Exhausted, from the tedious Chemistry practical, she waited
anxiously inside the school premises, for her transport to arrive. From behind
the long bars of the school gate, that separated the huge institution and the
outside world, she spotted a scene, which stirred her emotions. A helpless looking,
old skinny man was seated beside his young aged and energetic grandson. It gave
her a certain sense of serenity. Others might have just overlooked the sight,
but it appealed to her. It brought to her memories of her long dead
grandfather.
Busy with our mundane
routine, we seldom have time to look back to our past life. Although, such happenings
usually shape our personality, we often deny their existence in our daily life.
The existence of grandparents in our life may not sound as interesting or appealing
to us, but to her it meant a lot.
A seven year old child’s
brain might not hold many memories of her childhood. But all she could recall was
the time spent with her grandfather. He
had always been a source of admiration for her. A tall statured army man, a
disciplinarian and an always loving and caring attitude towards the family members,
was enough, to mesmerize her. Though a
strict person by nature, he had a soft, very soft corner for her granddaughter.
He had always been an intent listener to her stupid talks, always quenching the
thirst of her curious mind.
She could recall the times, when he brought her back from school, always
treating her with candies and her other favorites. She loved sitting on his lap for hours to come,
just to update him about the present day. Sitting on the dining table beside
him was her favorite part of the day.
She was his princess, and she loved being so.
Unfortunately, all good things
do come to an end so did her relationship with her grandfather end. Still fresh
in her memory is that day, the day her grandfather left for his heavenly abode.
It took her time to realize the fact that her grandfather was no more alive. On
getting the sad news, the house was in a chaos, and in a state of total mess,
she stood still. She didn’t weep, nor did she feel bad. But as soon as she saw
her grandfather’s dead body in front of her eyes, it seemed as if all hell
broke loose. The sight of her grandfather , laying still with ‘tulsi’ leaves on
his eyes, seemed to move her. While her grandmother, beat her breast and others
couldn’t stop bawling, she turned oblivious to everything. She had never expected
to see him in such a condition. Tears welled up her eyes, and she couldn’t
control herself. She simply couldn’t accept the fact that her grandfather would
no longer be with her. That night she cried to bed, and dreamt of her
grandfather, not just that night, but for the following month, she kept
dreaming of him.
“Death is either of the two things. Either it is an annihilation, or the
dead have no consciousness of anything, or as we are told, it is really a
change; a migration of the soul from this place to another”, said the wise
Socrates. To hold view with the second condition, she just wished, that in a
parallel universe, her grandfather, also missed her as much as she did.
