Four women…and the cycle of life

ONE→ — she was a goddess! She had the heart of a…well…I can’t find a single person / thing to compare her with. Love seemed to be the very reason behind her existence…and love is all she ever had in her. From my earliest memories, I can only take out snaps of her angelic face…with that never-fading smile. I could never determine if they were wrinkles or laugh-lines that blanketed her face.

She was always concerned about every living thing’s welfare. Meet her for the first time in your life…and you’d still be asked the one question which was so characteristic of her: “Have you had any food, my dear?” There was not a single person who hasn’t felt warm being asked that. There were only good things she had to tell about people.

She was everyone’s darling — a hot favourite in that neighbourhood. The perfect woman: which put heavy demands on her daughter 😉 .

When she died at the age of 94, even the plants in the house seemed to wilt!

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Two→ — born the eldest in the family and followed by two brothers, she was a pampered sister; a disciplined daughter; a liberated wife.

Her childhood — in the role of a daughter — was a supressed one. She longed to wear glass bangles; but when she finally got  a few and wore it, her dad smashed them all into bits. She longed to dress up, but  feared her dad’s reaction to it. She longed to be liberated: and that’s when she got married.

The husband danced to her every whim; gave her all she wanted; treated her like his goddess. But alas! She never became that loving wife he thought (and expected) she would. Money became the reason and the ‘everything’ of her existence. Even when her seven kids grew up, she treated them all on the basis of who was richer…and who gave her the best benefits.

Throughout her life, all that ever mattered to her was money…and her own well-being. Anyone / anybody who came in the way was treated like dirt.

She is now 90. Health is deteriorating; beauty has faded; all that remains is the arrogance, self-indulgence and love for money!

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Three→ — probably was born as an angel and sent down to earth for the welfare of a few select earthlings!

The one person in the family who lived for the family. Right from childhood, she took it up on herself ‘to care’. Everyone was always treated like kings and queens by her. Even when they (almost always) forgot to care for her welfare, she’s never had a complaint.

She is beautiful, angelic. And has a heart that matches her face. Love seems to be the very reason behind her existence…and love is all she ever has in her. From my earliest memories, I have felt only the love that overflowed from her heart.

No matter how people treat her, she is always available and ready when they are in need. Nothing ever deters her from helping someone — even while she’s in the worst conditions.

She is everyone’s darling…and will always remain so. She’s the kind of woman every woman would love to be: which places a lot of demands on the daughter 😉

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From the cycle of life depicted here, Four→ is likely to follow Two→. But she’d be damned if that happens. Knowing her, am sure she won’t let anything lead to that!! She loves Three→ and that’s who she’d love and strive to be like.

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This is the story of four consecutive generations in a family…

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Oh! By the way… Four→ is me.
It’s too early to really write anything about 😀 😆

Finally, I saw GOD…

Yes!! I finally saw GOD. When GOD crashed down into my room and right on to my bed (from which GOD toppled over and crashed on to the floor again), GOD gave me such a scare! I was rather rude to GOD (excuse me for using ‘GOD’ all the time: I’m not quite sure if it’s a he or a she—GOD’s not even human-like, for that matter—floating around, not touching the bed, but making lil’ folds on the sheet…)

Hmmm, so as I was saying, I was rather rude to GOD because I had no idea who/what ‘it’ was…and in much irritation I said “Oh God, what the hell?”. And GOD didn’t react. GOD just stared at me (awed at my vocabulary, GOD said)! That was it! In my irritation, I didn’t even notice the floating body (the only reason I wasn’t scared to death)…and that awesome, soothing voice failed to console me.

Then GOD said “Ennodu kshamikkanam…oru valya ocha kettaa veenathu.” That’s Malayalam for “Please forgive me. I got scared by a really loud sound…and that’s how I fell down.” (Yes, GOD is a multi-linguist.) Then GOD went on to tell me that GOD was passing above my roof when a blaring sound from a funnel-shaped thing screamed out something—and GOD was caught off-guard, lost balance and crashed down. The funnel-shaped thing, I found out in due course, happened to be a loudspeaker attached to the pillar of the mosque near my house!

Apparently, GOD comes floating down once a while to see how things are going on on this earth…and trust me, the expression on GOD’s face when GOD told me this wasn’t all that great!

GOD went on to say GOD was happily watching beautifully-lit small trees, with stars in front of most houses the last time GOD came down to Earth (sometime late in the year, GOD said) when suddenly at the stroke of one midnight, everyone rushed into a place called “Church” and started bending down and murmuring things, looking up at another carved, human figure! Yes, GOD admitted GOD was shocked. “What’s happening to all you humans?”, GOD asked.

Before I could even answer GOD’s doubts and questions, (I’m even thinking GOD is dumb; isn’t GOD supposed to know everything? Who’s GOD trying to fool here anyways?? aha!) well, GOD goes on…GOD says GOD sees people pushing and shoving each other in this place adorned with lit lamps, floral garlands and the smell of something nice all around (I gave him an incense stick for reference, and GOD nodded; Ok, so GOD is talking about a temple!!)—what surprises GOD most is a small carved human-shaped (again!!) stone being washed with water (sometimes even with ghee and milk!) and then adorned with a cream-coloured paste (sandal, yes) and covered again with more flowers!

GOD said GOD had also witnessed people killing animals at these places (GOD uses the phrase ‘flower-garland place’), pouring money into small boxes, rolling around the entire flower-garland place—on the stone floor, that too—fasting day-in, day-out, walking around with spears right through their tongues and cheeks, walking all the way up through thorn-adorned mountains…and at the end of all this, they bow before a small carved human-shape!

GOD finds it preposterous that humans form groups and fight with each other, calling out words like (GOD apparently keeps hearings these) Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jesus, Vishnu, Allah, Koran, Bible…and then a lot of them fall dead before the fight is over… GOD didn’t even finish saying the word ‘bombs’…just shruddered!

GOD said “It’s unbelievable…preposterous! I know you are too young to answer my queries, Priya (yes, we got intro-ed to each other and shook hands a while ago) but I really don’t understand what all these things are…why do people keep bowing and praying before human figures? Do they not think of me anymore? Have humans become more powerful than me? For the record, I keep hearing and seeing you use the word ‘GOD’…that’s why I chose to fall through this particular roof… and well, it’s about time I left…I hear another person saying “GOD”. You know, it’s easy to hear that—while everyone’s screaming Jesus, Allah and Vishnu, a one-in-a-million “GOD” is very audible”.

When we complain that our prayers are never answered…well, now you know why! When we say “How many poojas I did…what was the use?” well, now you know why! When you say “How many candles I lit…what was the use?” well, now you know why! When we despair that “All that namaz yielded nothing…” well, now you know why!

Poor GOD thinks we are all praying to some super-powerful human!!! We think GOD looks like us… But GOD doesn’t look like us…no similarities at all…GOD stares for hours together at an idol of Jesus or Vishnu (or the zillion other Hindu idols) or the view (even if imaginary) of Mecca, and GOD is absolutely clueless! All GOD knows is that GOD is never called on… The poor thing is even a bit in despair that we have all taken to human super-powers and are devoted to them!

Now we know…or do we? Will we ever know at all?

P.S.: And now I know why GOD didn’t react when I said “Oh God, what the hell?” (when GOD initially crashed in). I know why GOD didn’t correct me as “What a contradictory statement” or “Did you mean to say ‘Oh God, what the heaven?’ and all those smart remarks…’coz GOD does not even know what heaven or hell is!