A couple of years back I wrote an article just out of no where .... maybe, to say it came from no where would not be completely true ..it came from a space of my childhood, my teenage, my relatives my experiences ....it came from a space which cannot be completely articulated in words. So was born the character of Bapai Mammi ... who came from that same space ... and then She, Bapa Mammi, became a part of all my articles. My Father's Mammi (Silloo Wadia) was someone who was connected to me in some strange way.... not only was she paternally my grand Mammi (So the name Bapai Mammi) but maternally too she was our neighbour in Parel. I would visit her on special occasions like Pateti and, of course, when I would be at my maternal grandparents home. She lived just two buildings away in her typically old Parsi abode. I can't say for sure if I knew her personally ...but at some spiritual level I did feel connected to her. All through my childhood and especially through my teens ...I always felt the lack of a wise old person in my life. So when I was lonely, I was sad, I was betrayed by my own kith and kin when I went through a near death experience and back ..I found my strength in this one person who may have never known her influence on me. For me (without knowing her completely) she was the epitome of strength, the flagbearer of change, the embracing warmth, the bright light of hope. Her face had that immense light of truth maybe only I saw ..maybe others too got touched by it ....I may never know. For me she was and shall always be in form or spirit ...my Bapai Mammi ...the old wise influence I always yearned for.... now, no more! You may have left us for your onward journey but for me you stay alive in my words, in my strength. Love
Nozzer Pardiwala