When I was around 10 years old I began to admire my grandfather. He would buy me everything that I would ask.
But doing that spoiled me so much that my mother and father would say to grandfather, “why are you spending so much money on unnecessary things even though you need money to spend it on necessary supplies? “ He would not care about all that stuff and he kept doing it until I came to the US in 2022.
Now that I am a young man, I am beginning to understand the generosity of my grandfather. He does not know how to send money overseas but the lessons he taught me as a boy are bringing me a new type of wealth. Now that he is not buying things for me every day he can invest all that money in his business and I am liking it because now I have the understanding on how much he could have invested back in those days.
When COVID struck in India it grasped so many people and my grandfather was one of them. We had to isolate him in a room where we couldn’t come in contact with him and that had me worried about him so much. I used to perceive him as a strong man, a man who won’t get affected with any disease but that changed in COVID as I saw him gradually getting weaker each day, but we were able to cure him at home and that was the only option because in India the number of patients every hospital was getting made hospitals out of beds or room. I cried a lot on my way to the US when my family and I departed India and the only thing that was running through my mind at that time was from now on he won’t have anyone to share his concerns with, or have gossip at home except grandmother.
Now getting distant from my grandfather in terms of location I began to feel that there was someone at home that I used to talk a lot with. I realize in his physical absence how close he is to my heart. My relationship with my grandfather is very unique; it is different from any member of my family. We shared more of a friend-like relationship with each other. In the Hindu religion we pray to our gods first thing in the morning by lighting up deepak it is called in English. Doing that shows devotion. I have been doing this in the US too but my grandfather isn’t here with me; as I used to pray together with him back in my country and I am missing that connection a lot.
Below is an image of Deepak is what we call in India but in English I guess it’s called oil lamp and I would like to metaphorically compare it with my story because just as deepak lights up and make everything near it bright similar to it my grandfather has given me lessons and wisdom that will help me grow in becoming the person that I want to be.
