Not all would disagree with me if I say that there is a child in each one of us. But unfortunately, due to mounting stress and pressure, the child in us ceases to grow. Yes, that's a virtual child that lives in our body. Life is such that it steals away the happiness and joy by making out life more stressful. We get obsessed with our job and that eventually alienates us, weakening the bond with our family.
| That's my baby sister with my grandparents in the year 1993 |
Man is a social animal but eventually, circumstances change him. He toils hard for his family but ironically doesn't spends time with his family. That's most disheartening! We travel places to keep our family happy but sadly Old age is the time when we actually get to spend time with our loved ones. Grandparents play an important role in every individual's life. My father lost his mother when he was just 4 and his father in his late teens. Those days, clicking photographs were expensive. To be honest, I don't even know how my paternal Grandparents looked like. So, for me, my only grandparents were my Mom's parents. I was lucky enough to be blessed with a loving grandfather who kicked the bucket when I was just 9. My sister was 3 then! She can't even recollect any fond memories linked with him. But I remember my nana fighting with my tuition teacher for hurting me once when I was class 1. He would carry me on his shoulder and walk till my tuition house. Miss Gracie, my tuition teacher would scold my grand pa for carrying me on his shoulder. But poor grandpa would only nod his head as he didn't understand English nor Hindi. I miss him a lot! The day when I got to know about my grandpa's death, tears didn't cease to stop flowing from my eyes. At a tender age of 9, I was attached to him and I cried till my tear glands dried. I realized that I had to live without him and I was not prepared for it. The disadvantage of having working parents was that we as kids get attached to someone who shows us, extreme love. It might be anyone who would fill the void left by our working parents. My grandpa stepped in and filled that void and loved me. I have spent the initial days of my life on my grandpa's laps.
As days moved on, and as we grew up, we decided to bring our Grandmom with us. That was the phase when my baby sister was growing big and there has to be someone at home to support us. It was the same time we shifted to a new house, to a new locality that was not familiar to us. GrandMom was in her late 70's then and pretty much active. She would help my mom with the household chores. She would never stay at one place for more than 5 minutes. I still have fond memories of my grandmom taking care of me during my illness. It was one of the most stressful days of my life. I would never forget my mom and my grandmom's role in my recovery. Their involvement actually expedited my recovery and I bounced back well within 1 month. But as days progressed, she became weak. Uncle took her him and then on we used to visit her twice every month. She would hug us and kiss us every time we visited her. Such was her love for her grand children. These days she hardly recognizes us. It gives me immense pain to specify that she can't even recognize her own children. She would sit on her bed and randomly talk to imaginary friends and her dead siblings. She would cook food for the imaginary guests and participate in harvesting activities in our imaginary farm. She turned into a child at an age of 89. Tears roll down my cheeks every time we visit her. One day, she made me sit beside her and put her hands on my cheek. A ray of hope surfaced within me and a transient state of happiness made me think if my grandmom recognized me. She thought I was her friend's son and enquired me about her friend. Tears welled in my eyes. How innocent!
| The little boy in Blue tee is me standing close to my grandpa on my sisters 1st birthday |
I am not in India anymore but I have always loved her and love her even if she can't recognize me. After all, she is my grand mother and I understand that she is important to me. Every time I visit her, I show her our old photographs and videos featuring us so that she could identify us. But Alas! all our attempts to bring back her lost memory seem futile. Even now, our other cousins do the same. She needs someone to talk to her. The 89-year-old child who raised us then now needs us to talk to her.
If I could spend a day with my grand mother, I would do it by talking to her and narrating about the good time we spend with her. I would share all the videos, photographs and everything that would bring back her old memories. But the chances of that happening are too slim!
You are the root that carried us,
| That is the billion dollar smile that my grandmom wears :) So cute! |
We are just the fruits of the seed that you sowed years back
Thank you for everything you did for us
All the love you showered upon us
will speak loud and even louder
We love you, Grandmother. Thank you for everything,
If your memories didn't fade,
I am sure you would hug us and kiss us,
But sadly you don't recognize yourself,
Knowing us is a distant dream.
May God keeps you sound and safe.
Love you loads and lots, my dear granny!
I look forward to hear from you how would you celebrate Grandparents Day. Do share a selfie with your grandparents on Sept. 10, 2017 on Twitter or Facebook with #LoveJatao & tag @blogadda to win a goodie from Parachute Advansed.
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