Of uncles, aunties, cousins and my dear Grandma

In twenty four years of my existence I must apologize that they are the people whom I have least interacted with.Infact in the jigsaw of close relations, I had my friends...my parents... But relatives never found a place in the puzzle...
I might be among the rare category of people who hardly interact with cousins except for ceremonial reasons. Maybe it’s just that circumstances dint help or maybe I was just happy to share my space with friends whom I count closer than my cousins. Being children of govt servants myself and bro stayed away from native place. So it was only during the yearly summer vacations I got to meet my kinships. The worst part was I hardly meet them for a few days in a year and am supposed to behave like emotionally bonded souls.

I had a tilt towards folks from mom’s side which still continues as I had cousins of similar age. So we had our usual fun and frolic those days but since grown older it shifted to more of exchanging pleasantries and niceties. And my uncles were always playing cards or politikgossiping and enjoyed their nice little time with a bottle of military whisky. Generally their enquires where clichéd and usually pertaining to where I stood in my class. After all they knew that was a nice question to end any conversation before it even started... The part I enjoyed a lot was the delicious “naadan” food that was served everytime we went there...Infact my aunts had “professional” satisfaction when we showered praise on the dishes that they came up with... They were a uncomplaining lot and more pre occupied with the next meal for the day...

Someone whom I enjoyed meeting everytime was my grandma....She watches “weepy-creepy” Malayalam serials which I absolutely detest...has a passion for sermons of the priest in my nearby church which I find absolutely boring...has a keen interest in explaining how a nice pickle combination is made which I just love lick smacking down with out any profound interest in the actual manufacturing process ...So our passions don’t exactly match for a conversation. .

But there are things she talks which are absolutely interesting like what my mom was like when she was a kid...or what my grown up “soda glass uncles” were like fifty years back, when they were proficient tree climbers rather than bank managers and lecturers which they are now... or something about my late grandpa’s heroics in card games...
Man... These are stories more interesting than any Dan brown novel or a B grade flick...

I enjoy times with grandma reasons of which are inexplicable...Maybe it was the two years when she took care of me when I was a toddler or maybe it’s due to Hindi movie inspired “blood-relation-bond syndrome”.

Times have changed...and unlike years back when I used to visit grandma rarely during those yearly trips, I get to meet her often since she is just a four hour drive from me in Bangalore...Although not in the best of health now I just cant stop admiring her drive and sprightliness...She makes a point to get my favourite dishes whenever I visit her...She still amuses her great grandchildren with lullabies...And last time when I met her I was surprised when she enquired about a recent one day match. But then my aunt said that she watches more cricket than most of us...My grandma is ready to climb all the stairs up with her arthritis inflicted legs to watch any match as passionately as any freak would do. She watches pogo channel along with her grandchildren and laughs her heart out with the same kid like vigor. I absolutely admire her in these days of “diet control”, “stress busting drugs” and “multitasking lifestyle”...She absolutely lived her life....And I happen to love the old way...