Bumble used to call me “son”. How fortunate I was all those years, and I did not know it. I had a second mother in Bumble Mashi. She knew it and every interaction she had with me reflected this maternal sense. Virtually every phone call and e mail, as well as those precious personal visits, began with a simple salutation: Hello, son! Hearing those words always cheered me up….
Bumble’s love and encouragement made her one of the most giving individuals I will ever encounter in my lifetime. I regret that I never returned to Bumble the sum total of the love and affection she gifted to me. I suspect I am not alone in this sentiment. And while words fail to adequately address her loss to me, I am proud to carry on a small part of her legacy.
GAURAB BANSAL , Papiya’s nephew.
(Excerpts from, Son, in ” Toast to Papiya”, 2008.)