A Sister Most Rare
I had never written a letter in my life. All I could do now was to put down on paper all the thoughts, welling up within me.
| Ranee of Anukrakapathy, sister true, Do as your conscience speaks to you. It's no good sitting at the organ and playing in the house of Athan Morgan. X'Mas is coming and you are not here You are badly missed, I sadly fear Have mercy on us and come back Our work is getting all slack |
Who could resist a plea like this_ not my Ranee, soft gentle sister, who could never say 'no' to anyone_ much less to this kid sister.
So once again the smell of baking, the hum of the sewing machine, the violin, the melodies of singing but most particular ripple of laughter filled the house. I was always happy! Ranee had never let me down. She was always there for me.
Memoriies kept drifting back. Six years old at St Vincents school. Ranee running with me to the Dispensary; both my knees bruised and bleeding,. Ranee hugging and comforting me, almost crying herself, through the ordeal of iodine and cotton wool. Another time when I smashed my thumb badly in the door, Ranee was holding my hand rigt through the night in the upright position, because that eased the pain somewhat. Often as I returned from school, Ranee would be waiting with rice and curry all mixed together. She would literally feed me. I still remember the smile on my mothers face when al this mothering was done. She knew only Ranee had the persuasive powers with me!. It was as if she knew she would soon be handing over the reins to Ranee and depended on her to mould me in as a decent responsible individual. |
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In after years when I was growing up, Ranee began to respect me as a sensible adult very often turned to consult me in matters. When there were two pressing marriage proposals for her_ one a rich business man and the other a school master, she found it hard to come to a decision. I was all for the intellectual graduate. Ranee saw the sense of it. We hadn't made a mistake. Athan was a gem of a man he gave my sister 52 years of happiness.
Three years after Ranees marriage and 3 days before her second child was born, my mother died suddenly. The burden of responsibility of running the house, caring for my father, caring for her own family, and on top of it all, to fill the void of a mother to a devastated grieving young girl, fell upon Ranee. She realized that the only way of easing that pain for me, was to create a new interest. Unselfishly she handed over the new baby Varan into my care, taking him only for bathing and feeding times only.
During my teaching years at Vembadi, she saw that I had my 'extras' regularly. She was there through all the ups and downs of my life. She made every effort to see that I didn't miss my mother when I was getting married. Inexperienced as she was, together with my sisters she made a wonderful job of my wedding. She was with me when Vasee arrive. She was there with me when Navam had the first heart attack.
In recent years when she moved into the same apartment she was in, she was like a clucking hen over her chick. Much to my annoyance and embarrassment sometimes, she would ask me 'Did you have your breakfast', 'Did you shut the door'? "Where are your keys' "Don't go out today, its too cold or cover your ears" and so forth. To her I was still the kid sister and I had to snap at her and tell her "I have almost come into my 70's remember?.
It has been only during this last couple of years , when Ranees heart began to falter and strength to dwindle that the opportunity to play the reverse role to care for her came to me. For this I am thankful to god. So she is missing again, only this time I will miss her to my dying day.