Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Happy Birthday, to a remarkable woman

She could swim the entire length of the Hussain Sagar and back.

Her Gurukul education also had her well-versed in Sanskrit and the Martial arts.

Her beauty and grace rivalled Gayatri Devi or Leela Naidu.

She played the Harmonium, and sang beautifully and evocatively.

When circumstances worked against her, she worked hard to singlehandedly raise and educate her children; she wrote down  400 pages of a text book with her own hand so that her son could study, because she did not have money to buy the book.

She was called the ‘Iron Lady,’ for her never say die spirit.

Her name was ‘Shanti’, and indeed, she was the epitome of peace; she never raised her voice, disliked conflict in others, and came out of poverty and hardship retaining a benevolence towards the world.

She had the highest respect for every human being; she spoiled the servants, offering more biscuits for their tea, for example.

When her son fell ill, and his legs hurt, it was natural that she should press them, no matter that she herself was weak and suffering all the problems that come with age.

To me, she was just a beloved grandmother, who spoiled me, took care of me when my parents were at work, nagged me to eat when I refused, indulged me with stories, and loved me.

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