UNIT 10

HOME LIFE AND FAMILY

RELATIONSHIP

THE TATTERED BLANKET

By Sameer Gautam
Rohit Balayar
 INTRODUCTION
This story is translated from Malayalam by K.M .
Sherrif. It tells us about a middle-aged man called
Gopi who comes back to his countryside home after
many years. However, the purpose of his visit is not to
see his aged and ill mother, but to settle his monetary
issues.
 GOPI COMES BACK HOME

When Gopi arrived unexpectedly at his country home in his office car, his mother who was
lying in an armchair on the veranda tried to get up. Then she told her eldest daughter, Kamala, a
widow, to check who was at the gate.
Peering at the darkness, Kamala saw a bald, fat, middle-aged man walking in. She asked Gopi
why he was unexpectedly visiting. Her mother asked who it was. Gopi replied that it was him,
he was dropping by on the way back from a meeting at Thiruvananthapuram.
Amma again asked who it was in a scared tone. Gopi said it was him, bringing his face close to
hers. Amma finally recognised him and asked if his school was closed for vacation. Kamala
said that Amma did not recognise anybody recently. But her memory was still sharp sometimes,
and she would ask if Gopi had sent any letter. Kamala would tell her everything was fine with
Gopi, Vimala and their kids because it would make her sad to hear that he hadn’t written for a
year.
Gopi said he had got a promotion last year and there were tours often, so he was too busy to
write letters. Kamala asked him if Vimala was too busy to write letters too. Suddenly Amma
again asked who had come. Kamala said she had told her already that it was Gopi. But Amma
said Gopi was in Delhi. Gopi said he had come from Delhi.
Amma asked for Gopi’s wife’s name. Kamala said it was Vimala, District Collector Nambiar’s
eldest daughter. Amma asked if there was a letter from Gopi that day. Kamala said there was a
letter since he wrote every day because it made Amma upset otherwise. Kamala told Gopi to
look at the way their mother talked, because he knew nothing about what was going on with
her.
 GOPI’S REAL PURPOSE

Gopi opened his suitcase and took out his things. Amma asked him whether he knew her son, Gopi-
he was a well-settled Government Officer in Delhi with a salary of two thousand five hundred
rupees. Gopi said he knew him. Amma told Gopi’s to tell him to send her a red blanket, because the
last one he had bought her while studying in Madras was all torn up. Gopi said he would tell him.
Amma said the mist was not good for her and she had a pain in her neck from sitting in the
armchair for too long. She wanted to stretch herself out. Gopi’s sister put Amma to bed and came
back to the veranda.
She told Gopi that she knew he didn’t come back to see Amma. Gopi revealed that Delhi was too
expensive, especially with four children to look after. So, he wanted to get some money by selling
his share of the family property. He had come to talk it over with Kamala. Kamala said he would
sell his land and go away with the money and never come back after that.
Gopi said he would come when he had time. He could see that his sister was irritated. She said it
took him more than five years to find time to come here. Amma was eighty-three and wouldn’t live
much longer. Smiling feebly, Gopi said that Amma couldn’t even remember who he was. But his
sister asked him if he remembered Amma.
 CONCLUSION

Many people ignore and neglect their parents when

they grow up and become adults. Gopi’s is one such
example. He visits his ailing mother after five years
only to get money. He has almost forgotten about the
woman who raised him, even though she clearly loves
him more than anything. We must never follow Gopi’s
path and forget our parents and all that they do for us.
 CRITICAL THINKING
a. What can be the expectations of the parents from their offspring at the old age?
Every human is different. Often times what one desires the other does not even see fit. Our parents are also one
among the same crowd, like us. There must be some expectations they have from their children, our work is to
understand and fulfill them.

When people get old, they get sensitive and even the slightest of things hurt them. Same goes for the elderly
parent. They have lived a full life, worked, earned respect, and fulfilled their responsibilities. So when they are
old, they want us not to forget this and treat them with dignity and respect.

After retirement the elderly people do not find purpose and meaning in their day, most of the time they do not have
routine. So most of them stay usually alone at home. Often times we hear them complain that no one spends time
with them, they miss company, they have nothing to do, no one to talk to, etc.

Your father was the one taking care of everything before he retired, your mother was so busy all her life looking
after her family and now because they are old they have near to nothing to do during their day. They want their
children to involve them in conversations, decisions or any other big and small thing.
These were just some common things that the elderly parents miss and want from you or want their children to
know. But again every person and their wants are different, so we do the things according to our parent’s desire.
 B . SOME CHILDREN WHO LIVE IN A DISTANCE TEND TO BE
INDIFFERENT TO THE FEELINGS OF THIS PARENTS . WHY DO YOU
THINK THEY ARE LIKE THAT ? DISCUSS

There are various reasons for children to live in a distance from their parents. The
reason may be study, job, business and so on. For achieving their goal and fulfilling
their self desires, they have to invest more time and efforts and hence their realtion
with parents becomes weaker due to of their busy schedule. When children live in a
distance, they gradually keep away relation from their parents. Finally, it creates a
gap or distance between parents and their children. In todays world childrens think
that money and success are more important than the parents’ feelings. They do hard
work for earning and saving but not making the parents happy.

Some children begin a new life with their family far from their parents. Their wife
and children become more important than their old-age parents. That is why they
have no time to call them and visit their parents. This indifference not only
degrades the relationship between the parents and their children but also makes the
parents live a lonely and miserable life.
C . A MOTHER’S LOVE IS EVERLASTING AND INDISPENSABLE .
JUSTIFY.

There is nothing that can come close to the love that a mother feels for her children.
Women are inherently good mothers. Till birth women carry their young and then
continue their love & affection throughout their childhood and even into adulthood.
Every Mother always makes sure that their children are safe and happy throughout their
childhood. It is the love for their child that a mother feels that drives these feelings.

After birth, a child finds his mom as the first friend who plays with him along with extra
care and nourishment. Without any expectation, a mother keeps on working for the
betterment of her child. She plays all roles including mom like a mentor, a teacher, a
friend, a caretaker. When a child born; it is the mother who easily understands the
feelings or requirements of her child. She spends every second around her child for
fulfilling his all needs. Since childhood, our mother keeps telling us what is wrong and
what is right in a manner to build us as a good human being and also encourage us to do
good things in life.

We as a child always take our mother for granted but without her our life becomes
worthless. Mother is a precious gift by God which we need to keep with love and care.
She does her job of motherhood with a pure heart and complete devotion. The first
teacher is a mother for any child and if he keeps learning life’s lessons under her
Thank you !