‘I Still Love You Nanny’- Bahrain FM tells his 93-Yr-old Care-Taker
‘I Still Love You Nanny’- Bahrain Finance Minister tells his 93-Yr-old Care-Taker, Carmine Mathias of Bajpe, Mangaluru
Mangaluru: It was like a “Close Encounters of the Nanny Kind” for Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa who flew all the way from Bahrain to Mangaluru to meet 93-year-old Carmine Mathias at her residence “Anna Francis” in Bajpe here, who had been his caretaker for years. It is learnt that Carmine had taken care of the Minister and his (late) brother in the 1960’s.
After meeting the nonagenarian, the Minister who shared a picture on December 28 on Instagram with his nonagenarian nanny went viral. The reason, why this picture has received a lot of interest in this coastal city, is that the nanny in question is 93-year-old Carmine Mathias from “Amche Kodiyal”. It is now being widely circulated on the social media locally. The minister who posted the picture, wrote on Instagram, “With my nanny who looked after me as her son since my childhood; Mama Carmine Mathias, at her home in Mang(a)lore, Karnataka.. she came to Bahrain when she was 35 years old in January 1959. Now she is 93. She looked after my late brother Abdalla, myself and my two younger sisters Maie and Lulwa. She gave us the best of her love and care .. we cherish every moment in our life with her. May God bless her soul and give her good health and longevity.”
This gesture by Khalid Bin Ahmed to not just remember his nanny but also visit her, won this diplomat heartfelt praise from other netizens in general and Instagram users in particular. On Instagram, reemanaseefIt commented: “Melts the heart to see how people still cherish appreciation in their lives.” Meanwhile, Rajadarasri commented: “Love his kindness @khalidturk, I told you His Excellency is adorable.” Similarly, Rejithkumarsl wrote: “You are a great human being, sir! Big salute for you.” The post has since gone viral with over 5,000 likes nearly 400 comments. It is learnt that the minister had visited Mangaluru to meet Carmine Mathias after travelling to Kerala when he was on a private visit to India.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Dr Franics N.P. Monteiro, who is the Principal at A.J. Institute of Allied Health Sciences, Mangaluru and also a family member of Carmine said, “My grandma had last visited Bahrain in late 2012. After spending some months there, she returned to Mangaluru in May 2013. Since then the family of the Minister was in constant touch with my grandma on the phone. We are humbled by their presence. Their simplicity is worth emulating. My grandma is happy.” Also Carmine’s grandson, Ashok Raymond Monteiro posted on Facebook saying, “His Excellency visited our home at Bajpe, Mangaluru to meet Mama Carmine our granny..A great human being with down to earth personality”.
The Minister had earlier been to Kerala before coming to Mangaluru to meet Layla in Kollam-Kerala on December 24, his other house help, who had shared her life with the minister and his (late) brother for 21 years with love, honesty, and loyalty. The minister who had posted his Kerala visit and his message was also widely appreciated by netizens.
A really beautiful story!! Shows how human bonding goes way beyond racial, religious, national boundaries. I hope some of our rich and political leaders learn a lesson from this incident. Being humble doesn’t come natural to our leaders who treat their servants with disrespect.
Wow! That’s a really a great gesture from the Baharain FM to come all the way from his country to meet his old nannies in Mangalore & Kerala. A nanny is an important part of an Arab family. They spend a lot of time and hard work doing things for the whole family. Young children need love, care and attention which they generously get from their nannies. The kids who are looked after and groomed by nannies are more attached to them than their own mothers. The sacrifice a nanny makes is priceless. She leaves her children back home and… Read more »