When I was growing up, it was kind of drilled into me that I shouldn't disturb grown-ups when they are doing something important. In particular, my dad didn't like being disturbed when he was in the middle of something. Now that I'm a grown-up myself, I try to be more flexible. But my grandma is on a different level.
A couple of years ago, she was knitting in our living-room. I walked in, saying something to her – something quite inconsequential – without realising that she was in the middle of counting stitches. But she immediately looked up from her knitting and replied to what I was saying. When our brief conversation was over, she calmly started to count again from the beginning.
This is the level of zen that I aspire to.
* * *
A recent phone conversation with my grandma, about my next visit to India:
| Grandma: | বাড়ি কবে আসছো? (When are you coming home?) |
| me: | ৬ তারিখ! (6th December!) |
| Grandma: | হ্যাঁ, তোমার মা বলছিল... (Yes, your mum was telling me...) |
| me: | তাহলে আবার আমাকে জিজ্ঞেস করছো কেন? নিজের মেয়েকে বিশ্বাস করো না? (Then why are you asking me? You don't believe your own daughter?) |
I sometimes tease her like this, and she laughs or teases back. But this time she gave a straight reply, which hit me in the feels.
| Grandma: | হ্যাঁ, বিশ্বাস করি। কিন্তু আবার শুনতে ভালো লাগে। (Yes, I believe her. But it's nice to hear it again.) |
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