Dahlia orchids vins
There are many bonds a person goes through in life. Some are connected by blood, some by formal neets, some that are created from having similar interests and some that come and go like the winds. Some are the type to make you feel cozy while others make you want to disappear from the face of the earth like you never existed. But some are truly endearing. It’s a connection that goes beyond the human sense of logic and reasoning. It’s something that binds the soul and hearts of two people into an unbreakable bond that one would prioritize over anything including their life.
For me, one such precious bond is the bond I have with my grandma. My Nani holds her very own spacious mansion in my heart. She really said ” I am going to go there and carve out a cozy little spot for myself”. Growing up I spent a lot of my time with my grandma. She is there in every innocent lively naive memory of my childhood. In every joyful moment I see my grandma with her beautiful smile that would have her eyes turned into half-moons as all her sweet dimples came to light up the show. Oh my lovely solitaire your presence is pure divine like a mighty shrine to a peasant working as the winds travel by. She loves me so much that I feel a weird sense of responsibility and comfort around her.
Cooking is my grandma’s love language; wherever I would head to her place she would cook my favourites which always include her famous tomatoes. Let me tell you she cooks so well that even if it was spicy you would continue eating because it’s just too good to let go off. I am a picky-eater when it comes to home cooked meals and my standard has always been my grandma’s cooking.
She is my safe place which makes me feel free and secure. One of my vivid and most cherished childhood memories is that grandma had a vegetable garden where she would grow all sorts of veggies like peas, turnips etc but my favorite would be the corns and I would get so excited when it was the time of harvest because those freshly grilled corns just hit different. I would sometimes, not all the time, sometimes steal the corn and eat them raw. Now I thought I was a sly little girl but my grandma knew me like the back of her hand. She always knew I was hiding in the corner munching on the baby corn but she never scolded me for it. Sometimes she would join me because my grubby little hands couldn’t peel off the husk properly
We would go on these trips to the market to get groceries and she would buy me small snacks that my parents wouldn’t allow me. I remember she would buy them and put a finger to her lips as she smiled and said “eat up quickly and don’t tell anyone”. Even now these memories melt my heart and it feels like it was yesterday. She would spoil me rotten with love and care and save me from getting into trouble multiple times.
Nowadays, I can’t visit her much often but anytime I do she would welcome me with a big old hug and all my favorite goodies. We would have these long chats about how my schoolmates are absolutely nuts or how all these fruit sellers think that because they say something is exotic we will buy it for higher prices. Or we would be lost in watching a new series, trying to guess what will happen only for us to get bamboozled by the character we thought was a very nice person. Yes my native language speaking skills are non-existent and everytime I speak Kashmiri it sounds like I would offend a whole bloodline of ancestors, My grandma would never complain. She would nod along as we talked and giggle whenever I misspoke a word or managed to crack a joke or two. I don’t know if she is laughing because she understood what I said or if she is laughing because of my horrid accent and we would probably never get to know each other.
They say that grandparents are a blessing and I couldn’t agree more. Grandma you really do bless my life with lots of joy and happiness which I can’t explain. I love you from the depths of my heart and I want you to know that you are one of the most beloved, precious and royal gems of my life. May Allah bless you, may He listen to your every prayer and may He keep you with me throughout my journey here. I love you Nani
