The treasures that are grandmothers!

AS we begin the journey of life we come across many people who can sway us. We can cite for instance our parents, teachers, colleagues, bosses the list is unending. But one person who is not widely spoken of is a grandmother. There is something grand about a grandmother, lovingly called grannies.

However, for the new generation kids grandmothers seem to be out of place due to the nuclear family style many of us have adopted. The materialistic generation is fast paced and has no time to sit and talk to grandmothers. Therefore the present day grandmothers are consigned to old age homes or an orphanage depending on affordability.

If we look back at history we find that grandmothers have played a valuable role in shaping the destiny of many families around the world. The British Queen is an example.

There is famous adage: “A grandmother is a wonderful mother with lots of experience. Grandmas play many roles at the same time: a little bit of a doctor, a leader, a friend, philosopher and guide. If nothing goes well we can always bank on the grandmother for advice and help. Children too get the chance to know about their ancestors only through a grandmother. She plays a pivotal role in passing the traditional and cultural values to the generation next.

A grandmother forms a valuable bridge in binding the past with the present. Thus the tradition passes on to the future. Grandmothers are the voices of the past, role models for the present and they open the doors to the future.

There is a saying that when a wise old person dies it is like a grand library getting burnt. What a puny grandma sees standing on the ground, the sturdy young man cannot see even if they climb a tree top. These are qualities that give her a grand stature in a society.

There are few things we can learn from the American President Barack Obama, one such thing was his love for his grandmother; he visited his grandmother during the concluding days of his presidential campaign where each and every minute was precious.

Obama has acknowledged that his grandma taught him to love the country, to work hard and more importantly to be accountable for ones actions as an ongoing way of life. He owed much of his success to values his grandma taught during him in his childhood days.

Grandparents living with grandchildren have become a rarity; they seem to be losing touch with the present world. The younger generation should make a conscious effort to reach out to their grandparents and learn from their past.

Before concluding I wish to tell the story of a wise shop keeper. This shop keeper did not want to give any credit facility or loan to his customers. He just hung a small plank on which it was politely written in very small letters: “Credit is given only to those customers who bring along with them their great-grandmother, who can read this notice without wearing any glasses.” The shop keeper is yet to find a customer meeting his specifications.