My favorite aunt, Mamee Yo, passed away this week. She formed part of that elite group of persons who are 'uncriticizable'. The type of person who is genuine, nice, sympathetic, funny and whom you basically love loving. She was a fisherman's daughter and back in time, my uncle who had been posted at the Mahebourg police station, seduced her and got her knocked up. Since she was creole and my uncle hindu and the background of the 60s, that of a society which was way more conservative than today's, I can hardly picture what she must have gone through. Out of fear of rejection, my uncle dropped her and asked to be posted elsewhere on the island. The poor girl had to take the bus down to the capital and go and see my grandmother, a very traditional lady, to ask for her support. The latter called her son and told him that it is a man's duty to face his responsibilities and from there she got them to tie the knot, to my grandfather's great despair. Mamoo Dan was my grandfather's first son, his pride and it is sad that he was never to be looked at the same again by the latter after that.
Mamee Yo quickly became everyone's favorite in the family. She had the capacity to adapt to any situation and follow all the traditions of the house, which led to the elders respecting her and her in laws loving her. She would wear the traditional saree and devotedly attend every religious ceremony. She would never miss the Maha Shivratree pilgrimage and would perform Doorga pooja in her prayer room in Pointe Desny. The statuette of Virgin Mary would stand right next to that of Doorga Maa.
I fondly remember sunday bollywood afternoons at her place. My mom would rent the latest bollywood blockbuster cassette and we would all gather in the tiny tv room to watch Sri Devi's comedy acts. Mamee Yo's fan club would comprise all the nephews and nieces who would literally run to hug her as soon as she would step in somewhere. She would tell us hilarious stories about Dass, the soothsayer that her sister Françoise had consulted, about her arguments with Kader the driving instructor who was also my uncle's best friend.She would proudly wear her Hindu Cadets t-shirt and walk in Roche Bois to go visit aunty Neema. I would bring Sid to her place to swim in the backyard pool and she would shout "pa tiss dan piscine' (don't pee in the pool!)...lol. And her impersonation of
Keswar bayya was so extremely funny.
Mamoo Dan and Mamee Yo formed,by far, the most charismatic couple of our family. They loved each other deeply and when my uncle was about to pass away in 2010, he would tell anyone who would visit him at the hospital: "gett mo bonnefemme bien kan mo pa pou la, mo sel sagrin mo pou kitte moYo et mo perr personne pa pou konne gett li" (please look after my wife when I will be gone, my only fear is that nobody looks after her properly). That was his only concern on his dying bed. Her daughters lovingly took great care of their mother until her last day and she received regular visits from the family. Well, I didn't expect she would leave us this year. Honestly, I would have given her at least 4-5 more years but as goes the saying 'death is certain, the time of death is uncertain' and it is certainly a good thing that sickness spared her.
