He stepped out of the train, and felt a rush of happiness. He always felt that way when he arrived in L. The place presented him with a sense of belonging and warmth that was almost a rarity to find; or so he claimed a few times when he spoke about his visits to L! But the truth couldn’t be ignored and it reflected in his eyes every time he did speak about his trips to L, that his heart felt at ease, his mind at peace and if it was not too much to say, he felt connected with himself a lot more whenever in L.
And, it felt exactly the same this time around too. He stepped onto the platform, put on his jumper and the cool breeze that was gently brushing against his face brought a lot of smiles. He was thinking of her. He would meet her the first thing whenever in L. It was almost 9pm and he knew, although she would be readying the dinner table her eyes would constantly be on the corner of that lane, eagerly waiting for him to appear there. He also knew she would wait until she catches a glimpse of him there at the turn but only to quickly trace her glance back to setting the dishes on the table. His smile broadened a little more when he guessed exactly what she would have prepared for dinner – his favourite dish, Prawns cooked in butter, garlic, lemon juice and parsley, served with fresh crusty bread. He couldn’t get enough of it, and she would never get tired of preparing the same dish every time he came to visit her.
He took the turn, and casually looked around the place. All so familiar and yet he always felt excited about coming back here. The rush of happiness made his cheeks pink, and he was smiling broadly than ever. He opened the gate, walked towards the door, and there she was – standing at the patio, her signature apron tied around her waist and arms wide open with the warmest smile one could possibly exude. “Hi Grandma!” – he said and hugged her like a kid. A-tight-hug-and-a-tiny-peck later, she looked back at him and said, “…was the journey okay?”, adding with a smile, “…ready for dinner now?”.
His Grandpa was standing by the stairs, and he always made sure he was at home whenever the grandson was to come. Their connection was unique, for each grew up with the other and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I called one the reflection of another.
As they sat around the table for dinner, the conversation drifted along sprinkled with laughter…; and if I were to ask you to imagine yourself as an audience to a film, I would probably zoom out of the window and leave the three to their bliss.
…but, clearly, I want to write more. And a writer’s pen wields more, we know that. So sit back and continue reading.
I am reminded of a forward email I read a long time back, “you know you grew up in India in the 90’s because:” and it goes on to list about 75 reasons; one of them being, “…because: Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents.” Mine have been so one hundred percent. We would always catch the early morning train and travel for a day to come visit my grandparents for two months. The only adjective that can be used to describe each one of my stays, and each of the things that I have done during my stay, which included a whole lot of eating is: ‘awesome’. What is it about them that is so endearing I wonder, to myself and in rare cases, in a blog post like this. Perhaps, it is the ability to absorb all our emotions, unconditionally, and exude to us only the kindness, fondness and unbounded love that makes them so much more special and warm to reach out to. It is the smile they put on our faces, every single time we look at them.
I am missing my grandparents right now, and although I cannot reach out to any of them physically, I hope to send my wishes, hugs and love to them and I know – no matter how Bollywood-ish it sounds – that they would smile back at me. Take a step back from your busy life, and give your Grandma, Grandpa a call or write them a letter, or just give them a thought – for I know (and you’d agree), we brighten up their lives as much as they do ours.
The152Girl 