Are You The Good Grandparent?

With the family structure disintegrating in India, especially in metros, questions are being raised about whether there now exists any bonding between grandparents and grandchildren.

- Huned Contractor

For Pune’s Rishabh Radkar (21), who is currently doing his MBA in Finance, time is a very essential factor. In fact, such is his tight academic schedule that he has to stay in a hostel even though his parents – Gajanan, serving with the armed forces, and Sushma, a homemaker – stay in the same city. Yet, a single call from his grandparents, Sonopant and Leela, is enough to make him drop everything and rush to their home. “We are a very close-knit family that includes my two sisters, Shubhada and Sulbha, and though my parents stay alone, they are never made to feel isolated,” Col. Gajanan says. It’s an important element in their lives considering that Gajanan is presently posted in Kolkata.

“I am very pampered by my grandparents and they are always telling me to eat healthy food, drive safely, and so on.Whenever I visit them, I help them out with whatever issues they may have about their phones, television, etc. I also stock their fridge with vegetables and fruits. They love the attention I give them. And they especially look forward to festivals like Ganeshotsav and Diwali because we put up decorations and lights and it makes them feel very happy. Also, we always celebrate their birthdays and other important occasions such as wedding anniversary together even if they are now too feeble to venture out of the house. Of course, their age makes them irritable at time about petty matters but I have learned to cope with that,” Rishabh says.