Friday, January 6, 2012

And we complain about life? (Day 5 - Project 366)

She smiles when she sees me walking by, she is ever so cheerful.. She is just as enthusiastic as I am when I show her what I shopped for, tells me what will match and what won't, and takes good care of her hair and body even today.

She has a bent back and yet she manages to sit down holding the walls, draws rangolis, makes sweets during Diwali, cooks something everyday and makes sure the dishes are cleaned. She prays, cleans the little idols & lamps in her altar, reads her holy books, doesn't need glasses (atleast I've never seen her wearing them). She likes to walk around a bit after tea in the evening. Although our neighbours and we fear when she walks, she refuses to hold our hands. She prefers holding the walls instead, when she is afraid she'll lose balance. It hurts her ego.

When asked to take rest, she says it's not meant for her and that if she doesn't continue working, her body might stiffen. At 91 years of age, she is independent- emotionally & physically. She always was.

She still thinks 2000 rupees is a lot of money and thinks girls should get married soon. At the same time, she thinks getting educated & standing on your own feet is very important.

She prepares a lot of delicacies every now & then and sends it to our house.."For Anubha" she says :)

Today, while having dinner, mom offered me a new variety of papad. I loved them and asked her where she got them from.. thought she had got them from the papaddum stores at Matunga! Turns out that the lady had taken the effort of preparing the mixture, kneading the dough, rolling the papads and drying them out on the terrace..


And we complain about life?

7 comments:

Sanjita said...

Aww.. that is so awesomely sweet! :) This has become my dose of happiness for the day! :) I never had a grandparent and i guess its one of the things I've always wanted in life.. Thats why i guess somehow my heart goes out to the elderly. That was an amazing piece. Senti hogaye hum.. ;)

~'®Î†Z' said...
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Reeti said...

Wow.. You have written it so wonderfully. This is one the best post you have written so far. A small Suggestion 'Why don't you put a picture of her too in the post' :D
That way That 'She' will get a 'face' for others to 'See' :)

Sakhi said...

I agree with Reeti... "'She' will have a 'face' for others to 'see'"

Hugs to her :)

Very sweet post anu :)

Sudarshan said...

Nice post dear. Felt so good :)

Anubha said...

@Sanjita
I am glad you liked the post! :) My heart goes out to them too. They have a lot of love to give! :)

@Reeti & Sakhi
Thanks you two! :) Actually, I don't mind clicking a picture of her but not sure about uploading it anywhere online without her knowing of it. I mean, even if I do tell her, she wouldn't understand where exactly her pic is being used. Feels sort-of wrong then. Not sure yet, let's see. Reeti- tune toh dekha hi hai unko.. Sakhi- tujhe dikhaa dungi pic if i meet you sometime. Will click one, one of these days!

@Sudarshan
Thanks!!! :)

~j~ said...

Lovely post. I've only seen two of my grandparents alive, and now even they aren't around. Your post makes me wish for them, especially for my nani who I never met. I think I would've had a ball with her.