Dear Son,
Hope this letter finds you in the best of spirits and
health.
You might be surprised to find an email from your mom. But something
told me to write to you; that you need to hear from me today.
It was indeed one of the best evenings that your father and
I spent when you visited us with your new wife yesterday. Rest assured, we
liked her immensely. I could see that both of you are very much in love and
that makes me happy. May your love grow every moment!
Now to mention the reason for writing this letter. I don’t
know whether you remember, but during dinner, you cracked a joke about the
shapeless rotis that Lavanya makes. We all laughed and your father laughed the
loudest. There were tears of laughter in the eyes of your father and there were
tears in the eyes of your wife too. I can assure you that her tears were not of
mirth, they were tears of mortification, of shame brought about by the innocuous
joke that you cracked.
I guess that joke was the reason why we heard raised voices
coming from your room yesterday night and the reason why Lavanya appeared puffy
eyed in the morning. May be, she cried all night.
Son, I want to tell you something. I love shapeless rotis.
They bring back many fond memories. They remind me of the shapeless rotis made
by my father on certain Saturday mornings, when mother had extra duty in her
office. They lacked salt, were hard like rock and were shaped like various
continents. But his love for us compensated for all that it lacked.
Shapeless rotis also bring memories of those days when your
father turned into my cook. It was in those early days of pregnancy while I was
carrying you. I couldn’t bear the smell of spices or rice or anything cooking.
Your father would churn out shapeless rotis and experimental curries, which
tasted quite good, because he wanted to provide home cooked food for his wife
and unborn child. His care and affection made those rotis priceless.
Do you remember how you used to insist to help me while I prepared
rotis when you were around four years old? You would play with the dough and
create various shapes that you wanted to be cooked and served to all. I can
tell you, those were the tastiest rotis that I ever ate.
Words are all we need to create a world of love. Yet, a thoughtless
word is enough to destroy that world.
You and Lavanya are equally qualified, you both even earn
equal wages. You both have spent equal number of years educating yourself to be
the professionals that you are. But you expect Lavanya to become the perfect
cook and home maker from the moment you married her! How unreasonable that is?
Rahul, no new wife wants to be ridiculed in front of her
in-laws. Trust me, I can tell you that. Been there, done that. She craves to be
loved by them and she expects her husband’s support in her effort at endearing
herself to them.
Teething troubles in marriages are often capable of draining
out the love you have for each other. Be there for her while she adapts herself
into your world. A small token of appreciation and open support is all that she
would need.
You are my beloved son and I know you have learnt to see the
brighter side of things. Value love more than any other thing, because son, perfectly
round rotis are often machine made. They lack the most essential ingredient of
love.
Yours loving mother.
wow, absolutely beautiful : )
ReplyDeleteThank you fabfortee :)
DeleteVery moving. How true, Preethi!
ReplyDeleteThe right message put across beautifully. Everyone ought to read this.
Sharing this with all :)
thank you Anita. Glad that you agree with this message.
DeleteMemories attached with shapelessness are sweeter than the shapes.
ReplyDeleteVery true, Tomichan Mathiekal.
DeleteThat's a beautiful message that you are sending across, Preethi. I wish all mother in laws were like this!
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Aathira, I wish so too. :)
ReplyDelete