The Cradle Of Time

A walk down memory lane as the writer recollects precious times spent with her grandmother…

- Meghana Acharya

This April, my family is looking forward to a one-of-a-kind ceremony. It is the naming ceremony of a new born but holds with it another milestone for my grandmother. An age-old custom where the great grandmother will see her great grandson through the light of an oil lamp made of gold. She will be seeing her eighteenth great grandchild!

What makes it so beautiful is that the hands have weakened but her spirit stays just as strong, when she cradled her seven children, sixteen grandchildren and now, this tiny one. Let me not even attempt to add her nieces, nephews, neighbours and more to the cradle count, as she has been a godmother to many.

This is what constitutes the story of my ninety-year-old grandmother, Nagaveni Madhyastha, whose life is a beautifully woven tapestry with people she loves dearly, that is us. Our dreams, our journeys, our triumphs, our rises to the challenges in life and the pain that comes with it… all of it is interwoven into her life, because she does not see herself different from any one of us.

If I were to turn the clock back and create a collage of memories of her, the following emotions shine the brightest - unconditional love, instant giving and easy adaptability.