It's been seven whole days since our beloved Mai/Nana left
for her heavenly abode. It's still difficult
to digest the fact that we will never see her, hug her, kiss her, hear
her, listen to her, touch her, feel her, pull her leg or have our leg pulled in
return! We miss you dearly our dearest Nana.
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| Nana at a cousin's wedding! |
My sister penned this beautiful eulogy for my Nana's
funeral. It was so crisp and complete at the same time, painting a wonderful picture
of the person my Nana was! There are such wonderful memories associated with each
and every line in this rhyme scheme!
An Ode to Nana
How do I sum up the life of a person so dear to us,
in words so few,
It indeed is an arduous task,
I'm sure you will agree too.
'Nana' as we fondly called her,
had the energy levels of a teenager.
Within minutes, cook up a fantastic meal she would,
to match no other.
Nana always made it a point to be present for every social event,
be it a rosary,a funeral or a wedding.
and I think, that today,we being present here in such large numbers,
just seems right and fitting.
God-fearing and a devout Catholic,
She remained till her last day,
Walking her way up the chotti to the chapel,
to hear mass every day.
Nana loved the pomp,
She loved the limelight,
A true kantarist to the core she was
and could do without a mike!
Nana loved to dress up well
and be presentable at all times.
She was never too old for a perfume or two.
and built up a solid collection over time.
Nana was a sport
and loved participating in every event to the tee
She was never shy to sing a song to the crowd or shake a leg or two
in spite of her hurting knees.
A generous heart she had
and always knew to only 'give' and 'give'.
Helping people in need was second nature to her
A motto she followed throughout the life she lived.
Nana never held any grudges
and was a forgiving lady.
She mingled with one and all
always on the look-out for the needy.
Nana was a fiercely independent and resourceful lady
and was always up to something
Gardening was a hobby she thoroughly enjoyed
Her beautiful garden,a witness fine.
A person with immense positivity,
She radiated the same to others with unfailing regularity.
Her chirpy attitude spoke volumes about her zest for life,
And bother never she did, about life's nitty-gritties.
'Mai' as her three children would affectionately call her ,
was a caring and devoted mother.
with 'Pai' passing away in 1986,
she worked tirelessly to keep the family always together.
In our younger days, we remember going 'kajini' with Nana
to get 'kantam' and 'jamuns'.
Our May holidays seemed incomplete without the lovely taste of mangoes from her trees,
That seemed to get over too soon.
She was one of the most unassuming grannies
And with her we had a strange connect.
Share with her anything under the sun we could,
She was indeed 'Nana Gen-next'!
Nana was truly a blessed lady,
to have lived to see her children's grandchildren.
I'm sure she must be looking down on us today with a content heart,
As our lives without her, we begin.
Coincidentally,today happens to be the day Nana and Papa got married
Not too long ago,just 61 years,
Today in heaven, together, they will celebrate their anniversary
and look down on their children with a joyous cheer.
So, farewell till we meet again,dearest Mai and Nana.
There's no one who can fill up the void you have created in our lives today.
We will cherish each and every moment we've spent with you
And we miss you dearly already...
I am ever grateful to God for giving all of us such a
wonderful person who played her role as a daughter, a wife, a mother, a
grandmother, a great-grandmother, a sister ,an aunt, a friend and
a neighbour to the tee!
Heaven Got Another Angel!
True to the words of this song, Heaven indeed got another Angel in the form of Nana. We sung this at Nana's funeral, while we bade a
tearful adieu to our most dearest angel !
Here are the lyrics to the song :
LYRICS
And for those of you who knew her and also those who didn't
, here's a quick look at Nana's obituary note -
Obituary Note
We love you dearest Mai/Nana! Thank you for leaving us with
the most wonderful, fun - filled memories we will cherish for a lifetime! Viva Nana!
P.S. This blog on church music, is a dedication to my dearest Nana who was a connoisseur of music, especially the Latin church rites, Goan folk music and other Konkani numbers.
