Foreword: The generation that grew up in India was privileged. We had the unconditional, loving care of our grandparents who practically raised us and played a big part in shaping our everyday lives. The generation that is growing up here in a nuclear, close knit environment has different memories - short visits separated by long absences, fleeting moments of being totally pampered, excited phone calls late at night and early in the morning, about spelling bees and and school trips and college admissions, sweet smelling gifts from back home of Amar Chitra Kathas and kaju katlis and Kurta pajamas. But the bond is as strong for them, the memories as sweet; it is the nature of this very special relationship between grandparent and grandchild….

Shalini Ramachandran remembers her grandad who would have turned 92 this October.

in the morning

dedicated to Nana, the best grandfather ever, who still lives on in the hearts of his grandchildren

when you’re little, and

a leathery, strong

brown hand is cradling

your jaw, while another is

vigorously brushing those

baby pearly whites that have already

begun to grow in crooked (but

will straighten out after

six long years of braces)

you don’t realize that each

forceful scrub up and down, each

instructional nudge toward

the dusty mirror

(so tomorrow, perhaps

you can try brushing your

molars without

Grandpa)

each tender sweep of your

disheveled black hair behind

your ears, each scolding

chide for not bending down

close enough to the sink and

splattering Colgate all

over the faucet, each

gruff kiss on the cheek after

a particularly scrupulous

spitting session, each

towel attack that

leaves your cheeks raw but

dry, nevertheless

Will end.

and someday, you will be

brushing your teeth

Alone

in a moldy college bathroom, and

you’ll feel your

hands habitually following the

smooth motions of two

Faraway, yet heart-wrenchingly

Familiar,

Loving hands that

still seem to

carry you,

inspire you,

guide you

Gently

into the world

beyond the sunrise.

Shalini’s grandfather, was Umachandran (pen name) 1915- 1994, noted literary personality and linguist. A Gandhian and a nationalist, he actively participated in the Freedom Movement. As Executive Producer for All India Radio he wrote many Tamil and Hindi plays that were broadcast nationwide. A prolific novelist and short story writer of great merit, his most famous work “Mullum Malarum”, a powerful and touching tale about the love of a brother was published in ‘Kalki’ and was made into a movie picturized on Rajnikanth in Tamil and Mithun Chakraborthy in Hindi. His many Hindi short stories were published in ‘Sarita’. He died at 79 years and his swan song was published by the efforts of his wife, Kamala Ramachandran.

His legacy lives on in his grand-daughter Shalini, Freshman at Emory College, Atlanta. Shalini writes regularly for her college newspaper, Emory wheel.