Our cherubic grand-daughter, Amber visited us recently with her parents, affording us tremendous pleasure and joy. The moment she stepped into our house, her spontaneous exclamation with arms raised upwards was, “Nanu, such a big house! It is so nice.” We felt overjoyed at that endearing and cute gesture. Later her innocent prattle created an ambience of mirth and brought out spontaneous giggles from us all.
During her stay she climbed the stairs umpteen times to the roof and leaned over the parapet to talk to us down in the lawn, stomped over the fallen dry Neem (its branches cover a part of our roof) leaves, enjoying the rustling sound. I was reminded of Maria of ‘The Sound of Music”, when I saw Amber romping around a la squirrel (I‘ve befriended many in a nearby park) the whole day without taking a minute’s rest. She is vivacious like a bunny and capricious like a queen. One moment she was frolicsome and the next throwing tantrums to have her way. Bringing her round with some smart alternative offer was no mean task. The other day she saw me using Vaseline on my lips and asked immediately, “What are you doing?” I replied, “My lips get dry and I apply it to moisturize them.” After that her lips were getting dry every five minutes till I removed the jar from the dressing table and hid it.
Another day when I agreed to cook noodles –her favorite- for her, she became so excited and thrilled that she ran to me and while enveloping my legs in her tiny arms remarked, “You are the best, Nani Ma!” I bent down and hugged her tightly, brimming with delight which was all mine.
A unique persona she has even at this tender age of five. Nature truly has spent time in sculpting her body and mind. She is fairly tall, delicately built and has a sweet singing voice. She speaks only English but hummed the crazy song, ‘muni badnam hui darling tere liye’ in her own inimitable style. The beat tickled her. She is all girl - wears only matching tights and the likes with her frocks, no trousers for her. Gifted as she is with excellent features, light brown silky hair, a peach and butter complexion, perfect articulation and communication skills; it is a treat to be in her company. You better hear her to believe the exactness of her expression. On a walk with me she saw a dog with a hurt leg on the road and exclaimed, “Nani Ma look, look over there, the black dog is hopping on its three legs!”
Affection flows from her being like ripples in a water body. The absolute genuineness of her love for you is palpable from her body language. We were seeing them off at our gate at the end of their visit and after the usual hugs and hand shakes they were finally seated in the van, when I saw Amber trying to open the door. Her mom helped her and Amber stood in the door shouting, “Nanu, Nani Ma I want to kiss you”. And we were blessed with those sweet parting kisses of hers and were touched by her sensitivity and sensibility. I am sure Amber is going to forget all this but for us her grandparents, the memories of her visit are etched in our imagination and would be frequently relived in the days to come. We wish and pray that Amber grows to be an accomplished young lady, and make us proud!!! :-)
During her stay she climbed the stairs umpteen times to the roof and leaned over the parapet to talk to us down in the lawn, stomped over the fallen dry Neem (its branches cover a part of our roof) leaves, enjoying the rustling sound. I was reminded of Maria of ‘The Sound of Music”, when I saw Amber romping around a la squirrel (I‘ve befriended many in a nearby park) the whole day without taking a minute’s rest. She is vivacious like a bunny and capricious like a queen. One moment she was frolicsome and the next throwing tantrums to have her way. Bringing her round with some smart alternative offer was no mean task. The other day she saw me using Vaseline on my lips and asked immediately, “What are you doing?” I replied, “My lips get dry and I apply it to moisturize them.” After that her lips were getting dry every five minutes till I removed the jar from the dressing table and hid it.
Another day when I agreed to cook noodles –her favorite- for her, she became so excited and thrilled that she ran to me and while enveloping my legs in her tiny arms remarked, “You are the best, Nani Ma!” I bent down and hugged her tightly, brimming with delight which was all mine.
A unique persona she has even at this tender age of five. Nature truly has spent time in sculpting her body and mind. She is fairly tall, delicately built and has a sweet singing voice. She speaks only English but hummed the crazy song, ‘muni badnam hui darling tere liye’ in her own inimitable style. The beat tickled her. She is all girl - wears only matching tights and the likes with her frocks, no trousers for her. Gifted as she is with excellent features, light brown silky hair, a peach and butter complexion, perfect articulation and communication skills; it is a treat to be in her company. You better hear her to believe the exactness of her expression. On a walk with me she saw a dog with a hurt leg on the road and exclaimed, “Nani Ma look, look over there, the black dog is hopping on its three legs!”
Affection flows from her being like ripples in a water body. The absolute genuineness of her love for you is palpable from her body language. We were seeing them off at our gate at the end of their visit and after the usual hugs and hand shakes they were finally seated in the van, when I saw Amber trying to open the door. Her mom helped her and Amber stood in the door shouting, “Nanu, Nani Ma I want to kiss you”. And we were blessed with those sweet parting kisses of hers and were touched by her sensitivity and sensibility. I am sure Amber is going to forget all this but for us her grandparents, the memories of her visit are etched in our imagination and would be frequently relived in the days to come. We wish and pray that Amber grows to be an accomplished young lady, and make us proud!!! :-)
Amber is the apple of our eyes.Affection flows from her being like rain from heaven.I really miss her.
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