Good Bad Times

Going to my grandmother's place was always something I looked forward to but going there during Navaratri holidays was something more special. I got to visit most of my not-so-near relatives in those nine days. Every afternoon I would accompany one of my older cousins or aunt G for lunch in one of the houses in the radius of two kms. The charm would wear off beyond four days but even if I managed to defy my mother, it was difficult to resist my aunt's bidding. So I ended up going, hoping that there would be some book or magazine to kill time while my aunt talked a year's worth with those genial relatives. 

One of the houses I typically went to was Renukakka's house. They were distant relatives but Renukakka was my cousin Radhakka's childhood friend. Ever-smiling and chatty, she was my favorite those days, though I hardly knew what to talk to her, who was a good ten years older. I remember that she had some older brothers too, who were equally charming. 

Then last week, my father forwarded me an article from the local newspaper. It mentioned a man whose name I didn't recognize, who was struggling to support his aged mother and his disabled 25-year old son. His wife had passed away and he wanted to hire a nurse to care for his son and was looking for financial support from the readers. I asked Pappa who it was and he said it was one of Renukakka's brothers. I read the article again but it was very difficult to digest that the helpless man in it was going to replace the cheerful memory I was carrying for so long.