A tribute to my parents

  One of the greatest titles in the world is parent, and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to have parents to call mom and dad.....Jim.D

        The above quotation  is a universal truth. Parents, who bring the child into this world  are the closest to their off springs. Children are the blood of their blood, and flesh of their flesh. The love that the parents give to their children is undiluted love. It is selfless and unadulterated. This love  flows  in the veins and  arteries of their children, and arouses a permanent and perennial bond with their  parents.

                                                I am now going to enter my eighties. I have two children and four grand children,who I can proudly say are devoted to me. Similarly, I worship my parents. I am fortunate that I enjoyed the pure bliss of my parents protection and  the benefit of their advice for a fairly long period of  my life. My earliest memory of my parents is when I was about four year old. I remember that I had  chicken pox, a serious disease in that period.  The whole night both of them sat  by my side till I recovered. Being the eldest  among  the siblings, I was very dear to my parents. When I was eight years old ,  some social event  was organised by the residents of the neighborhood. I and my sister sang a song on the stage. Mom and Dad  felt extremely proud. I heard my father telling many people,"These two are my daughters".At that time I did not understand ,what was so special that he went around announcing this to every one.  Now when I am a mother/ grand mother I realise how parents are proud of the slightest achievement of their offsprings. 
                                            As I grew , I found my father to be very reserved. He hardly spoke to his children.Those days, perhaps that was the norm. As soon as we heard the sound of car  we used to remain away from his gaze. What ever we wanted, we had to go through proper channel , our mom. Not that he did not like his children . Every one whom we knew had the same experience. After the children grew up, there was hardly any  rapport between the father and children. I remember that the first  discussion/argument  which I had with my father. I was sixteen years old. A new movie, Badi Bahen , was released. It was a big hit. It portrayed an unmarried girl becoming pregnant. My father was adament that teen aged girls must not see such movies. It goes without saying that my father had to yield. That was the beginning of a new relation with Dad. He became more approachable and more understanding. My father was a gem of a person. He was very understanding and  very liberal.He had a very sharp mind.It was not surprising that he topped in Civil Engineering examination from Roorkee  Engineering College.He was a self made man. His father died when he was only twelve old. He was the eldest of  five brothers and sisters. His mother took up a job as a teacher to bring up her children.My father  got scholarship, with which he managed to become a successful Engineer, who reached the top of his profession due to sheer hard work. 
                                          Those were the days of British rule in India. His bosses were mostly British. My mom, who was equally intelligent,   picked up etiquette  to mix with British families.My mother was very decent and an optimist.She was herself well dressed and ensured that all her children always remain so. Till today I am very particular that i must always be dressed well and my children  too are well groomed. My parents were very fond of their children.We had the privilege to see all states of our country. Every year during summer holidays we used to go to some hill station.  The whole family had to take meals  together on the dining table.  Nothing was to be left over. My parents never scolded any one but ensured that nothing was left over in the plate. Every year on my father's birthday  we went  out for dinner. Before that we used to go to  some studio for a family photograph. A joint photo of one of those days is given here.
     When I  expressed my wish to get married to Mr. Menon , I was apprehensive whether my parents would agree  to  my getting married to a boy from Kerala. There was                                                             

my parents

My parents with me and my siblings.
taken on 16th June 1956 at Mussoorie.

no protest . My father wanted to talk to him in private. Well it was justified.When Mr. Menon met him, my father's  only question was whether he was really  serious to marry  me.                  After my marriage, there was a drastic change in my parents. They used to go to club every evening. This was  completely given up. I and my husband had to visit them every evening. When my son was born, their  joy cannot be expressed in words.After they  died there was a sudden vacuum in our life.The love and affection that we got from my parents was extraordinary. I  have not seen any father and mother doting upon their son-in-law . I pray to God Almighty that every child gets such affectionate, caring and loving parents.