How many times has such happened?

Nothing new than the usual menu was laid for the dinner. My youngest brother and sister were both asleep before having dinner. Father didn’t attend complaining about the nauseating (or revolting) feeling he was experiencing then. So we were just five: me, mom, grandma, younger brother and sister.

Halfway through our dinner, grandma brought a topic into the gathering. She asked my mom, “You were not there some time in the afternoon, where were you?”

My mother, being partially deaf, might have not heard her well but she at least might have seen her lips movements or noticed her eyes focused towards her. That I could say because my mom creased her face into an uneasy, confused smile.

Grandma didn’t mind, she continued unaware, “Ama brought this spinach. Someone might have 

given her when she was out.”

It wasn’t important, not really, by the subject I was going to enquire. Yet I asked, “Ama, where did you get this spinach from? This one’s really delicious.”

I was expecting an answer because I was certain that my voice was audible enough for her. Yet, my hand abruptly paused before my expecting, widened mouth as I realized that I wasn't blessed with the response. I felt a hard twitch of discomfort. She was all into food and management.

My sister, she might have noticed my frozen posture, nudged mom and spoke towards her ears. “Ama, you are not answering to brother. He asked from where you got this spinach.”

Then my brother interfered. “Ama, you do the same usually….”

When sister found her voice again, she grumbled. “Once, when I told her that she was being asked how she was doing by a neighbour, she answered ‘yes, yes’….”, she couldn’t finish her sentence. Then a hearty laughter shot up, even mother herself laughed (I felt uneasy watching her laugh at this situation).

Then my brother supplemented on the humour, “When I told her that father was asking if he has to buy a thread, she replied to me ‘take a thread and give it to him’.”

Mother had tears of laughter flowing down her eyes. I knew she would have felt scintilla of oddness about the disparity that caused this situation. Others were brimming with laughter.

I wasn’t laughing. I watched my mom and swallowed hard. There was my mom, indeed our cute mom, being laughed at. I knew hurting her wasn’t my sibling’s intention. Besides, she won’t mind it. So there wasn’t worry about inconvenience to surface. She accepts that she is deaf and all its repercussions.  Sublime of all her quality is that she loves us despite such fuss and abuse. She has no stain in her love and care.

So there wasn’t worry about botheration and I relaxed but a different concern set in my consciousness.

I had asked her from where she got the spinach but she didn’t answer. Now, few minutes later in the midst of fuss and laughter, everyone has forgotten about the question. Even I lost my enquiry for few minutes. Then, with a sudden jolt the question I put on her appeared again in my mind.

Then I asked myself, “How many times has such transpired, not getting answer for query I proposed? The same would have happened with others. How long would have such happened with them and any other matters?”

I, then, realized that we are usually sidetracked and we forget our goal. Certainly we are committing mistakes in simple things of our lives, leave matters of importance at a distant. How inadvisable and destructive would this be if such perpetuates? If this is let to be in continuum, there is no hope of fulfilling the country’s and individual’s aspirations.

I hope all would mind, besides our duties, other’s enquiries and quests too.