17: Superheroes

What a year this has been! Putting it down as a rollercoaster would be mild – January 2020 started with Archie and me spending our 5th wedding anniversary night sleeping on the departure benches at Sofia airport, with the Gods playing a cruel joke, cancelling our flight into Serbia. A few days later I was celebrating the launch of my newest venture in Uganda with some of my closest business  associates (now family to me). Although I knew something strange was brewing then, little was I prepared for what was to hit the entire world in the next few days.
But this story is about someone that I rarely speak about publicly, let alone write for the whole world to read. After nearly 4 decades of service here in the UAE, my parents retired in 2019 and went back to Kerala to live their retired lives. With their kids and grandkids still around in Dubai, they used to visit us often until the pandemic hit and the flights were cancelled. Since then our communications remained over the occasional voice calls and the rare Zoom sessions. With the cases in India constantly rising, and with the age of my folks not on their side, we spent most of 2020 worrying about their health and well being. I woke up to a message on the 23rd of November from my Dad, just saying ‘Urgent – Call Back’. That really got me worried. A man of few words (my conversations with my father rarely extend beyond a couple of sentences at a time), when I rang him, he said curtly – ‘Talk to Amma’ and handed the phone to her. She promptly took the phone and said ‘I am formally entering politics, and going to stand for the local elections due in 2 weeks. The nominations have to be filed at 10am today. What do you think?’. At 5.30AM, when I was barely awake, I knew this wasn’t an affirmation-seeking call but one to inform that she has made up her mind and was moving ahead. Still in a state of shock, I wished her the very best, just saying ‘you have always been involved in social service, only now you have entered it formally, so this is nothing new’. I knew she was going to ace it.

For most of 2020, we were all looking for our superheroes to get inspired and pull us out of this ‘misery’. But it took me 11 months to realise there was one right within my family. My mother was busy completing her next book (she is an ardent travel writer), fighting to protect our family home from the ravaging flood waters in June, and actively pushing community service in areas heavily hit by the pandemic through an NGO formed here in the UAE. We quite often look outward for inspiration, when in reality most of us are surrounded by superheroes. It never surprised me that she could manage her work and home, switching easily between the two roles in a 16 to 18hour day. It never surprised me when she sacrificed her time and finances to prop up a family business we started towards the end of her career. It never surprised me when she moved mountains to ensure my education continued when it was difficult to meet ends. So why would it surprise me when she announced her entry into Politics? It didn’t, it only amazed me how much more does this superhero has to offer to everyone around her.  

Not all heroes wear Capes, some wear Sarees! Amma you are my superhero, I shall remember 2020 fondly, to celebrate you. I love you.

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