Today 30 years ago...it was history in the making when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral in London. All eyes were on this beautiful young damsel who took great courage in marrying a not so good looking Prince to become a Princess and a member of the British Royal Family. I for one was an ardent fan of Diana as she was born exactly a year after me so I could somehow relate how she felt and went through life as a young lady. And I followed her eversince...in all the magazines she appeared and the TV interviews she did...and whenever she appeared on TV I would be watching out what she would be wearing and awed at how gorgeous she looked. So that day the 29th of July 1981 was the day we were all looking forward to see this beautiful woman walk down the aisle....and witness the wedding of the year on TV of course.
But sadly on that same day...in the wee hours of the morning...we got a phonecall saying that my maternal uncle Letchumanan had suddenly died of a massive heart attack. It was a total shock for my mum and all of us as he was only 40 something and he was my mum's youngest brother. And he had just attended my 21st birthday earlier that month and I introduced David to him as my fiancee and he was very pleased with my choice of a life partner. My uncle and I were close so he always had wanted to know who I would marry someday. So this day 30 years ago...we had to rush to my aunty's side and be with her and her 3 young children...Nalli being the oldest was only 16 years old and in Form 5 and her two brothers were much younger than her. The mood was sombre and I remember just sitting in a corner with my mum and crying and comforting her at the same time. And it was no easy task watching people come by and scream and cry and my aunty would faint at times and of course the children cried all the time. And they had a dog...Goldie who just sat quietly by his coffin and later under the chair where his photo was placed...my uncle's ever faithful partner.
Then the funeral was over and families went home and my aunty Devi and her children had to cope with life and whatever that came by...but I remember vividly my cousin Nalli who took everything into her hands...learnt how to drive and went on to be a teacher and helped put her brothers through college and university and remained very faithfully by her mum's side. She is one person who went through a lot but always held her head high and remained the responsible person she is till today. And when I got married in 1983 she was my bridesmaid as she was the closest person I had as a sister. Today she is happily married with two sons of her own and teaches in a government school and is very much loved by her students.
Well in all that sadness I still remembered the wedding that already happened and I later viewed it on TV...and at the back of my mind always had thought that I had to attend a funeral of someone I loved on that same day.
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| Nalli and me at my 50th in 2010 |
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