Susee Mable's Silent Meditations

Christmas Eve 2014 Christmas Day 1979 December 25, 2014 was our last Christmas with our beloved Chantoda/Susee Mable—loving mother to Anil and Suha and beloved wife to P.D. Anandaraju. And it was a glorious one. Despite Mum's illness, we had a happy day filled with love, laughter, music and joy. I did my best to cook the Indian feast she always prepared for us every holiday season. It was my turn to step up and luckily, she had taught me everything I needed to know well in advance. In fact, she'd been preparing me my whole life. The tree was radiant and overflowing with gifts. The first photograph above is from our last Christmas Eve together and is unintentionally apt. Like the angel on the tree with the radiant lights—Mum was our Christmas Angel, always shining bright. She was the heart and soul of our family. The second photograph is from Christmas 1979 . I remember vividly, Mum asking my brother and I to wait for her to at least get out of be...