A moment with Grandmother

It was the time when Maoist’s so called Peoples’ war was in its climax in 2058. I was doing my Master’s Degree from Kirtipur. I had home sickness as I had left my home for the first time for long. Maoists had blasted the telephone tower of Resunga and there was no phone service in Tamghas.

When I used to come to Kathmandu it was not possible for me to let my family members even that I arrived well. Especially, my mother and grandmother used to be worried about me too much. There was not any possibility of communication between family members and me unless and until I went back.  I had to depend on relatives and friends for sending the messages to home but it was not frequent as it was difficult to find the friends going home in off seasons except in vacations.

Once, when I was leaving for Kathmandu by night bus, my grandmother was looking at me seriously and asked when I would go back home again.

 I simply answered “In Dashain.” 

Then she asked me “on what time will you reach in Kathmandu tomorrow?”

I said to her “Tomorrow morning, around 7 am if there is no jam”

In such a way, long gossip went on. At last, she told me that she would not eat her lunch next day unless and until she was sure of my arrival in Kathmandu.

I asked her" how can you be sure that I reached in Kathmandu?". Then she told me that she would listen the radio news of 11 am.

O God! I was utterly surprised and asked “Does your radio news tell you that your loving grandson reached in Kathmandu and now U eat your lunch?”

In her usual smile, looking at me,  she utters  “If the bus gets accident, it tells, and if the news doesn’t tell anything about the bus accident,  I’ll be sure that U’ve  reached  there at least at 11 am. And only then I’ll go for lunch”.

I couldn’t speak anything, just we stared each other’s wet eyes.