A tribute to our beloved Mata ji

Before, the sun rises above the Savy Ville  De building, she would take her seat on the green iron benches of our society lawn. On most occasion, she  walks  alone from the lift, with Mehta ji carefully watching from behind. Only when it rains the previous night, she used  to take her son’s help to reach the bench. At 89, she was the most beautiful women of our society. If you have talked to her, you must have noticed, she listen with her eyes and speaks with her eye lashes. There was a vibrant aura around her. Sitting beside her and touching her wrinkled hands makes one instantly fall in love with her. She was Mehta ji’s mother, Meenu bhabi’s mother In-Law, Kunal’s and Kartik’s grandmother and for rest us who are not fortunate to have their parents with them she was there to fill the void.
  

Mata ji

Around 7 months ago I developed a special bonding with her, which I will never be able forget throughout my life. Realizing that I was carrying 20 kilo extra weight on my body, I planned to start running.   Even on days when I woke up late, I tried to jog for 10 minutes in the lawn. That was the time we became close to each other. There was no one to give me company in the early morning except for Mata ji. She was always the first to arrive. I usually greet her on reaching the lawn  and she would reciprocate by raising her hand. Whenever, I start my running after taking her blessing, I used to feel confident. Soon, I realized I gained strength from her presence and in a couple of weeks I started losing weight too. All thanks to Mata ji for giving me company. 

From the second month onward, I always found her looking in the direction of the lift, as if she is waiting for me. She would smile, watching me walking towards her. One day, I came early and was running on the other side of the building. From a distance, I saw her walking up to the bench. She set there for a while, occasionally looking towards the lift. I waited for some time and came from behind to greet her. Turning her face, she saw me and threw a million dollar smile. As if, a mother meeting her son, who returned back from his frontier posting. Then she asked in a slow motion voice “Kaaal Kuuee naaahi aiiiiya”. I missed one training session and she was aware of it. I realized, she missed my presence too. That was the first time we talked to each other , before that it was her beautiful eyes which did the talking.


 That day I sat with her for a while. I felt like talking to her for hours but resist myself thinking that a long conversation will make her uneasy. I started imagining her life when she was young . When   Mehta ji used to do all the mischievous things during his childhood . Looking, at her eyes I felt she must have never scolded her kids, must have cooked delicious dishes for her family, must have never complained to Mehta ji’s father, must have never used cosmetics ( after all she don’t need cosmetics). He must have spread only love and nothing else.


 On a Sunday I was training late and it was time for her to go home. I asked her if I should escort her to their flat. But, she refused saying “Pradeep aiyaga, leynay kay liye ” . Suddenly, I thought who is this Pradeep?  then I realized, it was Mehta ji’s  first name. Unknowingly, I smiled because no body in our society call Mehta ji with his first name. These small practice  differentiate a mother with rest of the people. I also used to do rope jumping exercise near her. One day when I skipped the rope exercise, she asked me by slowly rotating her hands “ajj aisa aisa nahi kya”( She meant to say why I missed the rope exercise) . I was so much touched, simply by knowing that she follow my schedule so closely. I was getting  used to her company that for few days when she went to stay with her elder son, I started feeling lonely.  That was the time I started missing practice more frequently. Her absence made my practice irregular .As the winter approached my training almost stopped.

The family 

Last Sunday, early in the morning  we received a call from our neighbor Neema ji informing that Mata ji expired last night. For few second, I felt everything stopped. Suddenly, I started feeling guilty. Why I missed those training session. I have not met her for almost a month. She must have missed me too. I felt like I should have spend some more time with her. But, I cannot rewind those lost time. Probable, it is human nature, when people stay close to us, we don’t realize their importance and only when they leave us forever we feel how important they were in our life. Later, I came to know, Mata ji casted  her vote for Uttar Pradesh election 12 hours before she left us for heavenly abode.

 I prayed to God, so that her soul rest in peace. I also thank God for given me the opportunity to spend some precious time with her. We shared a special rapport, which cannot be defined. The feeling was different  and I shall cherish for life those beautiful moment  spent with her.  Mata ji’s presence always made my training easier. 


The one thing I always feel good,  is the way Mata ji was taken care by her son Mehta ji, daughter in law  Meenu Bhabi, her grandson Kunal (He joined  Indian Army) and Kartik( in school)  and off-course their family pet Santro, who too must have given  her company. This way Mata ji was very fortunate to find a loving family with her till the last day of her life. Thanks to this family, we all in our society too got the blessing of Mata ji, in the last three years we have been staying together.

With Meenu Bhabi....this pic clicked on the last day before Mata ji left for heavenly abode

 Now, whenever I shall run in the lawn of our society I am surely going to miss Mata ji. I won’t be able to experience those divine feeling again in my life .It is not only the Mehta family but we all at SCC Heights will miss Mata ji  forever.

 Rest in peace Mata ji.