Matri Rupeno

Uncle Suresh wrote to Dad to let him know he would be coming to visit us soon. Since he would be starting a new career, would find it difficult to take time off to visit certain cities in Rajasthan. Dad was then posted on Mount Abu. Uncle Suresh was from Kolkata and had heard lots of stories of the only oasis in the desert.

He came in December and we were having our winter holidays. I was then 6 and my sister was two years younger than me. Our brother was born a year and a half later.

Dad took Uncle Suresh to Delwara Temple, several times to Nakki Lake, and many more places in Mount Abu. We later visited Jaipur and Jodhpur and Dad wished to come back but Uncle requested to take him to Bikaner. Dad was in a fix as there were no reservation train tickets but he couldn’t throw Uncle’s words so buying general tickets we boarded the train. Dad and Uncle travelled in the general class and Maa and us two sisters were in the lady's compartment.

After an hour's journey, the train halted at a station for 15 minutes. The train arrived before the scheduled and waited for the scheduled departure.

 Before the train could gather speed a man jumped on the train and reached the toilet. As there was a noise going on Maa went to see and saw a dirty-looking man trying to open the window latch from outside. Before I write further we were the only ones sitting in the ladies' compartment. When Maa saw the man trying to open the latch, she caught hold of the toilet window door and held it tightly. In those days there used to be no window bars or maybe this compartment did not have one. The train was now running at full speed and the man kept on trying to pull the latch using a screwdriver. It was a glass window. Bikaner had 5 hours more to reach and Maa kept on holding the window door tightly.

I was 6 years old but could sense something was wrong so I went to find Maa and saw her tightly holding the toilet window so that the man could not open the latch. Here Maa kept on singing the nursery rhymes to keep us engaged. My sister younger than me was crying and I was far too small to console her. Surprisingly when the train halted at any station the man would jump down and again board the train.

Dad and Uncle thought that we were safe in the ‘Ladies' compartment’ and as the halt in any station was not more than 5 to 7 minutes, Dad couldn’t come to see us. This way Maa continued to hold the toilet window till we reached Bikaner and when Dad came to our compartment we all got down. By then Maa’s fingers were bleeding and when Dad came to know about the ordeal, he felt guilty for nodding his head for the Bikaner trip. He put a complaint to the Railways but it was unheard of. Maa got her first aid done and somehow we couldn’t enjoy it ourselves in Bikaner. Whilst coming back proper tickets were done and we returned to Jodhpur by bus. From Jodhpur to Abu Road we had properly reserved tickets. Finally, we reached Mount Abu.

My mother is ‘Dasha Bhuja’. The real meaning is a mother can do multiple tasks at a time, looking after children, managing the front door, cooking, washing, sewing and so many more. A mother who does everything, even the impossible, to protect her children and she is ‘Maa’.