Did I tell you I was am a
lazy blogger?? So lazy that I didn’t even get to the end of the post from Write
Tribe for the prompts!!! It’s only last night when I saw Vidya’s post that I
got to know there was a Saturday Prompt.
Anyways, coming to the prompt, I
love the Saturday Prompt – cz it’s about grannies!!!! Now I have not seen
either my maternal grandparents or the ones on my dad’s side. My fauther’s aunt
has been staying with us and ever since I was a little child I am extremely
attached to her. She is the most active 97 year that I have seen!! She still
read’s newspapers, washes her own clothes, goes up and down the three storied
house. Can you imagine doing that at 97??? She is one of those persons who
speak Bangal so fluently. If you are a Bengali you will know that Bangla and
Bangal language difference! And it’s kind of cute. I too can speak fluently in
Bangal because of years of conversations with her.
Now I have a special name for
her. In Bengali your ‘Chachi’ or ‘Kaki’ is called ‘Kakima’ and she is everyone’s
Kakima… but when I was little I couldn’t pronounce Kakima and whatever sounded
every time I called her was Kauma… and that has remained till date. I have
grown up calling her that! I grew up under her nose and she is – still is –
extremely possessive about me. It’s so much fun to have such an amazing lady
around in your formative years.
Anyways so coming to the prompt, here
is my 100 word story on what my granny said.
What ‘Kauma’ Says?
“Are you oiling your hair? Are
you tying your hair at night? What did you eat? Didn’t you eat fish? When are
you coming back to Kolkata?”
“I will come and meet you soon, I
will come in December”
“Are you oiling your hair?”
“Yes yes I am, now tell me how
are you doing?”
“Here everything is fine, you are
sounding different, did you catch a cold?”
“Yeah slight… here weather is
like that”
“Go have the ‘kalmegh & chirotar jol’… you
remember how I fed you that when you were little? It will keep you good from
inside.”
----------------------------------
This is merely not fiction, this
could be an excerpt from any of our conversation, as kids all of us were
terrified of this medicine like water that she used to feed us. This Kalmegh
& Chirota are some plant parts which she used to boil in water and make us
have that early in the morning. It’s like some ayurvedic medicine that boosts
immunity. It tasted like the bitterest of bitter thing that you can have –
completely gross. We used to hate it but sometimes when I think back, she
definitely helped my immunity and I had a life free of any disease apart from
some common cough and cold! So I should thank the kalmegh & chirota and
also my Kauma for having the patience to run after us till the end of the
terrace to put that thing down the throat!!
