Enthralling Trails

“Time is an illusion that passes way too fast!”― Ana Claudia Antunes  My in-laws belonged to Thiruvalla, a small town in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala in India. The town has remained just the same for three decades, perhaps, it has remained unchanged for ages. It lies on the banks of the rivers Pampa and Manimala and is known for its characteristic narrow roads and rickety bridges on irrigating streams and rivers. It has beautiful paddy fields lined across the rivers and lakes and a highly-populated central area called Thiruvalla town that bustles with activities. The long road near my in-laws’ house leads to Mepral that leads to Azhiyidathuchira which has a century-old Government High School. My mother in law had worked here as a teacher for more than 35 years. She had joined the school as a primary teacher after her Teacher training and a Visharad in Hindi at the young age of 18. I had never heard her speak in Hindi at home, she and my father in law would often speak in Malay

  A mother gives you a life, a mother-in-law gives you her life Recently we lost my mother in law due to multiple organ failure. The loss was a quick one, but we are sure she is surrounded by lots of love, healing and peace. My husband and his family members were with her during her last moments, we flew to attend the last rites. We were received cordially but I missed seeing my mother in law who would always come out into the green spaces of the house to welcome us. After we settled down, we went to her room. The room was a cosy one and had been rearranged. I stared at the empty wooden framed cot carved with a strongly raised headboard, she would often rest and sleep here. Close to the cot was the old wooden table that we had used for ironing our clothes. Today it was covered with a pale white tablecloth with printed green and yellow flowers. At the end of the table were two photographs mounted in maroon and gold lacquered frames. One was my father in law’s and the other was of my mot