My Grandma's Lesson - {Silver Sunday Story Writing Competition 2020 (WINNING ENTRY)}

Written by: Anushree,  Interviewee: S Bhave, Relation: Grandmother (mum's mum),  Age: 71, Audio call,  Amersham and Airoli

Anushree smiling from ear-to-ear

 

I ran down the stairs to find my grandma waiting in the hall.

"Did you call me?” I asked.

"Yes. I did. I want you to know about my life. How many other people will remember about it when I die? Come, sit." she replied.

I sat down next to her, and she began her story.

"I was born on the 25th of October 1949, in India. I had a large family - my mum, dad, me and my nine sisters all lived in the same house. I had a good childhood and a good education. I played and laughed a lot. When I finished school, I went to study at GS College of Science, Arts and Commerce. In college, I was part of all the athletics teams - I played so much. I miss being able to leap and run like I used to. I can't do much now, because of my knee injury, but that doesn't mean I don't want to. I remember I did long jump, relay, and ran 100-metre races. I also played kho-kho and badminton. I'm still good at badminton. Bet I could beat you."

"Really?" I asked, slightly offended and scared of being beaten. I feigned confidence. "How much do you want to bet?"

"Ha! You were never good at acting dear, act normal now."

I relaxed and let out a sigh, then saw I had been caught out and rolled my eyes, annoyed at how often my grandma was right.

"So as I was saying," she continued, "I had a lot of fun in college. I always wondered and played with my friends - I had a fun-loving nature. I was generally active and also cycled a lot. It was great fun while it lasted. I soon graduated from college and then took up embroidery. I sewed wonderful patterns with both my hands and machines. Then came the big change in my life. I got married to your grandpa. He was an electrical engineer. We travelled around a lot because he got transferred very often, and soon I had seen the whole of Maharastra and had made friends across the state. Your mother knows the rest - you can ask her if you want to know."

"Ok. But why did you tell me all this? Nothing interesting happened in your life."

"Ah, this is exactly what I wanted to teach you. Every decision I have mad has impacted an unprecedented number of people. I have sewn masks and hospital gowns for numerous hospitals and charities. I stayed at home and still earned a good amount of money while my husband was away. Each person, each being carries a lifetime of emotions and unseen burdens that you may never know about. Each life is special and different. People may make you feel insignificant by bragging, but you have so much to be proud of. So don't judge someone because they got second place - congratulate them for trying to win. And be proud of yourself."