conch bangles. Go and make Pranam to the Master, to me and also to my daughter." As she uttered this, I felt my heart palpitating. I thought, "Mother has never asked me about the locality of my home, my caste or my relatives." I said, " Mother, I belong to the Kayastha caste. Why should Radhu make Pranam to me?" The Mother bit her tongue and said, "Don't say this. Don't I know whether you are a Brahmana or a Kayastha woman? You have stayed here so long - are you a Kayastha, still?" Saying this, she told Radhu, "Go and salute your elder sister." Immediate]y Radhu made Pranam to Sri Ramakrishna, to the Holy Mother and then to me. I returned her salutation. The Mother laughed heartily and said, "So, you returned the salute?" But the situation made me feel uncomfortable and so I remained speechless.
One day Radhu, Nalini-Didi and the others anxiously got hold of me. I was to tell them where my home was, what my caste was, and also about my near and dear ones. But I was reluctant to disclose any such thing. That day the Mother called them and said, "Why are you teasing my daughter so much? Come here to me; I shall tell you everything." All of them rushed to the Mother. I too followed them. I thought: "The Mother never asked me about these personal details. Today I shall hear what she says." They all began to tell the Mother, "Kshirode Didi has been here so long but she has never disclosed her native place, her caste or who her relations are. Today we requested her so endearingly but she won't disclose anything." The Mother said, "I can tell you everything. She was born in the land where oranges are grown. Her father-in-law lives in another district and he is a very close relation of Chandrakanta. She has no one, not even her mother. But she has a brother." Saying this, the Mother asked me, "Have I said correctly, my daughter?" As she mentioned the name of my mother, I heaved a deep sigh. The Mother being the In-dweller, she could grap the innermost thoughts and feelings of others. She understood that my sigh was a sign of grief. Immediately she said, "Ah! When I mentioned your mother, you were overcome with sorrow, weren't you? But even if she had been alive, what could she do for you? She would have been a helpless spectator of your miseries. Do you still feel bereft of your mother even after having a mother like me?" On hearing these words, I began to shed tears of joy. The Mother asked Nalini-Didi and the others, "What more do you want to know?"