Khushwant Singh is one of the prominent Indian writers and columnists. He has written on various themes and issues. In this lesson, he gives a detailed account of his grandmother who had a long association with him. He had intimate relations with her since his chilhood.Their friendship was broken when they had to move to the city. The English school, science and music did not appeal to her. The narrator went abroad for higher studies. His arrival after five years from abroad was an occasion for celebration. The old lady tired herself and fell ill. Her death was mourned not only by the narrator’s family but also by the sparrows she fed regularly in the afternoon. The old, stout, short and a little bent grandmother is clad in white clothes and keeps on telling beads of her rosary.During their long stay in village, the grandmother used to wake up the narrator in the morning and accompanied him to school. She took care of all small things and continued her regular prayers and reading of scriptures. On the way back home she fed stray dogs with stale chapatis.Circumstances did have a bearing on the relationship between the author and his grandmother. They had most intimate relationship when they were in the village. Shifting to city home was a turning point as it increased distances in their relationship. Now, the author was going to a city school and studying all modern day subjects. The grandmother was not able to help the author in his studies and she felt disturbed as there was no teaching of God and scriptures. As the years rolled by they saw less of each other. But their feelings for each other did not change. The grandmother was a very strong lady. She was very rigid in her ways so she did not like the modern ways of the city. She led her kind of life and never compromised with her kind of life. She loved the narrator deeply but never tried to be emotional and sentimental.
