A glass of milk and a piece of toast. Hair tied tight, coz they grow long faster that way. Eyes wide open in amazement. The smell of green mangoes spread all around us. Pickle being made. A white saree and white hair. Demons with body of a human and head of an animal raging a fearsome battle.
My Grandmother and her innumerable stories! She is the best cook in the world and the best storyteller too. I remember distictly… I used to forget to swallow my food coz I was so enraptured by the tales.
I’m sure all grandmothers are the best when it comes to food and stories. I am still extremely fond of the days I spent with my Granny. Days when you don’t do much, read nothing, Eat all the great things i the world and listen to her telling you how she went to play in the wild. How she spent her childhood in the lush green tea estates in East Bengal. How she was favored by the ‘English Babus’ and had Brit friends. I am so intrigued by these stories, I can keep listening to them for eternity.
My Gran is a lady who has never had formal education. Nevertheless she is proficiennt in 3 languages. She reads Shakespeare, keeps a dictionary with her so she can check the meaning of any unfamiliar word, asks questions about anything she feels is new. She is well versed in Bengali literature.
Some stories inspire thoughts, others remind us of forgotten days.. yet others like the one I read today… I think it was amazing!
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I miss mine too… I missed out on knowin her and now well, it aint a possibility anymore..
P.S We need to meet…