This story occured roughly two centuries ago, in Ayodhya. A man had no children. He visited a renowned saint of a famous Ashram in Ayodhya who used to offer his prayers everyday on the banks of the holy river Saryu, and requested him to bless him with a child. The saint agreed. '' But I don't know whom to search for to become your son so I will myself take birth in your family and become your son but I shan't live too long. I will give you three generations. And remember, do not feed me meat.''
The man came back home and true to the blessing, he soon became a father.
In course of time, the baby boy grew up to be handsome young man, got duly married and became father of a son too. When that baby was only a year old, one day this man - the baby's father - went to Saryu and leaving behind his clothes on the bank just vanished in the river. Nobody saw anyone drowning and his body was never recovered. The people then recollected the words of the blessing which had said that the child would not live too long in this world.
This fatherless baby boy was the paternal grand father of Mummy...!
That Ashram still exists in Ayodhya and members of that Ashram very well know this story even to this day. As per the words of the prophesy, only 3 generations could be carved out, the third being Mummy's own brother who got all in all 5 daughters and no son.
Mummy's own life has been no less full of strange events that defy laws of science or even sheer logic and reason.
She was the very personification of love, care, sacrifice and courage, in fact the very type of mother we usually see in old Hindi movies and do not believe they can really exist in real life.
She was 18 years old when she was married to papa who had no parents but 4 little sisters and a young brother and a tiny salary to feed, clothe and educate them all. Her extremely loving and caring nature won everyone's heart.
For the first ten years of her married life she didn't have any children of her own and had begun considering all his sisters and brother as her own children. Then something happened.
Papa's younger brother M who was 22 years old and had just recently got engaged, went to kolkata's Kali Devi Temple where the event of goat sacrifice for the Goddess so disgusted him that he refused to eat even the Prashad and straightaway came out of the temple thereby insulting the diety. By the time he came home, he fell mysteriously ill speaking in strange voices that he had insulted Goddess Kali so she had come upon him to seek revenge.He had strangely contracted clairvoyance too. During the period of his illness, he made several prophesies which turned out to be true however I have forgotten almost all of them.
Mummy and Papa both were extremely religious and had full faith in God. They started praying to God to save M; in addition they also consulted all the doctors to cure him but no doctor could find out what was wrong with him.
Here M's behavior continued to become stranger still. The Devi often would speak up in a female voice that she had come to kill M. Apart from that M would keep lying down in a cot in semiconscious state and had surprisingly started addressing Mummy as Amma instead of bhabhi as usual.
''But why do you call me Amma? I am your Bhabhi''.She asked him one day.
''You were my mother in my previous birth. I was your real son.''
''How can I believe you?''
For answer M tore her bodice and she as well as the others present over there at that time were terrified to see both her breasts started gushing a stream of milk all down her clothes. ''This is the proof.'' M said and then he cuddled down to her lap like a tiny newborn baby and drank the milk in front of everyone.
Mummy was very worried for his life and she prayed to God fervently to save M. While she was saying her prayers to Lord Hanuman, there were suddenly heavy footsteps as those of a giant to be heard on the roof and then suddenly M sat up in bed asking in an alien voice why had she called her.
''Who are you?'' She asked fearfully.
''You just called me. You had fed me laddoos so I just had to come.''
She understood that Hanumanji had come. From that day on, Hanumanji came on him several times and she could distinguish it by the immediate alterations in M's voice.
A few more days went by and M's health became from bad to worse. A doctor came to examine him and said his life powers were failing and he would not survive the night. Mummy and Papa prayed on.
It was around midnight. Suddenly someone knocked at the door and there came in a strange travaller with an exceedingly beautiful wife who wore an enormous amount of gold jewellery and a little baby in her arms. They were stray travallers and merely wanted a shelter for the night. Papa was too preoccupied in his affairs to give anymore thought and merely let them in to pass the night in the verandah. However, when he went to look for them some two three hours later they had plainly vanished without a word, without a sound and without a trace.
That night the Goddess spoke to Mummy again .
''Why don't you let me take him?''
''Because he is my husband's brother and I love him like my son and want to save him.''
''You have two sons of your own in your destiny. You can stop praying to me to save M.''
''I do not know what is in my future. And my conscience does not allow me to let go of M just because you have told me I will have two sons of my own in future.''
''You do not believe me?''
''No, I don't. But if you say I have two sons then you can take one of them and leave M in place of him.''
There and then Goddess Kali left M with the promise of claiming one of mummy's own sons when the time came.
M miraculously became normal the very next day just as he was prior to falling ill after the temple visit. He stopped talking in alien voices and addressing mummy as 'Amma'. In fact he didn't even remember a single bit of all that had transpired in the last few days. She also discovered that the villager with the beautiful wife and baby were no other than Lord Shiva, Parvati and Ganeshji come in person to save M as both Mummy and papa had been praying. That night was the night of death for M but Mummy's deal snatched him out of the clutches of death.
Several years later, nearly 15 years to be exact, mummy had already become a proud mother of three daughters and this time she gave birth to a son. Everyone was rejoicing. The third day, the baby who was normal, healthy and happy in all possible aspects, died suddenly without any reason. He had simply stopped breathing...!
She remembered the promise she had made to Goddess Kali all those years ago. In fact she had never forgotten it so while Papa was completely broke with grief she recovered rather quickly. She didn't grieve at all. She knew what had happened and why.
Two years later she was pregnant again. This time she had a strange dream that her father came out of the heavens and hid inside her womb.'' I am going to be your son.'' He said. She successfully gave birth to a boy and according to her personal belief, her own father. Maybe for this reason she had a special bond with S all through her life.
Although all mothers all over the world are notorious for loving their sons over their daughters but she certainly crossed the limits here. She loved S just too much. She would worship and pray and keep numerous difficult fasts for S's safety and happiness even when she was herself in deep physical pain or ill health. She used to await his phone calls everyday with painful anxiety and would not even breathe or sleep easy until she had heard his voice on phone to reassure herself that he was indeed fine.
At 75 years of age, she decided that having seen every worthwhile thing in the world, she wanted to die now. As a typical Hindu woman's belief she wanted to die before her husband. She just happened to mention this wish of hers to P. Less then a week had gone by. She fell ill and became too weak to leave her bed. She was taken to a hospital where she was diagnosed with severe blood infection. We all believe she had been saving her breaths to see S and H. Having seen them both with her own eyes and hearing them with her own ears, she passed away 4 days later.
And yet, this is not the end. When she died, she must have been very worried about how papa will live without her; after all they had been together and inseparable since 57 years. One day I had a very dreadful dream that mummy has died yet she still cannot die. Her dead body is lying down on the ground from which she gets up, then lie down then again get up as if she is extremely worried and restless. She cannot get peace and rest. Exactly three days later papa passed away too. He had been able to live only six months without mummy.
When alive, I had many times teased her, even reproached her for having almost nonsensical, irrational beliefs and fancies regarding those fasts and worships which she faithfully used to follow no matter how much she herself was in pain. Now I have begun revering all her beliefs. I have also not forgotten Goddess Kali. And I too have begun getting strange ideas in my head that one day, for all I know, she might just come back to me as our daughter.........
