Those wrinkly old things...

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.

- Rachel Carson

Grandparents! What an absolute joy they are (well, mostly, if you are lucky). Sadly, until recently I had never experienced the pleasure of having a grandparent at home. I never saw my paternal grandfather, his wife passed away when I was three and my maternal grandma left us when I was six.

Ever since an accident in 2005, my grandfather has started living with us. Initially I didn't know how to talk with him (he kept forgetting my name thanks to his years and the heavy medicines), or what to say. After all it is sort of weird when someone whom you see only half-a-dozen times in a year moves in. I was busy juggling college, work, projects and assignments and he slept all day. Conversation was at its bare minimum. Gradually we got more conversant and he grew from strength to strength, we all participated in making him independent again. As independent as his condition allowed him to be.

Soon I started discovering what had been missing in our tiny nuclear family of three. In most oldies one can see almost a childlike mien, a naive adamant soul wrapped in his/ her own time, refusing to bother with the world of today. My grandpa has a lot of stories to narrate and we make each other laugh mutually. He bluffs a lot too, about his travels and the people he met and how such and such film star or famous personality was his neighbour/ acquaintance. With him around I truly feel like an innocent child with not a care in the world. I have not only re-lived some of the moments of my own childhood, but also those of my mother.

If not a sibling, a grandparent in the family is a must-have! Hehehe. How I love those hugs, the hearty laugh and that signature toothless smile :D

PS: My sindhi has improved considerably.