Once again, it was a complete family. Bijoy and Sova,
Krishna, Milan, and Indrani and of course, Kaveri. Four years passed by like
this. In 1979, Bijoy woke up one morning and taught his little granddaughter
how to count from one to ten. Those were the last words he spoke to anyone.
It was the end of an era. An orphan at an early age, a
freedom fighter, a finance professional, and a loving father and human being
had passed away leaving behind his bereft family. For Sova, the lynchpin of her
existence was gone.
Krishna and her mother were shocked when Debu did not come
down for his father’s funeral and it was increasingly difficult to get in touch
with him. That year was a dark one for this family. Financially things were not
very good. They only had Sova’s widow pension and Milan’s earnings from his job
as lecturer of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Polytechnic.
Sova was also worried about Kaveri. For the first time she
thought about what would happen after she was gone and realized that Kaveri
would be dependent on Krishna. Debu showed no inclination of taking any kind of
responsibility for his widowed stepmother or his sisters.
She grieved for her husband and for her children, who had
tough lives ahead of them. Sova had dedicated herself so whole heartedly to
looking after Bijoy, that now there was a huge emptiness in her. She filled
this emptiness by spending most of her time with her four-year old
granddaughter Thoko aka Nana aka Indrani.
 |
| Sova's Last Photo - Diwali 1979 |
She told stories to Thoko, taught her to play sa re ga ma on
the harmonium, and taught her the basics of drawing. Thoko loved her granny and
would run to her, whenever Krishna tried to slap her for some naughtiness.
Two incidents come to mind; one night, Thoko threw a
tantrum. She wanted a pair of squeaky shoes right then. Krishna refused
outright to entertain this kind of behavior but Sova picked up the little
crying girl and walked off to Gariahat. The shops had closed by then. Sova woke
up the sleeping shopkeeper and bought Thoko her coveted shoes.
The second incident was a daily one, wherein the moment Sova
started chewing a pan after lunch, Thoko would force her mouth open, and take
the half chewed pan out of her mouth and eat it herself. That was how close the
two of them were.
However, Sova had neglected her own health most of her life.
In Yangon, she would eat her meals after serving everyone in that huge house.
Often if a guest came before she ate, she would give away her own food and go
without. All this took a toll on her health.
A year after Bijoy’s passing, Sova was diagnosed with an
advanced stage of stomach cancer. Krishna was devastated. She and Milan did all
they could. Once again, Debu was not around to support.
Instead, Sova’s brother Shyamaprasad Das and his wife, Sikta
Das, were a source of immense support to Krishna.
In the April of 1980, after suffering for 21 days in a small
nursing home, Sova Bose breathed her last. Before she went into a coma, she saw
a hallucination of Debu and his wife coming to visit her. Her last words were
for her son, not her daughters. Sova had dedicated her life to Bijoy and Debu
to the exclusion of almost everything else.
I still remember my father picking me up from school and
taking me to the nursing home. He bought me a chocolate and did not mention that
granny was no more. When I walked into the crowded room, and saw granny lying
on the bed, I instinctively knew that she was in heaven. People were impressed
when a five year old walked up to her grandmother and touched her feet, without
anyone prompting her to.
Sova – daughter, wife, sister, mother and a brilliant culinary
artist was no more. She had passed away leaving behind her two daughters,
son-in-law, and me. I love you Dida and always will. Everyday I feel your love
in my life and I hope I have lived up to your dreams for me.
This sums up her life for you all. Hope you liked what I shared
about a woman who was unique.
No comments:
Post a Comment