Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Ode to grandma...

An old one, got reminded as the anniversary nears....

She left me with her flowers and
her roof top garden with its spinache and carrots.
But she forgot to take our evenings in the terrace together,
the smell of her cotton sarees and
the sound of my name the way she pronounced it.

She left me with the taste of her pickles and stories of moral
and a set of holy books in her closet.
But forgot to take her worn out gold bangles and
the touch of her bony soft hands on my head.

She left me a red wollen sweater
all knit by hand for months together.
But forgot to take her glasses by the cot
and her white shawl in the bed.

She left her warm smile
and the holy beads, her companion for awhile
I am saving them all
as I expect her to return by the fall.

26 comments:

Ramana KV said...

Very nice and touching..

Prasad said...

kalakare da mama ne!

Nautankey said...

Ramana
Thanks a ton.And welcome to this page :)

Pras
Thank o gentleman

Bhargavi said...

reminded me of my grandma ..very well written..

Anonymous said...

:)

Nautankey said...

Bargavi,
Hope our grandkids too remember us :)

Swat
:) too..hee hee

Anonymous said...

so cuute ..as a lateborn i wasnt fortunate enough to have much of grandparents affection.!

sansmerci said...

and how does ur grandma pronounce ur name?

Nautankey said...

verby,
It's fun with them around..make sure to hand around till you become a grandparent :)

swarna,
Surely not as nautankey :P.

Meher :) said...

Sweeeeet :)

Ruth said...

I would be honored to be remembered this way by a grandson, if I am lucky enough to have one some day (soon maybe, in a few years?). It's really lovely.

vimmuuu said...

Have always been away from them. But the poem is a touching one buddy !

Waterfox said...

great!
You know what is the fondest memory I have of my grandma? She used to cut sugarcane into edible-size pieces for me. Like the ones u get in Reliance Fresh these days :)

Tarun Goel said...

This time [it] was greaatttttttttt.
I rmiss my grandfather, didn't even see him, he lost his breath when I was born :)

Nautankey said...

sinds
Thank youss :)

Ruth
i am pretyt sure you will be rememebred better by your grandkids,just as the way u write about ur grandma and her prized possessions.We will be havin them writing about you :)

Nautankey said...

Vimmuuu
Thank you.Though ur away from them I am sure they wud have longed for ur photos and to hear u over the phones [luxury those days though]

Abhishek
thats so sweet...they always want us to have things easily.I had the flesh of pam fruti served in plates,no need for scooping them out.

Nautankey said...

Tarun
Thank you.And dont worry you will make a good grandpa :)

Ruth said...

I hope my grandkids will go to India. Actually I hope I will go to India.

sansmerci said...

i kno that was bad attempt :( but u cudve answered still...

Nautankey said...

Swarna,
It's a short form of my name :)

Anonymous said...

totally love it... i am suddenly feeling so nostalgic...

Arun Ramkumar said...

excellent piece indeed, mate !

try and give a listen to Robbie William's 'Nan's song'...

Nautankey said...

Praddy,
:) means??

alice,
Good to know it made u nostalgic :) but nostalgic abt ur grandmom or ur grandkids :P

arun
Thank you sir :)...will check that out

state of mind? said...

thats a really nostalgic one...lost my grand pa a few days ago...it hurts.

Anonymous said...

reminded me of my grandma,

frail and fragile she was
but gave us a lot of warmth
in her bony embrace!

We miss her a lot!

very nicely written and straight from heart!

Nautankey said...

stateofmind,
Condolences...knows how it hurts. Takes time to realize they are no more by the side.And everytime the realization strikes it pains more.


sahaja,
Thank you.And yeah my grandma too was bony but did so much work. Never got tired.