Flower, fragrance, precious stone, a beautiful face all in one

While walking down the memory lane, she was there, almost end of the tunnel, still as bright as she was years before. It is impossible for me to ignore herpresence in my early days. She was hardly five feet and Sarees were always too long for her, she used to put a few rounds around her waist to adjust its length. She was having a beautiful tanned face.

When I met her, I was 9 or may be 10 years and she was around 30 or something. She was having a beautiful daughter of my age. She was most probably from Sambalpur (Orissa) and used to call me Didi. Yes! I am talking about our helping hand in Jammy (Jamshedpur).

Like all woman from her community, her husband also was good for nothing, doing odd jobs and mostly doing nothing. She was the one who have to look after the family. She was having a very special bond with my mother and a cat and mouse relationship with me. While wiping the floor, even my shadow fell on the wiped floor, she was already shouting – ‘Ma Dekho Didi ke, ana aar Jana’ (Ma look what Didi is doing, going and coming). On those days, I was naughtiest and at its best (a little secret - nothing changed). I would have given her a cold stare, then ran through already wiped floor, not once may be twice, thrice or more and then quickly tried to find a place to hide. While coming to my house, she would sneak peek through my neighbour garden (not too may in Jamshedpur like Kolkata) and always have few guavas for me.

Subarnarekha and Kharkai are the two rivers, which run through Jammy. The nearest one was Kharkai, which remind me Tagore's poem “Amader Choto Nadi” (Our Small River). You will find hardly any water in summer and in monsoon, it would have been a very fiery one. During our summer vacation, visiting other side was an expedition for us. We were always visiting the small village to chat with the tribes and get few fruits. Now it is very famous Adityapur with all big Industries around. We also often crossed the river for a picnic, and no need to mention that she was always there as an active member and helping us for everything.

One fine day, I cannot remember exactly what happened, but my father got angry with her and sacked her. We were very upset but I was too young to bother by theincident. My father used to work for Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO). The morning after the above incident, my father left for his duties as usual, we and as well as my mother got a shock to see her as usual. There were lots of conversation followed between her and mother and finally she broke down-
- Ma, how you will do the work alone? You will die.

She was worried about my mother and just do not wanted my mother to do the work alone. My mother tried hard to convince her but without any impact. So she used to finish her work as usual and then have breakfast with us, I have no idea about other transactions, which may took place between those two wonderful women. After a month or so, she came back, of-course she was always there but this time legally.

After my mother death, somewhere down the line, she left the job, but always there and enquired about us and then I left Jammy. Many years after that finally when I gone back to Jammy, more than 20 years or so on. I asked my brother about her. He told me that her daughter got married to a well-to-do family and she was staying with her. I was very pleased and happy for her.

Jammy is a small town and it was very easy for me to meet her, but I never tried to meet her, no not because she was just a helping hand to us, she was very precious to me, the main cause was, I wanted to keep her there only, where I left her years ago. Another 10 years past, I hope she is OK.

!!! A rare flower with lots of fragrance and an invaluable precious stone all she was; yes, her name was PHUL-MANI!!!