Grandparenthood is the greatest promotion one can get in life. There cannot be a bigger gift than getting a grandson or a granddaughter. I had the privilege of becoming a grandfather at 54 when my grandson Arul was born. I remember the day vividly. I was busy in the office in discussion with my Secretary, when I got a call informing me of the arrival of a baby boy - my first grandchild through my eldest daughter Kavitha & RU. I jumped with joy shouting `I have become a Thatha!` Arul arrived in this world seven weeks before my silver wedding anniversary. I had a grand function planned at the Savera Hotel. The invitation went in the name of Arul which carried a line at the end `No gifts please. My grandparents say I am the best gift they got for their Silver Wedding Anniversary.`
Since that day 29 years ago I have been blessed
with five more grandchildren. Three grandsons and three granddaughters. Arul (
29), Uthara(24), Nila(23), Keshav(22), and the two late arrivals – my resident
grandchildren - 7 years old Thavam and 4 years old baby doll Bakthi. The
lovely kids of my son are keeping me entertained and spreading joy around
whenever I visit Chennai from Coimbatore. However, I must confess
that at 82, I don't have the energy that I had 23 years ago to
indulge them physically.
I am also no good at telling stories to my
grandchildren as I find my memory has become rusty that I don`t remember all
the details of our mythological classics like Ramayana or Mahabharata. When I
attempt to narrate some stories from one of these epics, my grandson Thavam
interrupts and says “You are wrong thatha… this is what happened…” and he goes
on to complete the correct story which he has heard from his maternal
grandmother, making me feel embarrassed. Some days I attempt to take the easy
way out by reading stories from books. I find even that effort difficult as I
feel exhausted by the time I read a story for 10 to 15 minutes. These days I
have found another method to keep them engaged, We have a family group called
`T & B` group in which I keep forwarding videos that will appeal to the
kids. Whenever I am in Chennai and have time to spend time with the kids I show
the videos to the kids. They keep watching them until they get bored and run
away.
It was always good fun when all my children and
grandchildren used to visit my home for a family get-together. But these days
with the senior grandchildren away from their homes, pursuing careers of their
choice it has become difficult to have such get-togethers. The last time we had
such a get-together was on my 80th Birthday. Even at that
function one grandson was missing.
I am proud to say that the four senior
grandkids, all talented in fields of their choice, have grown into
mature kids with their heads on their shoulders- I am sure the latest arrivals
also will follow suit judging by the way my son Balaji and daughter in law
Tulse are bringing them up. Please join me in blessing all my
grandchildren with a bright future.
