My Loving Mother

Lovingly compiled in memory ofmy beloved Mother.

Her love for me was unconditional, her loss is unbearable, she shall continue to stay with me forever.

Jeewan R. Daniel

Vimala Rosemond Sajeeviwas born on the 23rd of April, 1944 at Rajamundry. The eldest daugh-ter and second child after elder brother Pastor. A.S.W. Jai Kumar. The

other siblings to follow are Rev. Daniel Evan and Mrs. Shobhaseer

Parents

Vimala Rosemond Sajeevi

Mr Obul Reddy migrated to Burma, originally from Anaparthi E. G Dist A.P. Mr. Obul Reddy was supervi-sor in a Tea Estate under British Man leading to his conversion. His wife Mrs. Nityajeevamma opposed very much but later got converted, returned to native place and lived as witness for Christ till death.

Pastor A. N. Jonah and Mrs. Krupavathi Jonah re-turned to Godavari district during the second world war. Pastor A. N. Jonah successfully ran a tyre business in Cuttack, Rajamundry and Kakinada.

Upon receiving the God;s call, he founded IFG Church in Rajamundry and made followers...branches all over the world. Mrs. Krupavathi Jonah, the daughter of Mr. Obul Reddy & Mrs. Nityajeevamma ably supported him all through.

Grand Parents

Parents

Early Years

Early YearsMy mother enjoyed her teenage as well as her childhood. As described by her elder brother, my mother, her younger sister, her cousin Valli and younger brother were one pack and being an elder, mother was the leader of that pack.

She told me many times how her younger broth-er, Mr. Daniel Evans liked snapping away pictures. Thanks to him, I now have this invaluable collec-tion of pictures from her early life.

She grew with many cousins and I could make it out that she really enjoyed those times as she was happy to explain many instances over and over again. My mother respected her parents and elder brother very much, the rest were all younger than her and she liked being in their company. To this very day, she is loved and respected by many of her cousins and many direct relatives.

She was always proud of her brothers and sisters, she never talked ill about any one but only had praise for each one of them.

On October 8, 1973, Vimala Rose-mond Sajeevi was married to Ra-jamani Israel, then manufacturing chemist fo saline products, now pastor and publisher. Hailing from a small village near S i v a k a s i , Tamilnadu.

Wedding

After Seven years of marriage I was born on the 27th if No-vember 1979. The photos on this page are priceless to our family, they were shot on the 20th of December 1979, 23 days after I was born. Every time my mother showed me these pic-

tures, there would be a noticeable gleam in her eyes. I was the only child to my parents, in my early years whilst my father was busy serving God, my mother had only one

responsibility and that was to nurture me, love me and put all her strength to make me a strong person.

I had become her world, I was the apple of her eye. When I started schooling, my mother who discontinued her B.Sc for her marriage worked as a teacher in a local school. However, once I started schooling she made it a point to get a job in Lit-tle Flower School, which is where I had completed my primary education. Starting then, she had always been my guardian angel.

Joyful Mother

Growing up

I have a lot of memories of growing up, being the only son to my parents I always enjoyed undivided atten-tion from my mother. Her world was filled with me, she loved me naively without a selfless thought for her well being. I did not always appreciate that as the saying goes, you never know the value of something until it is no longer there.

My birthday celebrations would be grand, I would get what I asked for in minutes, I was pampered as I was the highest priority in the house in all regards. At the same time my mother taught me to be a kind, ethical and a well disciplined being.

She would always say, you inherited my nature, which is being straight forward. She was a kind soul in all re-gards, a simple example would be her taking the strain to cook seperate rice to feed the stray dogs in our neighbour-hood for several years.

Growing up

The Doll HouseMy mother was a perfectionist, the beautiful doll house on the right is a testimony to the hard work she had put into it day in and day out. Her routine would include waking up at 03:45 AM for water, she would pray and sing for a while, take out Tipsy for a short walk and then begin with the household work.

She was very possesive about the house and was very strict with all servant’s and would tell them off if something was not right. However all servent loved to work with her, she probably was the kindest soul they had come across. She preferred doing things right herself rather than getting them half done by others. Her day would

end around 22:00 when she would retire to bed after watering the plants.

Tipsy was her companion when she was alone, Tipsy gave her good company, she loved him very much. Tipsy is very much attached to mother, he randomly looks for her and sleeps on her bed every night..

She loved her plants, with limited resources and space available, she did her best to create a beautiful garden. When mother travelled to Malaysia,

we were all shocked when she said, there is a plant in my suitcase, we need to plant it quickly or it will die.

