The Yellow Butterfly

N of #AtoZChallenge Nalu म्हणजे Nalini, my Aaji. My Aaji has a played a BIG role in my life. My Aaji (Mum's mum) and we lived together till she passed away. I got her, all for myself till the time I was twenty-one years old!  She was not just my Aaji, but my roommate, my sister, my friend, my Guide, my Teacher! All rolled in one! My Aaji would often tell me stories. And some of these stories would be memories about her childhood. Whenever she narrated I would immediately be transported back in time, to the Mumbai of the late 1920's and early 1930's! My imagination would turn sepia and I would see my Aaji as a दोन वेण्याची छोटी choti Mulgi (but with my Aaji's face)!  Aaji grew in the heart of Dadar. Her father taught my Aaji everything! He put her in the best school of Dadar (King George semi-English), he helped her in her studies through school, he encouraged her to sing and learn the harmonium, he taught her to cycle on the f...

Rosa was a housemaid. She worked for the Phillips, for the Grants, for the Riddles, for the Marquezs, for the Deodhars, for the Wesleys, for the D’Souzas and many more families living in the suburbs. She was a single working mother who did  other people’s house chores, looked after their children, cooked for the families, bought groceries; everything just so that her six year old daughter, Ellie could study and not end up working as a maid like her. Rosa had dreamt of all those dreams for Ellie which she had dreamt for herself.  Rosa and Ellie were not too poor but were not financially stable too. They often ran short of detergents and soaps or at times of basic food like vegetables and flour. Rosa tried her best ensuring that her their fridge was atleast stocked up with some milk and bread so that Ellie won’t starve if Rosa didn’t make it till dinner time.    One day Rosa was running late and asked her neighbour to pick up Ellie from school and bring her...