Old Mumbai Grannas
I loved my youngest Mama. We all lived & grew up in my maternal grand mom's house. Grant Road. Happy lovely big joint family with its strawberry moments.
My grand-mom was in a way the matriarch who controlled the house-hold. Education somehow was her self assumed favourite portfolio.
Post lunch, she had this ritual. She would take me to her bed room & as she rested on her easychair, I had to recall the tables. How I hated. It never ended on tables of 12s like school did. She would go on & on...18, 19 , 20.
And O God, if I went wrong her cane would threateningly be shown to me. My mom secretly gloated on her son getting trained.
My younger mama, possibly being the earlier victim in his younger days, took sadistic pleasure at the plight of her new victim
One day Mama gave me a solution. I thought he was my friend. He told me - " ... tell her these 3 sentences & you will be free". Which I did. All hell befell. I was whacked & punished & I never forgave Mama for that
What I had told the strict old
lady was....
" Granna....I have fundamental rights to say wrong tables & you are mentally harassing me as a child and law prescribes disciplinary action to be taken against the guilty person "
Somehow, thanks to her. I learnt my tables till 20
reminded me of my granny ....she too would get hold of her grandkids including me and get us to do chinese rings on her legs ..we became expert masseurs .hahahhaha