A Dedication

As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.” 

― Martin Luther King Jr.

                       There was profound stillness, the crowd was solemnly grave. I and my sister were ushered from school. I could see my father standing in the midst of our neighbours with tear filled eyes. We faltered to enter the veranda. I gazed at my father questioningly; he gently took me near my mother’s lifeless body.  I was distressed. How could my mother who had consecrated me with good wishes at half past eight breathe her last? Tears didn’t gush as it takes time to come to terms to not many realities in life. In one of the rooms my brother was inconsolable however weeping copiously was my eldest sister who was no more than twenty one years of age. She was called “Rani” by my parents may be because she reigned a position of supremacy in their lives. She was left at Kerala with my grandmother for twelve years and joined us when we moved to Hyderabad. A hard working and assiduous person, her days were spent in studying and learning to organize her pursuits towards her goals. Her favourite place was the room near the kitchen where we had another veranda. When it would begin turning dark in the room at dusk she would move to the veranda and study. She was my mother’s fine companion as she bore a mature demeanour and was a patient listener. My father was posted at Delhi which brought both of them much closer. Her chief pastime was to study and of course listen to music. We were younger than her and never very stern about our studies as she. On completing her graduation in commerce she expressed her desire to be a chartered Accountant and so she was placed in this course shelling out a little money for the article ship. I still remember that she had also obtained a job in the Telephone Department but she refused to accept it expressing her desire to pursue her dream. My father a gregarious person seconded this despite the fact that our needs were growing and the finances were dwindling. My mother at last got hold of her to apply for a job in the Reserve Bank of India. She had fared very well as usual but had no intention of taking up the job.  And then there was a terrible blow of events with the demise of my mother. Days passed by, I was to appear for my tenth standard boards, my other sister her twelfth standard boards and my brother was pursuing MBBS. My father had taken four months of leave of absence from his job to manage us.  My sister began helping my father taking up the meticulousness of my mother but seldom neglected her studies. She was intelligent to sense that her involvement in her own life had set time for her siblings to enjoy life and move away from their goals. When she came to know that she had cleared the Bank exam, she decided to quit her article ship and take up the job considering that her siblings were more in need of her valuable time and governance. Adversities are a part of life but my sister had forfeited her dreams with a strength to persist through obstacles in  life and bring elation in the lives of her siblings. Time is a great healer and with time we overcame the sorrow but her sacrifice remained ignored almost certainly proving that she has always reigned  supremacy in our lives too.