Beautiful Maya Pachhi

Sumana Pai

My earliest memory of Maya Pachhi is at her wedding. I was about 11 years old. She looked beautiful. I remember thinking she looked like the princesses from Amar Chitra Katha. My mom loved cousin Maya and we never failed to visit NandaDeep on each of our visits to Bangalore. We were always welcomed warmly, fed wonderful food and treated to beaming smiles by dear Maya Pachhi. We would then visit Ramanath Ajja and Rama mamama downstairs. I was always in awe of Ramanath Ajja. Maya Pachhi was a wonderful, dutiful daughter who took care of her parents with much devotion.

She was a pillar of strength to her extended family in Bangalore. All her uncles and aunts loved her like their own daughter. She was always there for everyone. A truly gentle, caring and capable person lending a hand to anyone in need.

My mom has special ties to Maya Pachhi. Ramanath Ajja and Rama Mamama generously took in my mom, their niece, so she could go to college in New Delhi. She has many happy memories of her college years. She can vouch for the fact that Maya was a sweet, gentle soul right from childhood through adulthood. Her public persona was her private one as well. My mom was so proud when she first saw Maya Pachhi's cartoons in the newspaper. We would religiously read her comic strip every day and marvel at her talent.

I was visiting India just a few months before Maya Pachhi passed away. I wanted to see her. When I called to ask her if we could come over, she had just returned from chemotherapy and was in considerable discomfort. I immediately wanted to postpone my visit. Yet, being true to her selfless, hospitable nature, she just wouldn't hear of it. But just in the next few minutes, we received the devastating news from Sirsi about my uncle's sudden death. My mom had to leave immediately to be with her sister and I ended up cancelling my visit to Maya Pachhi's. I still regret that till today.

On the day of Maya Pachhi's passing, my mom was watching Ram Leela on TV in the afternoon. It reminded her of her Delhi days. She had a strong urge to call Maya Pachhi and reminisce. My mom has always possessed some kind of sixth sense. She resisted the urge, thinking Maya Pachhi would be resting after lunch. How she regretted that later. It took her a long time to get over that day.

Although her loss still makes me sad, it is her sweet wide smile that I always remember. Her legacy has not only been her talent, her charitable work, but also her wonderful children Deepa and Nandan. She had once said, "children are the best part of marriage." That phrase and dear Maya Pachhi often come to mind when I gaze upon the innocent faces of my children.