The Mendes family is not your average family. And Imelda Mendes is far from being the average person.
The story follows the life of a young boy, his relationship with his mother Imelda (fondly referred to by her children as Em) and the relationship that Em and The Big Hoom, his father share; all depicted poetically.
Em suffered from bipolar disorder and manic depression, which means that her family is usually in the state of a pandemonium. She was either in a meditative state making bottomless cups of tea and smoking beedis, or she goes ballistic, hallucinates and tries to kill herself. She speaks irresponsibly to her son, jumping head first into the dark waters of Oedipus complex which she almost accusingly suggested to him. She would regularly remind him of how much of a burden he is, and just in case he forgets, she reiterated that it is his fault that she went through postpartum depression. From frequent hospital visits, to constantly being worried about her whereabouts to dealing with her paranoia, the family was trying their best.
Although the story begins with the boy telling us how much he wants to know the root cause of her mania, as things escalate in the story, his focus is only on getting through day by day. From the story, it is evident that he has an immense amount of patience, with of course the exception of The Big Hoom. Through this process, his father is a bigger mystery to him than his mother. He wonders if his father has always been the way he is, he wonders where he got that storehouse of patience from, how he manages to stay so calm all the time, he is fascinated by the undying love his father has for his mother, even though she was no longer the woman he first fell in love with. We catch glimpses of their love story and of Em before she became neurotic via the letters that Em had written and for some reason, had decided not to post.
The author takes us through a whirlwind of emotions, trauma, unrelenting turmoil, frustration, anger, rude awakenings, until finally… quiet. Suddenly, Em is no more. No warning, no unusual behaviour. Gone in her sleep. The family is now confused; their whole life revolved around her. They’d spent so much time thinking of all the possible ‘what ifs’ they didn’t expect the consequences- the ‘what nows’.
They decided to reheat some food and order Chinese (they could do that with no protest from Em, now). The Big Hoom decided to have alcohol, and the narrator, some Diet Coke. But for some reason, this average family behaviour seemed unnatural. Wrong. They offered the food to beggars on the streets, and had already begun to assume their new roles. Yet, no matter their roles, they’d snap back into reality to find themselves brewing a cup of tea. They were coming to a realisation that for good or bad reasons, Em always has and always will be a big part of their lives. She will still dictate their actions. She was still in the back of their mind. Her life was their trauma, but trauma doesn’t end when it’s source ends. The mark an average person made on your life may eventually fade, but Em? She is far from being an average person. Because not even death can stop a force as strong as Em.
The story follows the life of a young boy, his relationship with his mother Imelda (fondly referred to by her children as Em) and the relationship that Em and The Big Hoom, his father share; all depicted poetically.
Em suffered from bipolar disorder and manic depression, which means that her family is usually in the state of a pandemonium. She was either in a meditative state making bottomless cups of tea and smoking beedis, or she goes ballistic, hallucinates and tries to kill herself. She speaks irresponsibly to her son, jumping head first into the dark waters of Oedipus complex which she almost accusingly suggested to him. She would regularly remind him of how much of a burden he is, and just in case he forgets, she reiterated that it is his fault that she went through postpartum depression. From frequent hospital visits, to constantly being worried about her whereabouts to dealing with her paranoia, the family was trying their best.
Although the story begins with the boy telling us how much he wants to know the root cause of her mania, as things escalate in the story, his focus is only on getting through day by day. From the story, it is evident that he has an immense amount of patience, with of course the exception of The Big Hoom. Through this process, his father is a bigger mystery to him than his mother. He wonders if his father has always been the way he is, he wonders where he got that storehouse of patience from, how he manages to stay so calm all the time, he is fascinated by the undying love his father has for his mother, even though she was no longer the woman he first fell in love with. We catch glimpses of their love story and of Em before she became neurotic via the letters that Em had written and for some reason, had decided not to post.
The author takes us through a whirlwind of emotions, trauma, unrelenting turmoil, frustration, anger, rude awakenings, until finally… quiet. Suddenly, Em is no more. No warning, no unusual behaviour. Gone in her sleep. The family is now confused; their whole life revolved around her. They’d spent so much time thinking of all the possible ‘what ifs’ they didn’t expect the consequences- the ‘what nows’.
They decided to reheat some food and order Chinese (they could do that with no protest from Em, now). The Big Hoom decided to have alcohol, and the narrator, some Diet Coke. But for some reason, this average family behaviour seemed unnatural. Wrong. They offered the food to beggars on the streets, and had already begun to assume their new roles. Yet, no matter their roles, they’d snap back into reality to find themselves brewing a cup of tea. They were coming to a realisation that for good or bad reasons, Em always has and always will be a big part of their lives. She will still dictate their actions. She was still in the back of their mind. Her life was their trauma, but trauma doesn’t end when it’s source ends. The mark an average person made on your life may eventually fade, but Em? She is far from being an average person. Because not even death can stop a force as strong as Em.