Dear Friends,

Words are very powerful. They can construct or ruin situations. One needs to be very watchful  while communicating . But unfortunately ,the most careless used are these ‘Words’ which can break hearts,  hurt feelings, excite sentiments and cause a whole lot of anxiety. This anecdote from my life, is an example of  the same.

Meena Mishra.

Frame It Right

It was a regular day. Meena went to school as usual. But things were completely different when she returned home. The first astonishment was to find the door ajar. There was a frightening silence in the house. Mother was sobbing .Father was laying on the bed with his hands covering his face trying to hide his feelings. Something had gone terribly wrong. But what? Mother handed over the telegram that read ‘Mother died come soon’, to her.

Those were the days when telephone was not a common place miracle. Receiving a telegram meant that the incident must have taken place three days back. Meena’s father was the eldest son of the family. If there was one person his mother could rely upon, it was him. He was not by his mother’s side when she breathed her last. It was saddening beyond belief.

                         It was an unexpected blow for the family. They had to set on a journey to their native place, Pindaruch , a small village tucked in the heart of Mithila (the birthplace of legendary Sita). Her siblings  were fed. Rest of the cooked meal, milk and vegetables were given to the immediate neighbour. There was no need of  withdrawing money  from the bank  as the neighbours had already pooled in cash that they had at home . Meena always wondered how did all her neighbours manage to throng in and offer help in times of difficulty They had already arranged for  a car and a driver for her family  as waiting for the bus would have meant wastage of time. Entire neighbourhood was sad. They knew how attached her father was to her granny. Even she loved her granny very much. Meena’s mother packed some faded colour sarees and a handful of simple dresses for the other family members. In a gloomy silence the family set out on a journey.     

After a long and tiring journey, they reached their native place. The news of their arrival in a car (What a luxury it was!) had spread in the entire village. Following the tradition, some family members were standing in the portico , with mugs filled with water which would be used for washing their feet before entering the Pooja Room, where they had to bow before the deity before entering the house.

                The car reached the portico. Meena’s father was the first one to alight. And to everybody’s surprise, the person standing there with a mug filled with water, was none other than her granny. The expression that she observed on her father’s face was not easy to explain. It was a mixed feeling of joy, wonder, amazement, bewilderment   and surprise. He hugged his mother and burst into tears. Her granny was perplexed, quite unaware of the situation and didn’t know how to react.

Later on the family was informed that the sender of the telegram who was her father’s cousin, had lost his mother. Only if the telegram would have been framed as ‘My mother died, come soon’, this entire episode of confusion and slipup could have been avoided.