I still remember meeting Aunty Rose and Amutha for the first time in Toronto in the Summer of 1990. I still remember how happy my father-in-law was to host you and how protective he was of the two of you, especially in Uncle Stan’s absence. Selva-Stan friendship is a long, deep and a full one. It was because of Uncle Stan and Aunty Rose my father-in-law and mother-in-law came to Canada. It was of that friendship that I got to know them. We became so close that Aunty Rose felt so free to ask me to make mutton curry, முருங்கைக்காய்
கறி, chicken fry, fried rice, Sri Lankan cutlet, anything of her liking whenever she visited us in Toronto and even when we visited them in Staten Island and later in New Jersey. She was full of love and joy. In fact, she knew of my struggles to conceive, to have a baby. When she came to Toronto with Mathy and Uncle Stan in November of 2005, we all had dinner at Karaikuddi Chettinaad restaurant. The moment she laid eyes on me, she proclaimed, “You are pregnant, are you not.” Even I did not know that yet and I told her so. She said, “The way you are glowing, I am sure you are”. The following Monday I went for a blood test and sure enough, I was. This would not be just a one time occurrence, this “clairvoyance”, for want of a better word. The next time I met her in Toronto was in July of 2008. That would be the last time she visited Toronto. I had prepared all the foods she had asked me to. My husband, Tim, was worried that all that rich food might not be good for her health. I was carrying my second child and the child was due in mid August. When I went to pick them up at Uncle Stan’s brother’s house, as soon as she saw me she exclaimed, “You are going to have a girl this time”. Of course I already knew because I had got it checked. I told her so and asked how she knew, and she said, “She has sucked up so much of your beauty, she better be good looking”. Aunty Rose was capable of such “plain speak” because of her utter sincerity and total truthfulness. Though they were my in-law’s friends, both Uncle Stan and Aunty Rose were like family to me. We opened our hearts, our stories, our joys, and our sorrows to each other. There was nothing we felt ashamed to share and nothing we felt too small or too important to share. She was candid and sincere. She did everything from a heart full of love. Uncle Stan and Aunty Rose’s romance and abiding love through the many trials, the tribulations, successes and recognition was steadfast and a beacon of hope for anyone embarking on a journey of romance and love.
We will miss you so Aunty Rose. But you have left us with beautiful memories to remember you by. You will be in our hearts as long as we live or until our minds are robbed of memory. Hope you get to meet my wonderful and amazing father-in-law there. If you do, tell him thank you for all what he was, tell him how much Tim and I miss him and to take care of you until such time uncle Stan is called there. I can imagine a corner of heaven filling up with your laughter and a bit more fragrant because of your cooking.