Shy Parents

I have shared many memorable moments with my parents and I cherish all of them. But when I sit down to write about something which I enjoyed most, I must confess that this funny incident comes foremost to my mind. I am therefore sharing this story with you, with due apologies to my beloved, late and departed Father and my most beloved 87-year-old Mother. I hope they don't mind my writing about their most embarrassing moment.

I was born in 1957 and my elder sister in 1955. One morning, in the year 1966 my parents called my sister and me to the sitting room. There was my father in his white Veshti (Dhoti worn by Tamilians) and white baniyan, which was his usual attire. My mother was there too, looking, I thought, a bit worried. She would not look at us in the eye or smile. This was the first time that we, as a family, were having a formal meeting, and this rang alarm bells in my head. I looked at my sister and she looked back at me and shrugged. She too was clueless about the agenda for this historic meeting.

My Father, I must say, was never comfortable with formalities. He was not the kind of person who could make small talk or crack jokes. I could see that he was struggling with something, maybe wondering how to begin the talking. He had never spoken to us in a formal way. In fact, he spoke very little. That is why I was scared.

My Mother threw an anxious glance at my Father when she saw him hesitate. It was clear that he was supposed to take the initiative. Thankfully, my sister intervened and asked: "What's the matter Appa and Amma? Why did you call us?"

" Well", began my Father. We have some news for you both."

"Good or bad Appa?" I asked.

He was struggling again to answer: "I suppose good only."

"Are we going on a vacation? Or perhaps a movie?" I was excited

"Shut up and let Appa speak." My sister chided me.

"Ok. No, we are not going on a vacation or to a movie. But you both are going to have more company."

"Oh! Who's visiting us?" I asked

" I don't know yet. It could be a boy or a girl." My Father said seriously.

I was terribly confused. Why was Appa making this sound like a puzzle? I looked at my sister and she smiled.

"I know. I knew that Amma is pregnant."

Amma, pregnant? I was stupefied. How can she be pregnant? At my age then, I knew a bit about pregnancy. Not much. I knew that when your mother gets pregnant she is bound to deliver a baby. I was stupefied, not because she could not be pregnant but because I thought that my parents were well past the age when one could have babies. My Father would have been almost 55 at that time. My Mother was however not that old, being almost 15 years younger to him. My Father, as you all have guessed, married late and my Mother too early. Not only this, my sister was born almost seven years after the marriage of my parents! Appa should have been a grandfather if he had married and had children in time.

" You are right, Jayashree." My Father said. Your mother is indeed going to deliver a baby. Appa and Amma were, I could see, not very excited about the baby.

Anyway, we took it in our stride, happy that we will have a brother or a sister soon.

Finally, the BIG day arrived. It was August 1966 and I can very vividly remember the day. It was 15th. Appa rushed Amma to a local Municipal hospital in Chennai. Hours later, our maid took us both to the hospital. My mother was still in the ward waiting for the baby to come.

Finally, around noon the nurse came out of the delivery room and announced that a baby boy is born. Appa's face broke into a rare smile, and we jumped with joy. We waited for the doctor to call us in to see the baby. 22 minutes passed but no one came out. We were getting worried. Has something happened to our brother? Or was it Amma? My Father was tensed and prowling. After 22 minutes, the nurse came out again and announced " There is a baby girl too! There are two babies! One boy and a girl. Twins. Congratulations. Bring the sweets old man!"

Appa could not digest the shock, not one but two babies; and being called an old man by the nurse. Such an embarrassment! Truth be told, my Father did look much older than his age.

But we hardly noticed all this. We were thrilled. We had never heard of anyone around us in the family or out of it having two babies at a time! My sister ran to my Father and hugged him, and I followed her. This must-have released Appa's tension. He hugged us back and smiled, this time in relief. We rushed to meet our twin brother and sister and hug Amma.

I cannot remember a time when our parents were so embarrassed. I cannot either forget those hours in the hospital and the happiness that the twins finally brought to our family. Priceless.