Being the youngest of Ram Piyari’s clan unfortunately I cannot remember much of my Nani. I do recall some incident which as youngsters we used to find it funny. Let’s see what I remember:
I used to be scared of her.
When I walked home from school, if I saw her sitting on the front steps reading dharmic books, I would run as fast as my little legs would carry me so that she doesn’t see me. But of course she had eagle’s eyes and would yell out to stop and go and talk to her. Which of course I always did with shaking knees. She would always give me money and jamun and you wont believe me, instead of thanking her I would run back home as fast as I could.
Sometime she would ask me to get her a glass of water from her bed room – I was scared to go in her bedroom and would sweat all the way in and out of her bedroom. The worst part was the kitchen. I always thought it was a creepy place to be in with all the jamun trees at the back. It was eerie. This is what it seemed to a 9/10 year old.
She walked with walking stick which always made a distinct ‘tik tok’ sound on the wooden floor.
Sometimes when we had gone to bed but carry on with the giggles and laughter in the 4 corner mosquito netting bed, we would hear the ‘tik tok’ sound and would pretend to be asleep. She would come in our room and with her walking pull up the mosquito net. And tell us to stop making noise and sleep.
I always saw her in white ‘lahenga and kurta and odhni’- I suppose the latest version of this dress code would be ghagra.choli?
I don’t have any other memories. It is a pity now that I am a mother, ,mother – in – law to be some time, I would love to know what my mother and my Nani were like – i.e. what common gene/characteristic I share with them. I am getting more and more involved with religious activities and always wonder if this is something I inherited from my father or my mother. I will never know