contributed to the household in every way possible for me, and yet I'm the one who's become a burden to you – right?"
Valiya amma tried to say something, "Lisetta, I didn't..."
"That's enough, chettathi."
Mom looked at valiya achan, who had hidden his face in his hands. One could interpret it as his inability to look at Mom in the eye, for he knew what his wife had done was wrong.
"Valiya achan, there have been times when I would be struggling to pay Zemirah's school fees yet I would always help you in times of need... just because you're family. I could never buy my daughter whatever she wanted just so that I could pay for her basic necessities and not ask you for anything. I have tried to be as financially independent as possible... but clearly, it wasn't enough. Now the thing is, I can go without food for a day but without self-respect? That's impossible. With that being said, I can't live in a place where people consider me to be a burden."
"Chettathi, no!" Cheriyamma tried to stop her, but Mom was not be persuaded with this time. She had taken too much nonsense from the family already, and it was time that she got herself out of it.
And with that, Mom came upstairs. She didn't say a word but when straight for her phone, which was on her bed.
I knew who she was calling, but I chose to keep silent.
Mom deserved this.
"Hey, it's me. I think that it's finally time for us to meet. Can we meet at Marine Drive after two weeks or so? That will give me some to book the flight tickets and talk to Moorthy regarding a place to stay."
So, it's finally happening.
"Yes, I'll call you later and explain everything. Yes, yes... I'm absolutely fine. Just family issues, you know. About that? Yes, I'm absolutely sure. Let's do this."
After Mom cut the call, I could see that there was a hard, bright look in her eye. Though I didn't know what was going on, I could sense that she was going to take a huge step.
A life-changing step.
"Mom," I began cautiously. "Was that who I think that was? What's going on?"
Mom looked at me with that same steely look, and said, "We're leaving for Mumbai. It's time that we left these people behind and began a new life of our own."
I stared at her like she was crazy.
"What?"
Mom continued as if she was almost talking to herself.
"Yes, Zemirah. To be honest, I'm tired of these property issues and family disagreements. I've been tolerating it for almost twenty years, only so that you had a comfortable life in your own home. If nothing else, at least someone could take care of you while I had to go to work. However, your exams will get over tomorrow – and then, we will begin our new life."
I repeated the name in my mind and said, "Mom... Mumbai? Don't you think that's too far away to do this? We can go to ammamma's house, nobody will say anything there. Mumbai is a brand-new place for us, and you can't even speak Hindi properly. How will you manage there?"
Mom gave me another look and smiled.
"Well, I've been preparing for this escape for a year."
I gasped again. "What? And you never told me about it!"
"Well, I've been taking some Hindi classes from your cousins," Mom said. "And, let's be practical. You'll get much better career opportunities for yourself in Mumbai... you've always wanted to be a multimedia specialist, and you have interned for the Asianet News for a year as well. I'm sure something will work out for you, and for us. As for me, I have nearly twenty years of experience, and any school would be ready to hire me as a permanent teacher."
I stared at her again, with my mouth open. Leaving behind my hometown and all my friends did seem painful... but Mom didn't know what an amazing decision she had actually made.
Fun fact: Farrokh had just shifted to Mumbai for his first job, and we were kinda finding it difficult to deal with a brand-new long-distance relationship at the moment. This was absolutely amazing, man.
Mom rose again and dialled someone's number on the phone.
"Speaking of your ammamma, well... this was long overdue. Uh, hello... amma?"
Well.
"Amma, what I wanted to say is that... I'm finally leaving. You and appa have almost ruined my life by forcibly marrying me off to Malkiel, and I can never forgive you for that. I wasn't allowed to follow my own heart and dreams, but I can't let that happen to my daughter as well. I don't want to be a burden on anyone, so I will finally follow my own happiness. I will let you know when I reach Mumbai, and that I'm happy. It's time that I learnt to be happy once again."316Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhP5xFhk1Ia
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