My Amazing Grandmother Age is just a number and my Aita (grandmother)-Kiranmayee Mahanta, truly personifies this statement. My grandmother was married at the age of sixteen and quickly adapted to motherhood as was expected in those times with all its trials and tribulations. Being on the threshold of adulthood myself, I have begun to take a closer look on the meaning she has crafted around her life. I realize it bestows a huge source of inspiration and positivity on not only my life, but others dear to her as well. No matter how hot the weather is, or how chilly the winters may be, she goes about her daily duties with sheer persistence. She serves others selflessly but what inspires me the most is that she has also cultivated the art of serving herself, doing things that make her happy. It is a pleasure to see her starting her day with Yoga, and her body movements are as lithe as a teenager’s. At the same time, she puts on her radio which keeps her well-informed about current affairs. In fact, the radio gives her company for most part of the day when she’s going about her chores. Next, one would find her in the vegetable garden and home grown vegetables are spread out for the lunch menu.
Flowers of all colors are handpicked for the Namgarh and room decor, its fragrance complimenting her positive nature. As a Founder Member of the locality Namghar and Nabina Sangha, a Women’s Organization serving the community, her hands are full as she is actively involved in both. Currently, she is trying to raise funds for the renovation of the Community Hall where a number of vocational skills and activities are carried out especially with regard to education and health care. Of late, she has developed a new interest in photography and it did not take her much time to understand the intricacies of a good click. There were difficulties initially, as there are always. Coming from a generation where there was no Internet, smart phones, flat TV screens, my Aita took it in her stride to master photography on her smart phone. Her particular delight is to capture flowers and vegetables from our garden. Not only that, she also sends a picture every morning to our Whatsapp family group with a good-morning message to which all of us look forward to upon waking up-to see our dear Aita’s most recent capture. Mind you, they come with happy emoticons! No matter how caught up we are in the hustle-bustle of daily life, her pictures fill our lives with optimism and hope.
Come night, she sends a good-night message to the family group as if to say she is there, towering protectively over us. What amazes me is that, she has also become fluent in her English writing skills and is constantly making an effort to speak the language as well. As the years roll by, I know that Aita is going to spring more surprises on us. Her optimism and zest for life has indeed rubbed on to the entire family. I hope Aita continues to be an inspiration not just to her family but to many other elderlies around us who have buried their desires and passions, because of an invisible cloak of inhibition around them, which are often ignited by thoughts of ‘what others might say’. But as the saying goes, age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. Below are a few of her recent captures on her mobile camera where she tries to improvise upon her skills each day. - Ms. Nidhi Mahanta (Volunteer at Senior Citizens Health Care Services)
