an envelope of affection

there was this family who lived in our house as our tenants for many years. they rented part of our house as it was convenient for them. their house was quite far in the outskirts of the city. the lady of the house, auntie nirmala was a nurse and the man, uncle jeyaraj, was a school teacher. they had two sons, raja and vino. they were about my brother's age. the boys went to school together, literally as the boy's father would send and pick them from school. they don't live there anymore but they are close-by. as time passed by, we grew really close like a part of the family. i fell in love with auntie nirmala. i was always at her doorstep...any time of the day....confiding in her about anything and everything. that was during my school days, university days, working in KL days and continued until i got married and even after marriage but no longer at her doorstep but over the phone. i remember that there were so many little little things that she would advise me in my growing years while relating to me her experiences in her nursing college days in the UK as well as other stories. many years ago in my teenage years or was it during my university days, auntie nirmala said to me... life is like a horse drawn carriage and we are carriage driver who must hold the horses by the reins in order to reach the desired destination. something that she said to me over the phone her after a few weeks i got married sealed the envelop of affection for her in my heart ....baseri, i always think to myself that i have a daughter living somewhere. recently, she said to me... baseri, patience will take you very far in life. i always thought to myself that her daughter in laws are very lucky and should be thankful to have a mother in the form of a mother in law... auntie nirmala had been there in my life for more than 25 years....there are so much to say about her in that 25 years. i still dropby her doorstep each time i go back to my hometown as she lives five minutes drive from my mum's. she had always looked as radiant to me as ever, though i would have loved to see her in sarees as often as possible. in a nutshell, she is a simple lady, loving simple things yet so rich with love and wisdom, so she is, auntie nirmala. i am so glad to have known her and i hope my children, my nieces and nephews would appreciate knowing her.