Majha Pishwi - My Bag!

 




 Can you imagine an 87-year old man and his 80-year old sister fighting over an ordinary cloth shopping bag?

That's exactly what happened four years ago in Sept. 2020. These two persons are my Father in-law (FIL) and his younger sister, our Aatya. We were at my Sister in-law (SIL)'s new house. While leaving, Aatya suddenly saw the bag in my FIL's hand and pounced on it saying "my bag, my bag, give it". My FIL immediately pulled it back saying " No, No it is mine... I brought it from home ". Both kept shouting at each other, getting hyper and there was a small tug of wars. The scene was most hilarious. Then we all intervened and my SIL showed Aatya another bag " This is your bag, Aatya, you brought this bag with you today " she said. Aatya agreed and in the meanwhile, my FIL seized the opportunity to keep the disputed bag inside away from Aatya's sight.

Now both my FIL as well as Aatya were givers.

Even today March 2025, 3 years after his demise, people in the locality remember my FIL and without fail mention that he used to give this or that. He used to give tea to vegetable vendors on the road at the road side tea stall. At times he would make sooji ladoos or sometimes sooji-cucumner cake which is called 'dhondas' in Kokan, and distribute it to the staff at the post office and share with the people he would meet at the temple in the morning, etc.

Likewise, Aatya was very fond of preparing some or other food item as per the persons liking and give when they visited or she would herself take to her relatives’ house and also distributed to people in her society. Aatya has also passed away, last month.

Now what must have happened is that Aatya must have given something in her shopping bag to my FIL when he visited her, which both of them forgot. When she saw the bag in my FIL's hand, she recognised it and wanted it. However, my FIL had brought it with him from Vile Parle that day, so he refused to give.

That's how, a brother and sister well into their 80's who would gladly give any of their possessions, were fighting over a shopping bag...



[Leena]

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