We then met not very frequently as our sojourns in life after marriage was more out of Bombay.
I met her later more distinctly after she had become an adult, wherein her demeanour and features had more established. What struck immediately is her disarming smile , very open and innocent carrying somewhere the distinct stamp of the family.
Next Shobha was in the focus before her marriage.By then we had got transferred to Baroda.It used be a great pleasure in all our places of posting , our family people would visit us generally organized and chaperoned by Bala Mama. We all went on the trip, Baroda to Dwaraka visiting all the tempes enroute.
As the won't of the present living, getting a right match is one of the horrendous task. Kamalam who had come to the trip, was very much disturbed of this.Kamalam's emotions rubbed on all of us.I remember after the Dwarka visit, it was when we were in Somnath temple , we all, our group of twenty or so mostly Venkatas family , sat up to the situation and made an earnest entreaty to Lord Shiva , a powerful Deity at Somnath to give our dear Shobha the right partner.
And 'lo, I think in a month's time ,an answer to our prayers the most suitable partner furnished from the cosmos and Ramani took Shobhas hand in Matrimony.
We had been keeping track of life at her end, Shobha in New Zealand, arrival of Akash, later they all shifting to Sydney, year before last Akash upanayanam, it was our plan back of the mind to visit her and others at Australia.
But one never can anticipate how life is going to deal with us.
All in a short time both Venkata & Shobha have permanently departed from these shores. But I believe they would have met and blessing us all from the other shore.
Life is Transient , we have no choice but to accept .
But her memories will ever stay.
