The Nonagenarian of our family…..

People compliment me about how practical i am, how i go through rough patches with a smile, how i am filled with energy, etc., etc.,………no i am not blowing my own trumpet…. was trying to tell from where n whom i acquired these qualities…

My grandmother has passed the genes to me i suppose. Everytime i meet her, i learn something from her. She has a good heart, compassion love, unconditional love, patience, and practicality, personified. The moment somebody enters her house, she will greet them with the world’s widest toothless grin… you become comfortable within minutes. The next minute, the lady vanishes inside and comes back with a glass of piping hot filter coffee. She then settles down for a chat with you. She misses not a single detail about your family members and gestures her blessings when u say that all are fine. Again a wide grin… It rubs on you shortly and you are all smiles too when talking to her. She insists that you have food at her place before leaving. If you call her for a photo shoot, she combs her hair with her palms, takes a peep into the mirror to see if the religious mark in her forehead is clear, if not, she adjusts it applying it again and then presses the pleats of her saree with her hand and turns around and says ‘I am ready’. Its not the craze for photograph, the message that you need to be immaculate at any time of the day.I have never seen her shabby and dull.

She lives in a pretty old fashioned house, which obviously does not have all the facilities that a modern house has. But she does her bit in keeping it clean. The way she works in her kitchen is laudable. No wastage, no messing up of things. It goes without saying that the food she prepares is the yummiest on earth. It has to be, as its loaded with love, the secret ingredient. Once she finishes her work, she reads magazines, plays cards by herself, plays an age old game called ‘PALLANKUZHI’ which  her mother has given her. Its a wooden board with seven pits on either side of the board. We need to have shells to fill it and with good calculation we can sweep all the shells of our opponent. She is always good at swindling the opponents shells….!!!!. She plays chinese checkers alone, and always manages to retain one coin in the middle. [The tip she gives to my daughters is that they need to patiently move the coins and should not be in a hurry] Isn’t that life’s greatest tip……moving the coin patiently and not to scurry.

She may not have graduated in any of the top universities, but she knows everything that they don’t teach in any of the university. In one of my recent visits, i was asking her, about her relationship with my grandfather. She said that she had her quota of misunderstandings too but preferred to keep quiet to keep the marriage and the relationship going. She belongs to a different generation altogether. Today’s girls and boys may not vouch her statement. But at the same time, when today’s boy  or girl  talks about incompatibility at the drop of the hat, I just think about her !!!

She is ever ready to forgive any one who has hurt her. A quality which we need to develop. To forgive and move ahead is not easy, but gives u lot of inner strength when done.

She is all smiles when she is with her great grand daughters. You can see the pride in her face when my daughters hug her and keep meddling her  shrunk skin….

When she places her hand on my head and blesses me I  literally feel the energy gushing through my cells.

On this day when she is celebrating her 97th birthday as per the hindu almanac,I dedicate this note to her  and pray to God to give her good health.[I don’t think she needs anything else at this stage !!!]  I keep telling my husband that we need to celebrate her 100th birthday in a nice way. Let’s wait for the day.

---