The Power of Touch: Textures are everywhere: The rough edges of a stone wall. The smooth innocence of a baby’s cheek. The sense of touch brings back memories for us. What texture is particularly evocative to you?
When I see that picture of my granma and granpa, I get reminded of the happy times spent with them, I did not really get to be with them for as long as I would have liked. They lived in our joint-family-home while we had to move out to the city because of dad’s work . It was all good though.
They would come visit us and would stay with us for months and on summer vacations we would do so. But vacations are vacations… the actual fun was to see them after School, coming home after a mundane day at School, used to become so exciting just because they were there, they were the change.
So I would leave my whole world on one side and sit with my grandma and listen to her stories about how my dad “too” was a mischievous child once and how she became who she is. To me it was all so interesting. How as a mother of four she brought up the children in those times while grand-dad was busy being the Army-man.
Life in hills was not easy, specially because of the lack of electricity. And even today the lonely houses with huge agricultural lands all around them are pretty difficult to spend nights in, alone. It is not like a scene from a horror movie but here is an image. A tiger took our dog and only his leash was left. Come to think of it we should not have gone to my cousin’s wedding with a careless caretaker left all alone. But who is to blame!? It is too dark and the moon light only makes it eerie, he would not have dared to help the dog.
Back to the point, it is all very interesting (unique to say the least) and such were my granny’s stories. Grand dad was all about politics and the changing world but he has definitely given me an insight as to what life – as a long journey – is all about.
I remember sitting very close to granny and looking at all her wrinkles and freckles, each mark and spot was like carrying a story of its own, as if they were trying to show all that granny had been through and how happy she is for her son and his family. She did not know what I was studying, but never missed a chance to show her support and kept saying, “do it and do it right”.
So I do not really know how to put this, but her hands and the texture of her hands (if that is how you say it) those freckles and wrinkles that smooth skin – I remember that, can not touch it anymore, but that memory means so much to me that, this was my attempt to put it in minimal words.
Only there photos and the touch of those photos brings it all back because we lost granny to multi organ failure 4 years ago and granddad passed away this year itself. It is sad but I know they were happy before they left us. Gives us a sense of satisfaction.
Insach 