When we first started this trip to India, we could never have imagined the things we would experience. My Pishimoni (dad's older sister) had greeted us upon our arrival to Kolkata and arranged much of this epic journey around India for us. We had been staying at her flat in Kolkata, a place that she said belonged to Arny and I, who she considered her only sons. Pishimoni's husband (our Pishemoshai) passed away many years ago and she never had any children of her own.
Regardless, Pishimoni was a beacon of love and joy in our family - easily the kindest and most eloquent person I have ever met. My brother and I were extremely close to her, as she had stayed with us in Minnesota many times before, and we had helped her get through some very taxing medical emergencies. Pishimoni had also known Katie since we first started dating, and would always get a smile on her face every time she saw her. She loved planning out which gifts she would give to Katie when we were to get married, and always rejoiced in complimenting Katie for her kindness and beauty. Our Pishimoni had so many plans for us during this India trip, but sadly we've learned that in life it often becomes difficult to truly plan for anything.
Today, on August 11, 2010, my Pishimoni passed away. Near the beginning of the trip (prior to our journey to Puri and the engagement) she fell very ill and eventually had to be hospitalized. Everything happened completely out of the blue, just as it always does with things like this. Of course, we were all trying to be optimistic about her condition, and as a result refrained from including details about her illness in our posts. The entire ordeal was already extremely exhausting and difficult for our family to deal with amongst ourselves - again, we never thought it would happen like this. Pishimoni has been in our minds and hearts throughout our travels - like I said before, she is the one who made this all possible.
It had been seven years since we had been in India, seven years since my uncle's death, and seven years since we placed my uncle's and my mother's ashes in the Ganges. Who knew we would once again be faced with a family death upon our seemingly auspicious return to the homeland. Pishimoni's spirit will be with us forever, but it will take time for our family to heal.
Katie, Arny and I will be returning to Kolkata tomorrow by plane and my father will be coming to India by the end of the week. We are not sure how our travel plans will change for the remainder of the trip, but we appreciate everybody's love and support for our family during this extremely difficult time.
No comments:
Post a Comment