Comment by rehack | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rehack | Hacker News Reader

It was late in the afternoon and we were late. I was thinking to myself ‘Oh God, let today not be the day’. I started to walk faster as I thought this. My wife was accompanying me to the place where my mother was staying. We passed down the corridor and reached the room. I knocked at the door, but there was no response from inside. I moved a bit to the left raising myself on my toes, such that her bed was visible from over the cabin’s wall. I could see her there, ‘Oh God please…’. “Mummy”, I shouted “Mummy uthiye..”. Normally, she would getup at our knocking and move feebly to open the door.

After shouting a few times, I got impatient and tried to open the door ourselves. Thankfully it opened. She began to move slowly, as we got in. Thank God she was there! She half rose from her bed, and sat in a confused state. I could see that she had wet her bed. Sad at that, but relieved that she was alive.

How she had raised me and my sister so caringly when she was young and had lot of energy. But now she was in her twilight, and had lost control over many of her functions. But she still could recognize us, and so retained the most important part of her brain function. I was filled with emotion and could not breathe properly. There was less air in the room I thought. ‘Oh God, please cure her of this, and I will be nice I promise’, I thought and continued to breath forcefully.

…

Then I woke up. I had been asleep and it was a dream. Normally, when waking out of a bad dream, one is very thankful. But not today. I was still breathing forcefully. ‘Oh God, please cure her of her ailments and let me see her daily. Let today not be the day, and I will be nice I promise’.

(via my blog https://shiningleaf.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/a-mother-a-drea...)

Can somebody please explain. Why is the parent comment short story inappropriate, as a top level comment on this page?

Also it seems to trigger a reaction. I have seen it go upto +6 points and now it is at 0. Means people either like it or hate it. I don't get it, whats in that that people have to react strongly to it.

I would really like to understand.

edit: minor

People find their own dreams very interesting. Most people find most other people's dreams very uninteresting.

You say it's a "near true account of my dream". Well I could give you a near true account of the shit I had this morning, but you wouldn't be interested.

Plus the extreme offence you seem to be taking to people saying they're not interested in what you're saying is making me dislike you even more. You come across as one of those people who thinks they're really profound, but they're not.

Finally what is "uthiye", and what grown person calls their mother "mummy"?

'Uthiye' means 'get up' in hindi.

>what grown person calls their mother "mummy"?

I do. You display your prejudice by asking the question in such a way. Also your total ignorance about other cultures.

>You say it's a "near true account of my dream". Well I could give you a near true account of the shit I had this morning, but you wouldn't be interested.

You also can, if what you share is in context of the discussion. If you care to note, I wrote this piece more than an year back. And seeing the topic here, thought it may be relevant. And it sure is, as more number of people seem to like it. Then those that don't.

Even if you don't like it. Can't you just ignore it. I would expect trolling or something off topic or irrelevant to be typically down-voted.

In any case, thanks, for replying. Even though, it took a throw away account for you to explain it, and then attack me back again, by commenting on the way, I address my mother.

Since you asked honestly, I'll answer honestly: it's hackneyed and poorly written and I don't think the dream's personal significance translates to a general audience.

Thanks! Respect you for using your routine account and giving a reason.

I personally rarely use down-votes, and would just ignore a comment, if I sense that its written in an earnest way, even though bad in quality. I agree its not very high quality writing. But I believe, that it does hit its mark with many people. Many more people upvoted it, than those that down voted it.

That is a touching piece, thank you for sharing it.

Welcome, friend! Glad to see some people liking it :-)

Downvote! Care to explain, why? Its a near true account of my dream, and I thought it could be therapeutic for some people to read who visit this HN page, as people are discussing Mother's day.

I won't care about downvotes on another topic. But seriously either you are heartless or out of your mind to downvote me on this. Get a life, Idiot downvoter!!

Edit: I see several others have compensated, for that enough. Thanks! Sorry for being harsh. But downvoting this made me angry.

Your first mistake was recounting a dream you had about your "mummy" wetting the bed. There's no depth or anything interesting there, except maybe something about you. The awkward irony is that if your mother had actually passed away and that's why she didn't answer the door, you'd have a stronger piece of writing.

Mothers day is meant to be about celebrating the good things about mothers for those who still have them and still get along. Why not write about all the strong and positive things your mother did before?

Now, now. Don't get preaching to me, on what I should be writing on. This was a very impact full dream to me. And I wrote it then (more than an year back), with no intention that time of putting on HN one day.

And why do you have such a narrow idea of expressing one's love - either totally tragic or a "strong and positive". The present frailty could remind one of the earlier strength in a loved one. Also that, that we still cherish the life that we have although dimming away. Meaning, in that dream I was cherishing that she still remembers that I am her son. Although she is too frail, and wets her bed. And I was so sad for her, that I felt breathlessness.

And again, just like that other insensitive person, you also make the same mistake as the other person by putting mummy in quotes. My friend, this is the way so many people address their mothers across the Indian sub-continent. Its sort of a hybrid word evolved out of the British Raj here, and the Indian way of addressing. And that is true for so many words.

At the same time, I admit, that I could have worked on that story a bit more, to convey its general significance to others. But as I said, earlier, I wrote it an year back. And today, I just thought some people could enjoy reading it, by being thankful that they have their mothers around (close or remote, or even in their memories).

I must say, that some guys have been very insensitive today. At the same time, I am happy, that few others got something from that crude text. So be it. Peace.

Please don't complain about being downvoted on HN. As the guidelines say, it never helps and is always off-topic.

No, I don't agree, as I am not in the wrong here. I know you are the admin. You should see all my messages. Also you must investigate, if a single hostile user downvoted me from mutiple accounts earlier. I made one mistake of calling him "idiot downvoter" (for which I expressed my regret), perhaps it made him angry. And that comment of mine was rightly downvoted. But in all the other comments I have been perfectly civil, in fact couple of replies have been insulting.

I want this account to be deleted. I know this feature is not there yet. But please do it, as and when you add the delete feature. Or manually if possible.

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