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SOMETIMES BEST THINGS HAPPEN TO US FROM LEAST expected sources. So, it’s always better to keep our minds open rather than judge things based on impressions. It’s not just money, gold or any other material thing that we have that makes our wealth. Very often our experiences with our near and dear ones and our unforgettable memories are so invaluable to us, we treasure them above any material thing and gladly pass it on to our children and grandchildren in the form of interesting stories.
As a kid I was brought up in Warangal, India. It was late nineteen seventies and at that time Warangal was a small town, where people were just getting exposed to a modern amenity called television. Most of the places in India, and especially the interior villages, did not know what a television was during those days. Even in Warangal very few people owned a television. But the municipal community hall in warangal had a television which was open to public. Every Saturday they played it in the lawns beside the community hall where people gathered to watch news and feature films. As there was no TV at my home, I remember, as a boy I spent most of the Saturdays watching television in the lawns of the community hall.
Kids love summer vacations. Like any other kid I used to make plans and eagerly wait for summer holidays. My plans for summer were usually to read comics, storybooks and children’s magazines on weekday evenings at the children’s library in the community hall and watch feature films on weekend nights. Other than that because of extreme summer weather conditions in India, like most of the kids, I generally stayed indoors. While indoors I used to play chess, Chinese checkers, carom board...etc. with friends.
One summer after school, my mother told me to go to my grandma’s village for vacations.
“But mom,” I said, “I do not want to go to Grandma’s village.”
“You should not say no,” said my mother. “Grandma loves you and she will take good care of you.”
“There is no TV in her village,” I said. “And I made plans for this summer to watch television and read books.”
“Grandma is a great storyteller,” she said. “You will love her stories. Besides that you can also carry some books with you and read them there.”
“But I’ll miss television,” I whined.
“You are going there only for a few weeks,” said my mother. “You can always watch television after you come back.”
But I grumbled saying that “I don’t want to miss movies.”
Despite my grumbling my mother persuaded me to go to my grandma’s village saying that I will get a chance to see the beautiful countryside, eat fresh mangoes and guavas and packed my bag with my clothes and storybooks.
As a young boy I was always curious to know things. I preferred variety and television offered me variety in the form of different movies, shows and news. Television was not only a source of entertainment but at that time for a young brain like mine, which wasn’t exposed to much of the world, it was also a source of education. To me television was a window through which I could see the world. Except that I would miss television, I actually never had a problem in going to my grandma’s village and in fact I always loved to visit her.
My grandma, whom I called as Nanamma, used to live alone in her village. She had a big house with a vast backyard. In her backyard there was a lawn and around that there were coconut, mango, tamarind and guava trees. At one corner of the backyard there was a fresh water well, from which my grandma used to draw drinking water. The evening shadows of the tall trees covered the lawn and made it a great place for social gatherings. Being alone my grandma always preferred company. She had a wide circle of friends and relatives and invited them for any occasion. Her sisters, cousins, grand kids and friends used to visit her regularly.
On the day I went to my grandma’s house she also invited one of her cousins whom I called as Amamma. My grandma’s cousin was from a neighboring village and was a regular visitor to her house. She was almost of my grandma’s age and they had known each other ever since they were kids. They loved each other’s company and used to spend their time chatting and gossiping for hours about their past.
As a kid I was brought up in Warangal, India. It was late nineteen seventies and at that time Warangal was a small town, where people were just getting exposed to a modern amenity called television. Most of the places in India, and especially the interior villages, did not know what a television was during those days. Even in Warangal very few people owned a television. But the municipal community hall in warangal had a television which was open to public. Every Saturday they played it in the lawns beside the community hall where people gathered to watch news and feature films. As there was no TV at my home, I remember, as a boy I spent most of the Saturdays watching television in the lawns of the community hall.
Most of the places in India, and especially the interior villages, did not know what a television was during those days.
Kids love summer vacations. Like any other kid I used to make plans and eagerly wait for summer holidays. My plans for summer were usually to read comics, storybooks and children’s magazines on weekday evenings at the children’s library in the community hall and watch feature films on weekend nights. Other than that because of extreme summer weather conditions in India, like most of the kids, I generally stayed indoors. While indoors I used to play chess, Chinese checkers, carom board...etc. with friends.
One summer after school, my mother told me to go to my grandma’s village for vacations.
“But mom,” I said, “I do not want to go to Grandma’s village.”
“You should not say no,” said my mother. “Grandma loves you and she will take good care of you.”
“There is no TV in her village,” I said. “And I made plans for this summer to watch television and read books.”
“Grandma is a great storyteller,” she said. “You will love her stories. Besides that you can also carry some books with you and read them there.”
“But I’ll miss television,” I whined.
“You are going there only for a few weeks,” said my mother. “You can always watch television after you come back.”
But I grumbled saying that “I don’t want to miss movies.”
Despite my grumbling my mother persuaded me to go to my grandma’s village saying that I will get a chance to see the beautiful countryside, eat fresh mangoes and guavas and packed my bag with my clothes and storybooks.
As a young boy I was always curious to know things. I preferred variety and television offered me variety in the form of different movies, shows and news. Television was not only a source of entertainment but at that time for a young brain like mine, which wasn’t exposed to much of the world, it was also a source of education. To me television was a window through which I could see the world. Except that I would miss television, I actually never had a problem in going to my grandma’s village and in fact I always loved to visit her.
My grandma, whom I called as Nanamma, used to live alone in her village. She had a big house with a vast backyard. In her backyard there was a lawn and around that there were coconut, mango, tamarind and guava trees. At one corner of the backyard there was a fresh water well, from which my grandma used to draw drinking water. The evening shadows of the tall trees covered the lawn and made it a great place for social gatherings. Being alone my grandma always preferred company. She had a wide circle of friends and relatives and invited them for any occasion. Her sisters, cousins, grand kids and friends used to visit her regularly.
On the day I went to my grandma’s house she also invited one of her cousins whom I called as Amamma. My grandma’s cousin was from a neighboring village and was a regular visitor to her house. She was almost of my grandma’s age and they had known each other ever since they were kids. They loved each other’s company and used to spend their time chatting and gossiping for hours about their past.
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About Giridhar Veeramaneni
Giridhar Veeramaneni came to Canada on 25th June, 1997, to escape from the hot summers of India. He was tempted to come to Canada after watching a commercial on Cana... <read more>
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