My Amazing Grandmother

Written by Vidit Jain
Leadership Open Elective taught by Jibrael Jos
Nov 2018 at Christ University

Nirmala Manakchand Saand 

As her name suggests, my grandmother, Nirmala Saand is a person with a pure heart. Over the years as I was growing up, there are countless things that I have learned from her. Throughout her journey till today, she has seen many ups and downs. What I have realized from her journey is that life is not always good and you cannot change it according to your needs. But what is in your control is how you deal with things and the attitude you have. Living life can be much easier if you live it on your terms. It can give you stress but you can just smile and face the issues. One of her advices which I have always kept close to my heart is “Do good things, and good things will happen to you.” Now this is not something that hasn’t been said before but when it comes from her, it has a different meaning to me. She has seen life; she has had experiences. This is where she is coming from. When she says something like that, it is based upon some real instances, good or bad. I have applied her teaching and seen the result myself. It is not a short-term thing according to her. You have to continuously do good things and then, when the time comes, you will get the returns. Have purity in your heart, that is all you require. 

Having spent most of her life as a daughter-in-law, a wife and a mother, her life has been spent more time in the home than outside. Despite this, her knowledge of people and society is noteworthy. Even today, when there have been three more generations after hers, she is the person who takes most decisions. This is not because she is the oldest. Instead, this is due to her decision-making skills. She can read people. She knows how the society works and that is what each one of us are yet to learn in the family. 

One of the moments that had changed her life was the loss of her husband, my grandfather, on August 25th, 2016. When someone spends most of their lives with a person, you don’t just become habitual to that person. You get connected on a much deeper level. And such a loss can devastate a person, no matter who you are. My grandmother has always been an emotional person who has tears in her eyes every time I leave the city to study. One would assume that she would have been in a really emotional state when her husband passed away. That was not the case, however. She handled it with so much strength. It is commendable how a person so emotional can be so emotionally strong. I still find it amusing how she not only handled her loss but the loss that all of us faced too.  

For all of this, which are just a few of her experiences that I know of, and for her just being the pure soul that she is, I love my grandmother the most. Tension-free, calm, supportive and fun – that is how I would describe my grandmother. Her thoughts that I want to end with, which people should believe in within their hearts, is “Do good things, and good things will happen to you.”