By Naeem Afzal Chughtai
On 21/10/2014
Phone No. +92-346-5151517
My Maternal Grandmother
Tears are trickling down my cheeks while with quivering fingers I hold the pen, which seems to be grieved by her demise. The more words I write the more tears of sorrow I shed. Every word I write induces a tear from my eyes. She was so benevolent that everyone had a good word to say about her.
When she was of an age where she should have been playing games with other girls of the same age, she was compelled to endure the burden of migration---faltering barefoot with no destination in mind; saying goodbye to her belongings; dossing under the open sky; putting up with severe weather, having not a whit to eat or drink, and so forth. On hearing the sound of jet fighters dropping bombs, she cowered under trees and sometimes plunged to the ground. At her age, girls spent time playing hide-and-seek, skipping rope etc. but she was playing the game of life and death.
After long-term hardships, her life returned to normal in the course of time. Time went past at a snail's pace. Now she basked in the joy of married life along with her pious husband. Then she gave birth to her very first daughter. Her health deteriorated day by day and in the end she became disabled and was totally dependent on her kind mother. The government planned on constructing a dam where she was residing, and as a consequence she had to move once again. As her daughter grew older, it became more difficult for my lovely grandmother to minister to her daughter. However, she cared for her until her daughter departed this life.
After a few years, she had a baby boy. She raised him beautifully and when he came of age, it seems that Allah decided to test her again, because her son gradually deteriorated and eventually became unable to walk. She continued tending to her son. In the morning, with the help of someone else, she put him in the wheelchair. She served his meals and fed him through the day before laying him back on the bed in the evening.
She was getting on in years. Her fingers and toes got stiff. She did not give up nursing her son. She was a lady of great courage and valour. She remained patient throughout her life. She was the most kind and gentle lady.
Looking at a phone in somebody's hand, she often asked me, "Do you have this phone"? She would then offer me money to buy one, which I didn't accept. She invariably gave me extra money whenever she sent me to the market. She was proud of me on hearing that I had passed my exams, and shared her happiness with others.
She was taken ill and within a few days, she had left us behind. I believe she didn't give us a chance to look after her because she knew how difficult it was to take care of others. She was a woman with a great deal of experience in looking after the sick. She never wanted to give us any trouble therefore she passed away very quickly after becoming ill.
"I want to tell you something, "nani amma". Can you hear me? We are able to live without you BUT our life is lifeless. The life which was full of colours has now become colourless."
The long and the short of this story is that her life was full of worries but she confronted them with patience. May Allah grant her a place in Heaven!
I miss you, "nani amma". Can you hear me?