Photo: Shreeya Pandey

I see myself as a fortunate person as I was born and brought up in a joint family. The members of my family share a good bond with one another and the one thing that bonds us all together to maintain a good relationship is affection. Among all the members of my family, I shared a beautiful and strong bond with my grandpa. Walking down the memory lane, I vividly remember my childhood days when I used to spend a lot of time sleeping on my grandfather’s lap. To this date, I remember the song he used to sing in order to put me to sleep but then instead of trying to sleep, as a naughty child, I would start playing with my feet and giggle which would ultimately irritate him. Nonetheless, my grandpa would smile back at me and I would further chuckle. As a kid, I used to be frequently asked, “Who do you love the most in your family?” Without any hesitation and with innocence, I used to answer “My Grandpa” and quickly look at him to see his smiling face. Also, I remember imitating some words from his conversation with other people, which would eventually get me scolded by my parents. However, my grandpa would defend me, telling my parents “She is just a kid. Kids do behave in such a manner. Please don’t rebuke her.” I was always grateful to him for such kind words. During my school days, whenever I faced difficulties in my studies, my grandpa used to guide me. Writing essays was always a tough task for me and every time I had to write one, I used to get headaches, but then, my grandpa was there to guide me and sometimes, he even wrote the entire essay for me. Apart from writing essays, he helped me with English vocabularies and general knowledge as well. He used to spend most of his time watching CNN, BBC news; so, if I wanted to get any information about the current affairs of the world, I used to ask him. Growing up with grandpa has always been fun and memorable. As I got older, our bond got stronger. We used to talk to each other for a long time about our family, friends, and relatives. I used to ask my grandpa’s younger brother about the crazy things he did during his childhood as grandpa didn’t talk much about his childhood days. Ultimately, I would tease him on that matter. It was fun to see his “don’t tease me anymore” face. As my grandpa grew older, his eyesight became weaker; whenever we went out for family gatherings or parties, I used to hold his hand while walking and stay with him throughout the party. The people around would complement this and in one of such parties, one of our relatives even addressed me as “grandfather’s little granddaughter.” It was really heart-warming to hear such words. All these reminiscences make my heart heavier as my grandpa is not here with me anymore. All I am left with are the memories of the past. I miss being with him, sharing my feelings, and thoughts with him. Sometimes, I really wish that he could come back to us again but then I realize there is nothing that I can do except accepting the fact that he is not here with us. Wherever you are grandpa, I hope you are resting in peace. I will never forget your abiding influence in my life and I am sure you will always be there in my heart, reminding me of life’s greatest and smallest blessings. Your family will always remember you in their prayers and love you forever.  Thank you for being such an awesome grandpa.