Grandma Tales

 
“Whom do you like the most? Your father or your mother?”
This was (and is I guess) a cliched question people asked children. When they used to ask me, I used to think just for a moment and say,
“My Ammamma.”
That is what I call my Grandma. I had been thinking of starting a section on my Grandma in my blog for a long time. But I just didn’t know where to begin. The other day, I posted something relating to her on Facebook and my friends Neetu and Smisha requested me the same thing.
This was the very same day when the Bloggers’ friend Blogchatter announced the #MyFriendAlexa campaign and I was looking for a theme for the campaign. The requests and the campaign were well timed and it seemed like an opportunity to make my wish come true; Starting a section on Ammamma. And so, here I begin The Grandma Tales section!

Grandmothers are visible angels with invisible wings, silver hair, and oodles of cuteness. Have you noticed how stories with Grandmothers are always heart warming?
Ammamma is this adorable surprise package with stories galore! She is funny, smart, hardworking, charming, lovable & a cleanliness freak!!! Ahh… She is much more. She has a painful past, yet the twinkle in her eyes never fades. She has been a strong woman and even in her old age, she stands tall and fights her back pains away! It goes something like,

“Ammamma, stop doing all these unnnecessary chores!”, I’d say. She has to keep doing some job all the time. She can’t sit still.
“I don’t like seeing things like this!”, she’d point at a pretty well arranged cupboard in the kitchen.”
“I am the one doing it. What is your problem? You go study!”, she would shoot.

And that is how she fights her pains 😀
As far as my memory goes, she has been a silver-haired, huggable angel always smelling of Vicco turmeric, Mysore Sandal soap, Ponds talc and home. She is this fuzzy feeling you get when you see babies, puppies and everything loving, nice & cute.
My Tranquilizer
When I am with her, I forget all my worries and I know I am alright. She is like a walking tranquilizer. One hug and there is peace. It is as though she has the power to ward off all my inner turmoils.
Some nights, I go to her room, climb onto her bed and there is a space on her bed that is mine. I find that space, lie down, curl up and snuggle up to her. She’ll either tousle my hair and tell me how I never tie my hair and how bad that is for my hair or run her palm on my hand, find a rash and admonish me for not applying oil on my body. And those few moments are enough to just flush out the entire day’s stress. I always feel I never do enough of that these days due to my studies.
My Naughty Teddy Bear
Do you know what makes her beautiful? Her wrinkles. They are these lines of perfection that make her, her! I can’t imagine her without them.They are so soft, I can’t resist hugging her and kissing her. Man! She hates that. The moment I’m out of eyeshot, she wipes her cheeks. If I see, she’d say,
“I don’t like that, with a sheepish smile.”
Um… she doesn’t do that anymore, though. Maybe that’s because I kiss her and wipe her cheek for her. 😀
I also pull her cheeks and say “Ammamma kuttyyyy!” in a high-pitched voice. She loves that, but never admits it. She’ll feign pain and say, “Even though you’re thin, you are too strong. My cheek hurts. Stop doing that!” and sure enough, there will be a smile that she’d be trying to hide.
It took us a while to understand that she was in fact secretly enjoying many of the things we did for her, while denying them all. She could be a puzzle sometimes. But that is what makes her, her. All those pranks, pretences, love and the care she gives us. Knowing the value of Grandparents, I’d say go spend some time with them today. I’ll do that too. And for those of you who miss having grandparents, I hope you enjoy these posts and that they fill at least an inch of that space. Until next time;
Love.

You can read the stories about Ammamma under the Category ‘Grandma Tales’ which you’ll find on the right side of this page. (Scroll down! Scroll down! 😀 ) If you don’t find it, just leave a comment and I’ll get back to you. If you love my ‘Grandma Tales’, again please leave a comment and I’ll be grinning ear to ear and replying! 🙂
I am taking my alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter
My current Global Alexa Rank is 22,06,315. Gotta lose them like losing weight. 😉