Apart from these, she maintained many strict rules in the house which made it a beautiful and peaceful place to stay. We seem stranded after she left us as she

had great control over the house and day to day activities, seems like everything was so streamlined when she was.

Although it was extremely difficult for my mother, she tried her best to attend any social event she was invited to. Her moment was greatly restricted due to household matters but she still managed to keep in touch with many spiritual and blood relatives.

Loved Ones

Sister, days fly right past me,your memory crisp and fresh...but I thank God today, and everyday,with you as my sis, I’ve been blessed.

I do wish we had been closer...if only there were more time.That always is the beseeching;the hardest of things to find.

I know someday I will find you,and we’ll have that time...but for now, I can only imaginewhat would have been, could have been, fine.

I love you, my sister and I miss you.

Daniel Evans (Younger Brother)

Unexpected and sudden,your swift departure stunned us all,those who loved you alone can tell,the pangs of parting without farewell.”

We will love you and miss you deeply till we meet each

other on the other shore. Jaikumar Annayya and family. (Elder Brother)

Tributes

“A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.” There is no way to perfectly express my thoughts on the loss of my sister Mrs. Vimala Israel.

As the Bible says in Proverbs Chapter 31: Vs 10, she was a Virtuous woman, She was loving and lovable.

We shared a very happy childhood, and even though life made us to part ways, she was always there for me when I needed her. She was industrious, friendly, God fearing and kind. She adopted handicrafts such as embroidery, gardening and many more and kept herself always busy. She has touched the hearts of many people with her loving words and deeds. And now she is with the Creator, she will be in our hearts forever and we cherish her memories.

Mrs. Shobhaseer (Younger Sister)

Tributes

Vimla Rosemond Sajeevi my father’s sister’s daughter received an invitation from God on 14-01-2012.. Many records of my childish years with Bujji akka beneath the tall trees on the green pasture sinking down in tranquility both waiting outside Mercy akka’s classroom in Schade girls high school picking up colorful pebbles, collecting beautiful grass flowers, breaking almond shell’s, chasing butterflies and dragonflies. How sweet the age was.

Don’t know when reached teens, we were 3 Bujji akka, me and Shobha like floating clouds freaking out, giggling laughing without reason or cause. Fear

no wrong. making fuss to eat good food but enjoy junk. Jumped to youth, of course Bujji akka being older checked our naughty behavior as she used to think, she was a disciplined lady. Of course she was ! All the time busy

with her artistic thoughts painting, stitching embroidery, decorating etc; Alas! Wedded to Israel with total submission, blessed with one and only son Jeevan who was her golden mountain, apple of her eye, cuddling kiss-

ing all the time.

For many long years we were separated though we used to meet during happy occasions and sad times too. Discussing re-sponsibilities, children’s future, feeling of delight, unpleasing sadness and many more mixed emotions of truth ,grandeur, beauty, love and hope. Counseling each other in distress for

moral strength.

Tributes

TributesDays passed, we crossed 60s. Words speak nothing more than what we are. If God permits I just want to ask Bujji akka “why thy flight so fast, cant you stay for little longer in sight historian? Do not depart a solemn image. My heart, my fathers family mate. But for sure I know now she is home and she is God’s new angel.

Tons of love.B Valli Reddy

Although we were friends, Vimala garu was elder to me and she played the role of an elder sister very well. Our friendship dates back 40 years. I could talk everything about my personal life to her, she was al-ways there for me when I needed some to fall back on. I cannot hold back my tears everytime I think she is not there in this world.

Madhavi Korrapati (Friend)

The EngagementI had arrived from the UK on the 7th of March 2011, the engagement took place on the 16th. My mother was happy that this was happening after all the turmoil she has been through to arrange my marriage. She travelled far, assessed many matches for my sake. Finally both my parents settled for this match.

It was a low key affair with a very few friends and family present. My mothers job of arranging the marriage would start right on this day, she already began planning for my wedding.

The WeddingThis was probably the day my mother had been waiting for a very long time. She had gone through a lot during this time and now everything was perfect for the ocassion. A freshly painted house, a well decorated function hall, a guest list that was grand, a houseful of relatives with kith and kin who had poured in to help before hand made her feel at ease, she probaby wished to see a day with her grand children running around in her house.

My mother had drafted the order of service for the wedding including the timings of each event. On account of this the marriage ceremony was or-chestrated perfectly. Many guests praising the event made her feel happy and satisfied that her son’s wedding was a grand success.

