Shenta – Is Immortal to Us

Exactly a month back , was a fine Thursday morning that was full of energy and life in the kitchen and generally between all of us . It was one of those days of the Devi Navratri that we celebrate at home with all of the Puja rituals and special food as offerings to The Almighty. The Covid Lockdown and Unlocks had almost crippled the entire personal and professional lives of everyone including our family. This Navratri (usually gets celebrated at my co-sister’s place in Pune every year) was like a ray of sunshine in our lives.

Unfortunatley , that is how it was not meant to be. That afternoon , my mother in law whom we fondly called as Shenta Aai (my phonebook also saves her number as that ), left us because of a massive cardiac arrest. And it just took 10 minutes to turn our world topsyturvey. From that day on everytime I have decided to write about her , I can barely manage to go beyond few lines. And while I look back , 17 years since I got married into this family , having spent a lot of time with her , especially the last 8 years, this is not how she would want me to remember her. And having said that , I therefore wish to recall her Best Times , Best Qualities , basically Shenta at her best. ( we as a family address our parents with their first names. While I always called my Mom ‘Veena’ , Shenta was a word coined by my niece because she couldn’t pronounce her name ‘Snehalata’ correctly)

So what was Shenta to Us.

1. A born teacher : While a lot in my family have narrated stories about her life as a teacher , she remained a teacher till her last breath. When I got married , my mother was extremely worried about my cooking skills and had alerted Shenta about this. Without being fussy about it, she assured my mother that she would teach me everything and she did so, using all her patience . That also included giving me a pat on the back when I did great and a smack when I faltered. Her only message to me was that in an era when we can afford to have cooks, you still need to be indpenedent, know your stuff and be self reliant.
2. An ambitious lady : During my interactions with her, she always harboured ambitions for each one of us including herself. She kept a tab on our annual incentives and promotions at work and whenever we got accolades at work , she made it viral in her very own ways, so much so forth that sometimes we had to put a control on her marketing efforts. She was dissapointed when I had to quit my job and was happy at the same time when I decided to start learning again. She was extremely ambitious about Ananya too and infact taught her Hindi till the last breath. In her good old days , when she was part of a bhajan mandal at an instutution , I remember her memorising those bhajans at home again and again since she had a reherseal the next day.
3. Never say Never : In so many years since the time , she had to undergo multiple and painful hospitalisations , never ever did she lose hope or was pessimistic about any condition of hers. Everytime she came home discharged from the hospital , she’d want to get back to her routine or atleast try to get back on her feet. Even during the highs and lows in our life, she was like a glimmer of postivity around us. I still rememeber her saying “One should never lose faith in The Almighty and always keep hope. Crying doesn’t solve any problems. Tears are always a hindrance to your psoitivity.”
4. A True Leader : There are so many more qualities that could be listed , for instance, she always beleived in maintaining relationships , not just with immediate family , but also with her extended family and her well wishers. That’s exactly why we always had her relatives , well wishers, friends coming over to meet her , greet her and she always found occassions to call them over. Most of all , she always led her team from the front. And ensured all of us fell in line 

A month after a demise and we still continue to feel her presence in the house. We still remember the funny conversations she always had with her children and her grandchildren that make us laugh. The enthusiasm , the aura , the halo , the smacking , the patting will continue to be part of our lives no matter what.

For me , Shenta is officially now our Senior Enthu Cutlet………………