Since I understood birthdays, we used to celebrate Ammi’s birthday on January 15th. She was a Capricornian. Her birthstone Garnet and she used to always wear a huge Garnet pendant which I loved. She had “earth” as her element which she shared with me ( Taurus). But unlike me, she did not have a green thumb nor did she grow her own gardens. My dad used to do it and she loved greenery around her. But when the first rains hit the ground and the strains of “actinomycetes” in the soil give out the petrichor (sweet smell after rains) Ammi loved it as much as I do. She used to inhale it if she were in a garden or in Mumbai….She would tell me : ” I love that smell !!! It brings my childhood back”

Ammi shared her birthday with my eldest cousin sister. Nikhat apa. They both have traits of practicality, compassion, self-reliance and hard-working. They both had a liking for each other and always gelled well. Ammi got married and was in Kuwait in 1970 when Nikhat apa was a 5 year old toddler. Ammi liked kids around her. With us she used to love reading stories to. When I had the chicken pox at 9 years of age, Ammi who used to work for UNDP, asked Nikhat apa to baby sit me. She was very protective of us and trusted Nikhat apa completely. Ammi was supposed to attend Nikhat apa’s son Munsif’s wedding on January 4th, 2020 but she never saw the light of day of 2020

8 years back, my maternal uncle found Ammi’s birth certificateand sent it to her. Guess what her birthdate turned out to be? 14th January. It was a shock to most of us. All these years she was celebrating on the 15th and suddenly its a day earlier ! Well apparently the faux pas was made by my mother’s grandmother when she was born. Ammi arrived after 8 pm. In the Muslim calendar if you are born after sunset, the next date is assumed as the birth date and so it was. But I told ammi : ” Now we have two occasions to celebrate” We want two parties and Double Celebrations” She quipped : ” OK, I want 2 gifts !”

Ammi left us on December 30, 2019 and did not wait to see her 72nd birthday. We celebrated it quietly with Pizza from Pizza Hut as she loved those. Then we had a huge crying session together with fond memories of her and talking about that dreadful day when she was snatched away. I had planned to buy her an armchair which had the option of turning into a couch. She loved to sit on it at my home and I was looking forward to seeing her happily in that. Man proposes and God disposes…..

Not a minute of any day goes by without you in my thoughts my dearest Mom. I hope you are in the highest echelons of heaven and showering your love from there. They say the pain will slowly fade away but its only those who go through it who realize what pain is!