My association with my grandparents was for a very brief period of time as they left this world before I could grow up to tell ALL of their stories. All I remember about those days is specifically about my grandfather who was very gentle, humble and used to give us his childhood books to read. He was very quiet almost in a mystical way. Since we lived far away from both our grandparents, we used to visit them only once a year that too for a few days and all that came to an end very quickly as they passed away too soon.
My childhood days were
painted by the colorful antics of my elderly aunt. She replayed the role of my beloved grandparents-in fact, she in a
way carried their legacy. I remember
about my grandma's house, in which my aunt used to live after grandma's
death...I recall the deep brown ceramic mugs (now lost forever, don't know
where they are...), the deep green wooden reading/ writing table , the colors started peeling off much
before I could even begin to describe how it looks like...and of course the
embroidered cushion covers, the crochet work...the backyard garden with lemon
plants, big trees bearing local fruits...and the "family well". The well from which we used to draw
water...for bathing, cooking, washing
etc. etc. as there was no other source of water in those times... ( The well is called "Kua" in our native language)
In that house, the smell that lingered was that of the raw green mango pickles in
bottles filled with mustard oil left for drying in the sun.
My aunt was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and used to quote
him often.
So many years have passed by since then...now our entire
family has changed...they no longer follow the quotes of Mahatma Gandhi. Perhaps,
with the death of my grandpa, grandma and now, with the days remaining in the lives of my ailing
aunty, an era has come to an end, an era that signified innocence and
simplicity, truth and love.
An End of Innocence, perhaps.
I am not sure whether we can give as much love as they gave or go through as much hardships as they went through...maybe it is simply not in us or is it because we have become too harsh with the changing times while dealing with life's brutalities ?
I am not sure whether we can give as much love as they gave or go through as much hardships as they went through...maybe it is simply not in us or is it because we have become too harsh with the changing times while dealing with life's brutalities ?
I do not know yet I know this much that an entire lifetime
of memories will still linger in my mind....perhaps these memories, this
attempt of looking into the past will force me to embrace that old, simple life
into the folds of my new life until I feel satisfied that I have done enough.
Perhaps nobody will listen to the echoes of the ghosts from
the past but they are still there if we care to listen ...so much love and
wisdom is buried in these memories, if we care to find.
