Grandmom - Take this money, I’m giving you with love, buy something from it and show me what you bought. Buy something you can use regularly and remember me when you use it
Grandmom - Come here, I have kept some sweets for you
Me – Mom I don’t want to eat, it has sugar
Grandmom – Have some, please... I remembered and saved for you. You loved these
Me – okay, I will have some later
Grandmom - Sona, can you please come here... I was able to read the entire article of this english newspaper. I also understood everything, except this one word. What does it mean?
Me – it means “****” (I don’t remember the word now)
Grandmom - thank you... I feel so good
Grandmom – Can you see any difference on my face?
Me – You always look pretty, what’s new?!
Grandmom – I got facial done for the first time, is my face glowing
Me - You look lovely
Grandmom – Did you get your laptop?
Me – Yes, which song will you hear?
Grandmom –Songs from Pakeezah
Her expressions… priceless
Grandmom – What will you have samosas, ice-cream, kachori, I will get you whatever you want
Me – I’m not hungry
Grandmom – Get something... I will feel good, you anyways come to meet me rarely
Me – alright, I will eat whatever you like
Grandmothers are sent to make love, care, and warmth tangible. I remember spending a lot of time with her while growing up. She would come to take me from school and I would end up spending time at the slides in the playground for a little longer. She was never in a hurry and always had some love left for me. Saving the last piece of sweet, my favourite dish if she cooked or keeping 10 bucks aside for me on a special occasion.
She personified charm – always wanting to learn and live more, curious to try out new things, pursuing hobbies and seeing it through completion. She did not deter in any calamity, was well read and travelled. Loved meeting people and striking conversations, she was life of a party and a crowd magnet. Laughed with her whole heart and called spade a spade. I don’t really know if she ever saw any adversities, as she laughed at all her situations and made it look a passé.
She had many firsts in her life… I remember she got her eyebrows and facial done for the first time in her 60’s. The excitement on her face was priceless. The first time when she completed reading the entire article of the newspaper, she waited patiently to us to come home to share her excitement.
The first time she saw a song streaming on youtube, I wish I would have captured her expressions, since then she waited for me to visit her and both of us watched all black and white songs on youtube sipping our evening tea and gossiping about our life.
This pandemic, made me realise how we all got on to video calls and tried new recipes. There were days we would ask my granny what was she talking to her friends and relatives endlessly on calls and now I realised, the human connect was needed back then as much as we need now.
Back then we didn’t realise the importance as we went to work and never bothered sitting at one place confined within our homes. Where as my granny experienced it all her life feeding us and waiting for us to share few of our lifes moments with her. Well we all learnt it, in the hindsight.