I have painted this house from childhood memories. It belonged my mother’s aunt. We fondly called her Kala Aaji (~grandma) (कला आजी)
Here is her short story,
Aaji was born around 1924-1925. Second among 6 siblings in the family. She was married off at an early age as per the customs of the time. We know very little about her early life except a photo of her only son who had died at 2 years of age. She later lost her husband in 1948 & been all alone since then.
One might imagine a widow in those times to be helpless and pleading for mercy but aaji was different. Educated up to 7th grade, she couldn’t get a job as teacher & started working as a labourer in the textile mill & worked there till the retirement.
She stayed with her parents near the mills.The house was divided into two sections, connected by a shared veranda and a door. Two sides belonged to her two brothers who were away for work & had left their families behind for school etc.
She used to stay on one side of that house, but was defacto guardian for both sides. She took care of her parents till their death & continued assuming responsibility of the household with all the nephews and nieces. I am yet to come across anyone in the family who did not benefit from her affection and care. She not only raised my mother and her siblings but also continued to be their support throughout their lives.
Post retirement, she continued to work hard & earned her living with self-respect and dignity. She had opened a little roadside candy shop. This speaks volumes about her uprightness and independence. Her house was very small & personal belongings very limited but her affection & care had no limits. Just like all my cousins I grew very fond of Aaji & still remember going to her shop, staying at her house & have the most delicious meals I have ever had. We lived just a few kilometers away.I used to visit her from school when I got my first bicycle.
Now that she has passed away, her house has lost its glory. The walls have crumbled.
Billions of people have lived and died, hoping to leave a legacy & be remembered but the only ones who make someone happier, truly live through memories like Aaji did.
Devendra.blog 