Our Grand Pa

Our Grandpa had arrived from Bangladesh. He was going to stay for a month or so with us. My brother and me were not that familiar with him. Having spent most of our years in Iran, with mom and dad, we were not much close with our grand pa or any of our relatives, whom so ever. We were infact too little, too immature to understand the significance of relatives, how ever close they might be. Infact, till today I get confused as to who should my cousin and who should my niece.

My brother and me, we both had our annual exams knocking on our door. I was in class VIII and my brother in VI. He used to be such a small, little, sweet fellow then. Quite shy and introvert of a boy, but yet he used to be very rude and head strong at times, which he maintains till today. We had a daily routine of going to school together, sharing the same umbrella throughout the season. (I personally still cherish those days of innocence.)

Our Grandpa was a peculiar sort of a person. He used to talk a lot, resembled my father in his looks, and ate a lot, too. I remember how my mother had to toil hard in the kitchen throughout the day just to keep him content with his meals. He had thick eye brows which drooped over his eyes, sparse hair on his head, his cheek bones were protruding, his teeth all red due to years of chewing betel leaf, his lips were wrinkled and with a dark brown complexion, he almost ended up looking like a real life devil.

Before all my exams, be it my terminal or my annual ones, I always had a dream. I dreamt that I had come first in my class, I was standing on top of everyone, and everyone is applauding for me, even my dearest of rivals. It felt so proud of a moment and I used to wake up with full of expectations. But as the results would come out, my same old dear rivals would surpass me in marks. It had almost become a habit of the same dream happening to me. But, this time, some how, the age-old dream did not occur to me.

My brother and me were not much comfortable in talking with our Grandpa. We were seeing him consciously for the first time, after our birth. We did not possess any past memory of him. He seemed to be a stranger living with us. We were young kids and did not have the opportunity to grow any attachment for him. We sort of respected him from a distance, and listened to him at times. He on the other hand, was quite fond of us. And he loved talking to us. He expected us to be around him and also respect him and listen to him.

Our exam day had arrived. My brother and me, we got ready to leave for school. My mom came to the doorstep and whispered in our ears, to touch our Grandpa’s feet in marks of asking his blessings for the exam. It did not convey anything to us. We were not much acquainted with such customs as we had a very aloof kind of childhood. However, we did not mind doing that as we had nothing to loose, and both of us respectfully touched his feet.

He was immensely pleased. We could see from his gleaming eyes and ready feet put together, that he expected us to do so. He touched his string of rudraksha beads around his neck and put his palm on each of our head. Slowly we could hear him utter ‘I bless you both. And I have the God’s knowledge. This time both of you will come first in the class.’

It was of course very much absurd. How could he possibly have God’s knowledge? And God? Some one who is so remote! Has any one actually seen him? Can anyone tell me? We had many questions on our way to our school. And none of them were satisfactorily answered. No wonder he was a bit unhinged and out of his mind. Might be the old age has taken a toll on him, we concluded.

After our exams were over, it was summer vacation. And we were as free as birds are from their cage. Our Grandpa, by this time had to leave for his native land. We did not miss him much. He seemed to be very disturbed though, when he was leaving.

Today of course, I understand to some extent, as how it must have felt for him to leave his son and his grandchildren behind and go back to his native land, a different country altogether where he cannot visit us when ever he chooses. Infact its pathetic, and to think of it makes me now helpless.

The results were out at the end of our summer vacation. To our utter surprise and joy, my brother and me - we had both come first in our respective classes. It was incredible. My dream had come true. All of our school teachers and every body else were full of praise for both of us.

It was a strange coincidence, though. For us to believe that our Grandpa had fore told our results, was too hard. But, the coincidence itself was also too much to ignore. That day, was he just uttering mere words? Or did he really have some God sent power and knew that our results would be so?

The real answer - We will never know. And that was the first and the last time, when my brother and me had both come first.

Our Grandpa- He is still alive today. Not much in health. All of his teeth have fallen off and he cannot eat anything but drink liquid food. He has become feeble and cannot leave his bed on his own. He has become stranger in his behaviour and people say that most of the times he mutters to himself now. My brother and me had last seen him 4 years back when we visited Bangladesh with mom and dad. And recently, my dad had given him a visit on the upcoming occasion of my wedding ceremony. And he had duly sought blessings from Grandpa for me.

And I just hope from the core of my heart, that this time too, his blessings may bear the same result as that of our annual exams that time.