Page 29 - Seniorstoday August-2023 Issue

Alaimentary – A Story of a Tale – 5
Hearth in a Home
Ritika and her parents’ service and contribution to the D’Sa family was priceless
and Rebecca nurtured the strong bond and mutual respect that developed as a
result, writes Nagesh Alai
Rebecca D’Sa, nudging 80, as graceful and
beautiful as ever, was quietly sipping her
morning tea, sitting in the veranda of her
elegant, but modest bungalow of decades,
nestled in a quiet by lane of Bandra, aptly
carrying the sobriquet, the Queen of the
Suburb. She was wistfully looking at the
well preserved family albums, containing
hundreds of pics of her growing up days,
her parents and grandparents and brother
and cousins, various occasions and
functions and ceremonies, vistas of the old
Bandra with beautiful villas surrounding
her home and the ineffable charm of the old,
now giving way to reckless redevelopment.
In place of coconut and palm trees that were
gently swaying all around her in the long
past, all she could espy today and assault
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #50 | AUGUST 2023
Image Courtesy – Minorsights.com
her senses were tall buildings abutting her
bungalow. All the neighbouring families
had given up their bungalows due to
economic constraints and challenges of
maintaining large houses.
Rebecca hailed from a well-to-do family
and had the best of upbringing and
education. Her parents had sent her and
her brother to the best of the schools
and colleges and post graduate doctoral
programs in London School of Economics.
They had a rock solid foundation and
it reflected in their demeanour, both
personally and professionally. While her
brother chose to continue his professional
pursuits in London and later migrated
to the US permanently, Rebecca chose
to return to India and make her career.
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