Let me take this chance to introduce to you my grandma, who I have held dearly in my heart but rarely discussed with others. Apart from a few, I’ve never thought to mention her to anyone. Okay! She is very dear to me. Although I spent less time with her, I can vividly remember her face and the way she adored me.

She wasn’t educated, and she didn’t even learn to wear shoes because she found them uncomfortable haha. I often saw her singing songs (literally folk songs) for her loved ones, especially for her husband and her three children who passed away at an early age. Her profound understanding of life differed greatly from my world. She shared stories of walking miles for a week to reach the nearest town (Now Imphal). She would return with some clothes for her children. She told me about eating sweet corn instead of rice or Hao Khamui (Sticky rice bread), and how she would climb trees to protect herself from animal attacks while resting at night.

You know, all of this happened during the 1940s or 1950s when India was still struggling for independence from British rule, and to celebration of freedom, she was there, selling some of her hard-earned crops to buy pairs of cloth to keep her family warm. She embarked on the toughest journeys to provide her family with their basic needs.

Well, well, well… that’s it for today; I’ll continue in the next episode! 😄