Grandmaa.....

Imagine you do a schooling only till class 2 . Then you get married at a mere age of 16 and have a child the very next year. You then become a mother every couple of years for the next 12-14 years, some of your children survive, some are still-born and a couple of others are consumed by epidemics. Your husband has hardly sufficient money to meet the monthly expenses, yet you have to manage the upbringing of  all your children to the best you can, and then you get them married one by one and have grandchildren, and you take care of each one of them, at times even better than their moms can! As if your life has just one purpose - to serve your children and grandchildren. But, things don't end here. There are these clashes and fictions of joint family that happen, the children you raised with your sweat and blood separate from one another, the grandchildren grow up and go their own ways, you grow older and older, enduring all this, taking into your lap whatever life has to offer, without complaining, without leaving the zeal to live and to make the life of people around you better through your care and love….how does it feel imagining yourself in this kind of a situation? Melodramatic? Out of the world? It does feel like that to me. If I had such a life, either I would have abandoned it or  I would have gone insane.

Sadly, its not something over-dramatic or imagined or exaggerated. It’s the life bestowed upon a Grandma, it’s the life she lead for the past 80+ years. But I am not writing it out here so that you have pity for her, I am writing It out to justify why she is one of the greatest inspirations in my life, why she deserves a salutation from all the women out there, I am writing this to bring to fore the beauty of her great personality and that of numerous other Grannies like her.

A life which me and you can't even think of, which we would loath, which would drive us mad and crazy, to lead such a life, and not just lead, to maintain your integrity throughout your life - is something more than commendable. That's what this grandma did. Never once I remember her loosing her integrity through all the ups and downs of life, never did I see her compromise on her values, however hard it was for her.

If she had a single penny with her, she would make sure to spend it equally among her children, if she had a single piece of bread, she would divide it equally for them. She had no grudge against any of them, even if they ignored her needs at times. She would feed the whole family and eat at last. Every time any one of her children needed her support or for the matter of fact, anyone's support, she would be there standing besides them, even without they asking for it explicitly. I remember when her daughter-in-law was ill and they had to take her to another city for treatment, none of the brothers or sisters had come forth to go with them, but grandma was there for her son and daughter in law. When a grandchild was alone at home, she would be there to take care of him or her. When they went to study far from home, the day they would come home, where ever she would be,even when old and unable to walk so much, still she would come over to meet them. When all her sons were settled except the youngest, she lived with him, taking care of him- saying to other children - "my youngest son needs me the most, you all are settled, until  he is settled, my prime duty is to take care of him". She used to do all the household work and then attend all the society events as well.

When a cat had abandoned its kitten , a newborn just a few days old, in the backyard and the children were trying to feed it in vein, she came with a box filled with cotton, placed the kitten into it and then fed it through a cotton ball, squeezing milk into its mouth. The kitten survived and 3 days later its mother took it with her.

I had seen silent tears rolling down her cheek the day her joint family had broken, but she had not uttered a word. The very next day she was her usual self , going through her daily chores, she had accepted the big blow in her life with such calm. 

If I continue writing about such incidences where her composed personality, her love her compassion for her family touched me deep down..its going to be the longest blog ever written. So, I don't want to squeeze in all the details here...let some reside in the core of my heart … :) 

When I face little problems in life, when the loved ones around me fail to meet my expectations on petty matters, I feel frustrated, sometimes furious. Then at times I think about this Grandma, and it gives me so much strength. I don’t need to look forward to any special Saint or holy person to get the inspiration on spiritual aspects of life, on selflessness and true love, when I have her to look up to. If she can do it, she can be so loving, caring, composed and giving all through the hardships that life endured upon her, each one of us can be … and the world would be so much more beautiful if each one of us could learn something from a personality like her.