Soumya was going to be an amazing daughter-in-law to my mother, she was godly, she was polite and came from a good family with a Christian background.

I have to heartfully thank my Pinni and family for taking care of my mother on several occassions. Kanuga akka was always concerned for her peddamma. This Malaysia trip came about after my wedding and a lot of persuasion that we will manage without her for the 20 days trip.

As unfortunate as it might sound, my mother never ventured out of In-dia. This time, I made sure she would not back off. Her doctor advised positively and asked her to proceed. Mother left us and it was the first time we were on our own, we had initial hiccups but managed alright. She would call me as excited as a little child who had gone to Disney Land. She would talk about the roads being beautiful, the architecture, the food and ofcourse the gardens. They would start out in the morning and return late night everyday. She had made friends where ever she had travelled.

I missed her, it was different from me being away in the UK. When she returned, she would talk non stop about the trip, the people and how well she was looked after. She brought a lot of stuff, nothing had she bought for herself. It was all to be given away to different people. Once returned she made sure she called up all the friends she had made. I was very happy that she was so excited and satisfied by the trip to Ma-laysia.

Trip Abroad

In the last eleven years I was hardly home, I had hardly spent any time with my parents. The longest stretch I had ever stayed at home was from July 6, 2011 to December 21, 2011. Since my marriage on the 16th September, apart from when we went away on our honeymoon, for some reason I had wanted to stay home. We made short trips to my mother’s elder brother with my mother. She sent me and Soumya to her younger brother, we had a good time there. She also wanted us to go to her Sisters place which we did not manage.

During this extended stay, I spent a lot of time with my mother. Something that I did not do in the last 10 years. Once I was here for more than a couple of months, I realised that being the only son, I needed to get back to my aging parents soon. I was to return in 2013 once I received my British passport, there were also plans to return earlier. My brithday day is on the 27th of November, this was the first birthday I had spent with my parents in the last eight years, my mother insisted on me having a grand celebration, however, I did not agree to that and made it a low key affair with only a few friends, new clothes were not purchased and not even a cake was cut. She was not happy with that, how was I to know that this would be my last birthday with her.

On the morning of my birthday she insisted on washing my hair. I agreed.She hugged and kissed me saying, “not sure when you grew up so big babu”. When Soumya came near to the bathroom, she quickly sent her off on a chore, I said, may be Soumya also wants to give a hand. She naively smiled and said, Soumya will have you for the rest of her life, let me do this one time.

Farewell my Mother

She washed my hair and dried it off, exactly 49 days later, I was asked to wash my mothers hair. This time though she would not talk, she would not laugh, she would not move. She lay there lifeless, I poured some reetha water and washed her hair off and wept as I remembered how she insisted she wash my hair on my birthday.

I left home from Guntur to the UK on the 20th of December, she wept, she hugged and kissed me. I hugged her and gave her a parting kiss on the forehead. I assured her that I will return very soon or that she will join me very soon in the UK. This is something I always told her to cheer her up, but this time I really meant it when I said, I will return very soon.

I recently bought her an iPad and I gave her training on how to video chat on it. Once I was in UK, we would video chat on it every second day. She was happy, she had no health issues. On the dreaded day, I called my mother on her iPad at 13:46 GMT, it was evening and the sun had already set in India, she was in the dark, I said, “Mummy, I cannot see you, its too dark”. For that, she obliged and came into the living room and asked “Can you see me now Babu”. Yes was my answer but she was busy as there was a prayer starting in a few minutes and she had to make bread for the Lord’s supper, she handed the iPad to Soumya saying, we will call you once the prayer is over. I said ok. at 14:53 GMT I received Soumya’s call to infomr me that mother was sick, at 15:38 GMT it was all over. At her funeral, I gave her one final parting kiss on

the forehead. Last photo of us together, shot when I was explaining mother how to use an iPad

Pastor A. N Jonah, Mr. Daniel Evans, Mrs. Krupavathi Jonah, Mr. A.S.W. Jaikumar, Mrs. Shobha & Mrs. Vimala

My Mother kept a garden.A garden of the heart;

She planted all the good things,That gave my life it’s start.

She turned me to the sunshine,And encouraged me to dream:

Fostering and nurturingThe seeds of self-esteem.

And when the winds and rains came,She protected me enough;

But not too much, she knew I’d needTo stand up strong and tough.

Her constant good example,Always taught me right from wrong;

Markers for my pathwayTo last my whole life long.

I am my Mother’s garden,I am her legacy.

And I hope today she feels the love,Reflected back from me.

23.04.1944 ~ 14.01.2012