The place where memories are created

A grandmother’s house is the place where memories are created. It is also the place of unbridled freedom, generous kisses and an unhealthy dose of pampering. After the weekend visits to my grandmother’s home, my mother had to un-pamper me.

I remember my grandmother’s home to be small. The garden which led to the house was big. The walkway to the house was lined with flowering plants. The plants came up to my height. I broke the branches from these plants, made a bow and arrow and tested how far the arrow flew.                                                                                                                                                              

I also kept a watch on the ants in the garden. I observed the big black ants crawl in long twisty lines, with a piece of food, twice their size. I obtained great pleasure in disrupting the line and maiming the ants. I was an ant and plant bully back then.

 

My other memories in that house were taking afternoon naps with my grandmother. She told stories about how Lord Krishna fought the demons. She dozed off in between. I woke her up and pestered her to complete the story.

I hunted for non-serious books in my grandfather’s library. He had a few abridged and illustrated classics. These books were about 100 pages, with pictures on alternate pages. I read the books like Tom Sawyer, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the The Invisible Man from my grandfather’s library.

I realize now that my grandfather bought these books for me and allowed me to discover them in the book hunt. He also had a rule that the books cannot be borrowed. I had to read them during my time there. I looked forward to another visit to complete those books.

For my hubby’s birthday I wanted to give him the memory of his grandmother’s house as a present. He told me that his grandmother’s house was made of clay tiles and had a big open space in the center of the house. I found a resort which fit that description.

We went to Angana Country Inn. The inn is built with the theme of a grandmother’s house. There was a big spacious garden in front of the house. The house had open space in the center and was decorated with antiques. The food tasted homely. It was a great place to unwind and relax. 

The open space in the center of the house. That's me sitting there.

The Hall on one side of house

View of the garden

The entrance to the house

View of the garden from the house

The Hall on the other side of the House

A gramophone. How antique is that?

The play area. It looks like a still from an Indian horror movie.