Losing someone is never easy, and I’ve realized that grief is a reflection of the love we hold in our hearts for that person.
My mom, Meena, passed away in March. My mom loved Her Campus and always inspired me to write from the heart with bravery. The last article I published was written for my mom as a surprise, and I am beyond grateful that she had the opportunity to read it before she transcended into Heaven.
My mom’s pride and joy were her four kids, so I wanted to honor that by making this article a bit different and including all of us. The photo above is from a Somerset Patriots game in 2011, when we all got bored and just wanted to be close to mom.
Amma, four questions answered by each of your four kids to you.
anik
What is something Amma has taught you?
“My mother taught me that it is never too late to learn something, whether you are interested in something or not. If you have to complete a task, don’t just do it for the sake of doing it, learn something from it. Even if it’s not related to your career path or interests, no one ever got hurt from learning. In her last months, she reached out to me to help her improve her computer skills. She had despised technology her whole life, but I am so proud she wanted to learn something from it and take control of the situation. My mother gave birth to four children, but I think she was even more proud that she learned how to send a PDF.”
What’s your favorite memory with Amma?
“My favorite memory with my mother is Diwali and Halloween in 2024. It was a combination of a special Hindu holiday and my mother’s favorite holiday, Halloween. She called it “Hallo-wali” and got a kick out of me wearing orange-colored Hindu attire to a Diwali celebration. It was the simplest things that made my mother laugh, and I’ll always be grateful for that day.”
What is something in your everyday life that reminds you of Amma?
“Any time I do something silly, make a cool memory, or face a fear, I am reminded of my mother. My mother took pictures at every opportunity she had, so there have been so many memories to look back at. I’ve continued the tradition of taking lots of pictures to capture memories, and laugh at what I would be sending my mother if she were still here.”
What is something about Amma’s personality that people outside of our family may not have known?
“Something unique about my mother’s personality is that she had a book recording the ‘cutest’ things her kids would say back when we were younger. We might be the only people who know what we were like when we were two years old, because my mom made sure those stories were shared. She was not a fancy person, but she paid attention to the smallest details to make us feel special.”
navin
What is something Amma has taught you?
“My mom has taught me that everyone goes through their own problems, even when it seems like everything is perfect. She taught me how to be okay in imperfection and be grateful for what I have.”
What’s your favorite memory with Amma?
“My favorite memory was her visiting me in Madrid and stopping to take a picture at every building or monument. It used to annoy me but I loved how she always tried to capture every moment.”
What is something in your everyday life that reminds you of Amma?
“Drinking my coffee in the morning, as she was a huge caffeine advocate with a bunch of different flavors.”
What is something about Amma’s personality that people outside of our family may not have known?
“She would always make the most of everything. Every holiday, party, or celebration, she would go all out and make sure it felt like the most important day of the year.”
hansika
What is something Amma has taught you?
“My mom has taught me what it means to persevere through any obstacle that may come my way. Like I mentioned in my previous articles, she is the strongest person I know, and I stand by that! Even on rough days in grief, I keep my chin up and do what I need to do to keep going. She was so brave and her strength shined internally and externally.”
What’s your favorite memory with Amma?
“I think it would be when my mom took me to all my Vertigo doctor appointments growing up. I know doctor appointments may be weird for me to say, but it wasn’t the actual doctor appointment, it was how she was there for me. She’d miss work to take me anywhere I needed and stand up for me during every appointment. She advocated for her daughter no matter what kind of ‘scary doctor’ we faced. She taught me how important it was to stand up for myself, and I learned how to do that through these appointments and apply that to my life. After every appointment, she’d take me out to a cafe, and we’d have our one-on-one time together which I loved. I will go to doctor appointments ‘alone’ now, but I know I have my guardian angel with me always.”
What is something in your everyday life that reminds you of Amma?
“Music, music, music! Anytime I hear ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ by Rihanna, and about 500 other songs, I think of ‘Meena’ because she just loved music. She loved going to concerts and dancing to fun songs, so anytime I do the same, it reminds me so much of her.”
What is something about Amma’s personality that people outside of our family may not have known?
“She loved dogs and animals in general. Every dog she met always jumped on her with a wagging tail. Dogs sensed her kindness and love and truly felt so safe with her. Anytime we’d go to a zoo or an aquarium, the animals would find their way towards my mom and look into her eyes with love. I actually wrote a section about this in my other article, where a penguin at an aquarium in Montreal swam right up to my mom and wouldn’t move. I think every animal felt very connected to her spirituality and love.”
Karishma
What is something Amma has taught you?
“My mom had a gift of working with children and adults with diverse abilities and always knew how to make her patients feel comfortable and loved. She inspires me every day to become the kindest person that I can be and the most passionate occupational therapist one day, so I can continue her legacy by helping people.”
What’s your favorite memory with Amma?
“My favorite memory with Amma was when we went on a girls trip (me, Hansi, Amma) to California in 2018. She showed us all of her favorite places like the Jelly Belly factory, Napa Valley, Sausalito, Santa Cruz, and Fisherman’s Wharf. She looked so jovial, and I could see my mom in her 20s shining through.”
What is something in your everyday life that reminds you of Amma?
“Every time I look in the mirror, I see my beautiful Amma with her long, curly hair that she had when she was my age. She always told me she liked my hair naturally curly, and I made a promise to her to embrace my natural hair, so when I look in the mirror, I see her, too.”
What is something about Amma’s personality that people outside of our family may not have known?
“She always had a ‘mom feeling’ when something was wrong and always called me when I needed a pick-me-up. Her Pinterest affirmations were my favorite thing. She would send them to me in the morning when I went to the gym. She always had the perfect gift for everyone. One of her many love languages was gift giving, and each gift always had meaning behind it and purpose. She really paid attention and saw what made people themselves and remembered that.”
to our amma
I know my mom is reading this article in Heaven, reminiscing about all the wonderful memories we shared together.
Nothing will ever change our love for you Amma.
Xoxo,
Hansi, Karish, Navin, and Anik