Godrej ki purani cupboard…

 Hey..my first hinglish post..hope you like reading it.

Maa kept pulling out sarees that she had collected over the years…”Yeh dekh, tu mere liye Chennai se layi thi, kabhi bhi nahi pehni” isn’t it beautiful and I couldn’t agree less.

Maa then turned again and kept looking at a different section of the cupboard - “Kaha rakh di, yaad hain you got me a blue and pink saree as well, a bandhni one.” I just nodded in consent. My attention was more towards the cupboard – for someone who was seeing this cupboard for the first time – it would appear like a overstuffed, aging Godrej cupboard. But mere liye, iss purani Godrej ki cupboard mein meri life ki saari yaadein thi.

Sahi mayne mein yeh cupboard hamari family ka ek member hain, pichle 33 saloon se hamari har yaad, har sapne ko sanjota hua…

I know this is beginning to sound like ek cupboard ki atma katha..par that’s how I felt looking at this  time tested piece of metal. Har Diwali, par jab hume naye kapde milte..toh ghar ki safedi ke saath..iss godrej ki cupboard ko bhi ek naya rang milta. Kabhi grey.. “isse bedroom ki dewaroon ke saath match hona chahiye”, toh kabhi brown. Colour joh bhi ho..har saal ek naye rang mein rang kar yeh cupboard bhi hamare festival mood ko pura tod deta.

Us cupboard ko toh mein lag bhag roj hi dekhti hoon, par shayad maa ke saath …itne fursat mein nahin baith pati. Apne bete ki shaadi ki preparations dikhate hua…aaj meri nazar wapas hamare..purane Godrej ki cupboard par padi. It almost felt like, when you meet a relative after many years and are shocked with how they have aged. Bas kuch usi tarah mujhe usse dekh kar bhi laga. Samay ke saath, maybe hum usse ab paint nahin karwate..uski last coat of paint was like that shade of hair dye that does little to hide your age. Handle par jung ke daag, and samne keyhole ke paas..barson se latke maa ke keyring ke nishan.

Par andar se..kuch bhi toh nahin badla tha. Pehle bhi space ki kami thi – toh Maa like a typical smart woman used every inch and every corner. Sabse nichle shelf paar..hamari albums thi (though I have never understood why hum photos aur jewellery ko equal status de kar ek hi cupboard mein rakhte the). My first Album, then my sister’s, my brother’s..ab toh maa apni granddaughter ki album ko bhi wahi sambhal ke rakhti hain. Uske upar ke shelves par kya hain aur kis order of priority mein arrange kiya hain..woh toh Maa hi jaanti hain. At the bottom most I saw something wrapped in an old whitish cloth. ‘Aur yeh kya hain maa” I inquired..”woh..thats my shaadi ki saree” she said. And then she continued looking for more..

As I looked further above..my eye fell on the locker!!!..Locker mein Maa obvisouly had some of her most prized possessions..but she also had a tiny plastic container that had pictures of us in our school uniforms. Probably, a pic taken for some school id or something..and only a mom would keep it with such love in her locker. 

Just then something fell on my foot..”Aree yeh kya..kiski file hain” I asked. “Aree tum log ki marksheets ka folder hain”, maa said beaming. Maa what all have you stuffed in this cupboard..sarees, jewellery, marksheets, bags..aur kuch baki hain kya???.. Mom obviously just shrugged back..But I knew what she didn’t say..”Jage toh hamesha kam thi..log paanch cupboard ek”..

This cupboard was telling me something more about how my Maa had lived her life…something that I often don’t do. Cupboard ki kami Maa ko kabhi nahin mehsoos hui..itne saalon se usne issi mein.. apni sadiyan, apni jewellery..basically har ek cheez joh uski liye important thi..isme fit kar ke rakh di thi..Aaj bhi as she prepared for yet another milestone in her life..woh us cupboard mein aur jaga dhoond rahi thi..kuch aur yaadein bhar dene ke liye..