Chapter 1: The Portrait of a Lady

The grandmother of the author was a deeply religious person. This can be known from the different ways of her behaviour. Every morning, she visited the temple and read the scriptures. She always mumbled inaudible prayers at home and kept telling the rosary beads. She constantly repeated prayers like a song while helping the author get ready for school. She wished that the author would learn it by heart. She did not like the English school as there was no teaching of scriptures and God.

She would recite prayers even while spinning in her spinning wheel. Once, she forgot to say her prayers. Prior to her death, she felt over-excited in the evening while celebrating her grandson’s arrival with beatings of drums and songs. She continued telling beads of rosary and praying till her last breath.

The author was entirely dependent on his grandmother during his boyhood. She was an important part of his life. However, a turning point came in their friendship when they moved to the city. As he went to school by bus, she was not able to accompany him. She could not help him in his studies though they shared the same room. She used to ask him what his teachers taught him and did not believe in the things which were taught at school. She was pained that he was not taught about scriptures and God. As music was being taught, she felt offended and expressed her disapproval silently. She rarely spoke to the author after this. The link of their friendship was snapped as he was given a separate room when he went to the university. However, their feelings towards each other did not change. They loved one another deeply. When he left the country and moved abroad for higher studies, she went to the railway station to send him off. She quietly kissed his forehead and showed no emotion. This was valued by the author as it was the last sign of physical interaction between them. After five years, when the author returned, she received him at the station. She clasped the author in her arms and celebrated his homecoming in the evening by beating an old drum and singing songs.

Yes, I agree that the grandmother of the author was a person with a strong character. She was a woman with strong beliefs. Though she was not educated formally, she was serious about the education of the author. She was not able to adjust herself to the western lifestyle, English and Science education. She did not like music and disapproved of its teaching in schools.

She was a religious woman whose lips were always moving in a silent prayer and was telling the beads of her rosary. She daily went to the temple and read scriptures. When she got to know that there was no teaching of scriptures and God at New English School of Khushwant, she was distressed.

She was a kind woman who used to feed the dogs in the village. She was feeding sparrows in the city. Though weak in body and old in age, she had a strong mind. She refused to talk to the family members before her death as she was not ready to waste her time. She wanted to make up the time she did not pray to God the previous evening. She laid peacefully in bed telling the beads of rosary and saying prayers until her last breath.

Yes, my grandfather had looked after me and loved me deeply. Before retirement, he served in the army 20 years as a Colonel. He was still smart and active when I was a school-going kid. He was more interested in jogging, walking and playing games outdoors. He used to inspire us by waking up early in the morning. He believed that a healthy body comes from a healthy mind. He taught us a few physical exercises followed by nourishing food and milk and asked us to study for some time before going to school. He used to enquire about what we had been taught at school, in the afternoon. He helped us while doing our homework and supervised our writing, reading and solving problems. He was gentle, but firm and stressed on the building of good character and habits. When I left the country for higher studies, he passed away. When I see his photograph on the wall, a sense of loss fills my heart. But his looks cheer me to stay strong and fight the struggles of life.