Ten years ago, on this day, I vividly remember, holding her hand and helping her get into an auto, little did I know that I was letting her go forever. That would be the last time I’d see her.
My Grandma, whom we dearly called Pamma, was much more than just a grandma who cared for us. Like every Grandma that makes her grandchildren dislike their parents, she was very successful in doing the same in our(my cousins and I) lives. She was the judge in all the cases of parents against children and in the court of Pamma, the children always got brownie points. Not that she supported our mistakes but she saw us children as humans that can be taught and not just punished. She spoke up for us when needed, which was almost, always. The only threat we could give our parents was, “I’m telling this to Pamma!” She was the heart of family, holding us together and making us close knit. She sowed the importance of family in us at a very young age by having us cousins over during holidays, bracing all the nonsense and tantrums 6 children, all about a year apart from the other can throw at her. She patiently and intently heard all our stories from school and knew of our friends even though she never met any. A room full of our cacophony was music to her ears, when her sister once mentioned that we were too loud, she had a smug smile and said, “oh that how it is, you’ll be fine.” She let us children be children, letting us do all the things we could – roll in the mud, climb walls, trees, rooftops without staircase, throw water at each other, explore places around and be as loud as we wanted to be. She danced with us, played with us, told us stories, nursed us when we were unwell, she patiently watched us showcase our video game skills and cheered us. Amidst all this, she also disciplined and taught us in every little way possible to love, be humble and kind. Most importantly, she lead by example.
she would eagerly wait for us to come home. Every Christmas, we had gifts waiting for us, gifts that she very patiently packed are ripped open in seconds. When asked why she puts in the effort to actually pack them, she said, her happiness was in seeing them being ripped open in seconds. Christmas has never been the same ever since.
Today, though we cousins lead our own busy lives, we know that we have always each other. In a room full of people, we don’t need anyone else to socialise with and sometimes made people feel out of place because we have our own stories to tell and jokes to be made. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for our summer day-spends and family gatherings.
She taught us in every way and even in her death, she taught us the pain of losing a loved one and to empathise with people. Soon, it will be 10 years since she is gone and to this day we can fondly remember her and our childhood to be cheerful, happy and fulfilling. I’ve realised, I’m blessed to have a childhood, that was so simple, treasured and rare. Just like like my Pamma!
My Grandma, my Queen.
Life happens. Strife happens. 