TIMELESSNESS

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" said Charles Dickens in "A tale of two cities". I too have a tale of two cities, London and Nashua. It's a tale of two continents and three of my most favourite people. It is only about the best of times, not about the worst of times!!

I wonder if anyone will be able to understand when I say that the last eight months of my life were the best of times of my life? Indeed, it was. Such a lot happened, so many occassions were celebrated. So many get togethers of the family happened. There was Christmas time when Chaitali and her children came to visit us in snow clad Nashua, and were ushered away for a surprise holiday instead to sunny Florida, and a visit to Disneyland, and the Sea world. Aaria's first birthday, which brought all of us together, is a never to be forgotten experience. The happiness of the three children together was delightful to watch. I wrote a lot, and realised that there are certain hidden talents which can be nurtured at any age.

TNN and I took so many vacations-our visit to Washington DC and Philadelphia, our trip to Seneca and Clemson in South Carolina, our quick trip to New York, were all interesting, learning experiences. We almost traversed from one end of US to the other on the East Coast. We met friends, made friends and saw interesting places where American history was made.

Watching little Aaria grow up in front of my eyes was a delight which cannot be described in words. It has to be experienced, it has to be felt. It was another learning experience, it was a foray into the small little happy world of a little baby. A baby who conquers the world with a little smile...the genuine smile, happiness and satisfaction that a baby has, is an experience which cannot be measured. True love, true happiness, unconditional genuine love is what a baby gives you in return for nothing. You can simply take and take and take.

It was the best of times because I experienced all that love without any effort on my part. I saw and experienced that unconditional love and devotion in another place, which was London, when I got an opportunity to spend time with my grand children- Kunaal and Aaliya. Those were shorter spells as I was working and did not have time at a stretch to spend with them. Yet, whatever short spells I had were spent in utter bliss. I will never forget the delight that Aaliya showed me, when she was about one and a half year old. I had come from Delhi and after looking at me, Aaliya started running from one end of the room to the other, non stop and giving delightful gurgles all the time. Children have such a nice way of expressing their genuine affection and happiness. Can I ever forget the day Kunaal told his teacher in his Private School that his comprehension was so good because his grandmother had taught him. I had tears in my eyes and immense pride in my heart. What more could I have asked for??

Life teaches us so many lessons....it is only we, who do not have the time to learn. We waste every opportunity and keep looking for happiness, not realising that happiness is with us at every step.

Children are such imaginative people. They believe so easily, they trust so easily. Aaliya told me that Santa Claus really exists and every night he comes out to put the stars in the sky. During Christmas he has to work harder as he has to put out more twinkling stars and also deliver gifts. The child's world is full of admiration and they have simple solutions to complex problems. I like them to keep their imagination alive, and live in utter bliss, as long as they can.

Little Aaria would wake up during the day, pick up her little pink elephant, stand up in her cot and look expectantly at the door, trusting that her Da would be there instantaneously. I never failed her, until the day I left Nashua.

Trust, belief, hope, expectation, dream, we all have them as children, somewhere in the course of our life, we start loosing all these. Then we try to gather all these again, so that we can simplify life once again.

My stay with my grand children has taught me to be patient, to enjoy a smile, to accept love and trust as it comes. Their little problems, their little expectations, their total and abject devotion, is something which will remain with me for life.

I have seen a lot of the world, I have enjoyed my job as a Banker, I have seen and been through a lot of happy experiences in my life, but what these eight months gave to me is memories for an entire lifetime. These months also helped me to focus on the time spent by me in London with Kunaal and Aaliya. These three- Kunaal, Aaliya and Aaria are the most precious people for me in the whole world. There is a saying in India that "one loves the interest more than the principle amount". The fact is that the interest is more loved, because by the time one reaches this age to enjoy children, mundane problems of life would have already been settled. Career, office, hassles of building up assets, etc would have already settled. This is the time to catch up with small blessings which we had avoided for so long. It's grandchildren who are life's most precious gift.