My Grandmother

My Grandmother 

In memory of my dear grandmother who passed away 3 years ago. 

I had opened her cupboard after what seemed like an eternity. The faint smell of the books gripped my senses as my hand ran through her belongings. The countless devotional books and the softening touch of the sarees, which she possessed. The medicines tidily lay in the draw and everything was as the way we left it 3 years ago. The dusk of 27th August, an unfathomable and incomprehensive sense of agony and pain ripped me apart, as I sat with my family moaning at the stupendous loss.

Memories flashed my mind as I recollect the gentle touch of her wrinkled skin, the faint smell of the talcum and the indecisive hum of the shlokas. She would always greet me with a smile, enlightening the gleeful moments I sit beside her and feel time pass by hastily. I later realised the importance of such moments, as your dear ones can be with you for first second and gone by the next. It later caught hold of my mind, on the various instances I have either hurt her or demeaned her. She always wanted us to be happy graciously helping us at tough times.

Being the eldest in the family, she would narrate countless incidents and stories in her life mesmerising the inner feelings and thoughts of mine. Being the eldest comes with a cost too, as leaving this beautiful world much early than you presumed with your beloved ones suffering at the loss. The ones who wait umpteen months for you to visit them. The ones who you fed, educated and nurtured. The ones who rose to success before your own eyes; and the ones who took care of you till your last breath.
These emotions swam as a whirlpool in my mind, as I glanced through all her belongings, which immensely represented her personality. Filled with a joyful yet fierce attitude, she inspired a whole generation of my family.

After this keen observation, I edged to point where I couldn't take it further and closed the cupboard. This was when I realised the profound impact she had on my life.