A proud granddaughter

When my grandmother passed away. I wrote a really emotional piece about it almost immediately. It affected me a way that I tried to describe in words but I doubt I could do justice to the actual feeling.

It has been 6 months since my grandfather passed away. I know you must be wondering why I am writing this 6 months later. Was I not upset enough before? Was I not affected by his death? 

Well it so happens that today would have been his birthday. he would have been 88. I always felt proud that my birthday was just 2 days after him. It made me feel closer to him. That and the fact that I, being the first grandchild of the house was definitely the most pampered, even by him. I like to believe that even though I didn't inherit his nose, I did inherit certain other traits from him. 

He was quite the disciplinarian. Always woke up early, went about his duties of tending to Ganesha first, and then the garden, meticulously practised shorthand for as long as he could, religiously avoided the television except for the 8pm news, and went to bed by 9pm at the max. We heard stories of his famous temper but being the grandchildren we were never subjected to it. 

He was quite methodical in his daily activities, like the puja done for the Ganesha just outside the house. That puja was a huge part of his daily routine and well when we were in town, we would all fight over who would get to do the puja on his behalf. The condition was simple- you had to wake up early and have a bath before my grandpa got everything ready for the puja. Being the eldest grandchild, I liked to assume that it was my prerogative to be chosen to do it. But that;s not how it worked.
Now mind you, if you had to do the puja, it had to be done his way. You could NOT change the order in which he did it. Cleaning, washing, drying, redressing and then finally lighting the karpooram (camphor). It had to be done the exact way he would do it, and he would watch you like a hawk as you performed the whole routine. 

Lunch at 10am, that is the other thing that had to be followed very strictly. I know this is a concept beyond comprehension for any one who is not from a traditional Tam Bram family. No breakfast, just lunch at 10am and then tiffen at 3pm and dinner at 7,30pm. Well it makes sense, I mean heavy breakfast, light lunch and lightest dinner. Sorry, I digress. 

Today, being his birthday, I realise I do miss him more than I have expressed. I look at my cousins, my sister and myself, and I see various aspects of my thatha in each of us- being strong, hardworking, methodical, meticulous, the infamous rage, taking the responsibility of overlooking any work that needs to be done in the house, sincerely practising whatever skills we have, and oh yes, our command over English. He certainly left us with a rich inheritance.