My Dada Dadi...My first sweethearts
This post is a tribute to my paternal grandparents. They are no more in this world. But I remember them all the time. Its not that I particularly decided to write something about them on Grandparents' Day ie 10th of this month. I am a person who does not believe in celebrating a single day dedicated to love (Valentines), parents (Fathers and Mothers Day) or birthdays even. I feel that love and gratitude should be showered all year round. But somehow this year, Grandparent's Day seemed to be the perfect excuse to mention them on the blog.
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| I am the one in Dadi's lap (in pink sweater) |
Since they are no more I can't plan anything special with them. I. however can dream about the countless anecdotes full of love and pampering for me.
My Dada and Dadi were conventionally opposite. By that I mean my Dadi was strict while my Dada was lenient. Usually its the opposite in most households. I have always been brought up by strong women; be it my Dadi, Mom or my Didi. Anyways, the point is that my Dadi had a set of strict houserules that everyone had to abide by. Since both of my parents were working, I was primarily taken care by them. And hence I had to bear the wrath of my Dadi's strictness. 😜
Her rules were countless but I would mention only those that used to affect me or I used to dread. The most dreaded one was her rule of taking a bath daily even in the midst of harsh winters. Food won't be served if bath is not taken. Second was that one had to change into fresh clothes after visit to the washroom. I mean Number two here..Duh! Maybe that was God's way of preparing me for my married life (my wife is a Hitler when it comes to houserules!) She needed a lavish spread in every meal. Also she used to take a lot of salt in her diet. Having said all this, she was very caring nonetheless. She was hard from outside but really tender within.
On the other hand, my Dadaji was pretty chilled out and pampering all the time. Whenever Dadi used to come after me for some unknown wrong deed on my part, Dadaji used to come to my rescue. Often he would take the cover for me by saying that he had done it or used to signal me to flee off to the playground to escape her wrath. I was particularly moved by his tender care on one fine cold day.
It was December end and the chill had been at its worst. The sun had not shown its face since weeks. Still then I had to take bath everyday; I was really small then.
One day I really did not feel like touching the water. But I was terribly hungry. Since it was against the rules; it meant no lunch for me till I took a shower. I was too scared to confront Dadi.
My Dadaji gave me a killer idea. He asked me to go to the bathroom and splash water from the bucket; mug by mug. He also asked me to scream that the water is too cold and act shivering. The last advice was that I should change my clothes before emerging out from the bathroom.
And then I did exactly what he said. After draining a few mugs noisily and shivering, my Dadi came banging on the bathroom door shrieking : Monu stop taking bath! The chill will kill you!
Now I was in a fix. I was fully clothed; not a drop wet. I did not know what to do; whether to change my clothes and then open the door or to come out clean. What struck me the most was how deeply caring she was. A woman of such a rigid nature bent all her rules for her beloved grandson! #Lovejatao the other way round! Too bad I was too small to do anything for them!
I wish both of them were here to see how me and my Didi became doctors and fulfilled their dreams! I miss them every moment. I wish I could make them feel special everyday; especially this Grandparents' Day!
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