Last week, on Christmas morning, a few of us woke up early and gathered downstairs together. Papa was in the kitchen making his chai. Sister was on the couch listening to a podcast. [She is the podcast queen]. Nanima was sitting next to the fireplace. And I was laying on the couch, deciding between making chai or trekking to Starbucks to get my system up and running.
Out of nowhere, Nanima asked Sister a question about text messaging. Nani has a cell phone, but it’s one of those old-school flip phones, and because she is unable to see the keys clearly enough, text messaging is still a little unfamiliar to her.
She asked Sister, “How do you make a semi-colon if the keys are assigned to letters? Like if #1 is A, B, and C, how do you make the other things like punctuation marks?”
Now, since Sister and I were both former Razr owners, we knew exactly what she meant. T9. And, since Nani had an old flip phone, it made sense. If she used her phone to text, she’d have to use T9. So it was a legitimate question.
We explained that the keyboard/keypad looks a bit different on these “smart” phones. I pulled mine up and showed her how it looked similar to a computer’s keyboard. This eventually led to a conversation about keyboards and typewriters. At that point, Masi had joined us in the living room and was telling us stories about how they used to have to use a telegraph to send messages to family in Canada.
This led Nanima to talk about how much has changed in our world since she was a young girl.
She recalled the time when she was walking through Connaught Place on the way back from her singing class and saw a TV for the first time. She said, “I had no idea what I was seeing. What were all these moving pictures?” Eventually her family purchased a TV set of their own. She remembered how she’d feel so cool and sophisticated when her family had people over to watch TV. At the time, there was only one station, but they showed everything from national news to current songs.
Then she talked about about how they had a gramophone at her house as well. Her Master’s Voice was the name of the company that made the machines. She told me of the time she wound up the gramophone and, as the music started playing, she peeked into the horn and told her Papa, “I want to be in there. Where the people are singing.”
She stayed silent for a while, but her eyes told me that she was remembering stories of her past.
I got up off the couch and sat down next to her at the fireplace.
She told me more stories about the gramophone. How she was gifted with one on the day she got married. That she probably still had it somewhere at Masi’s house. That it was a more advanced version than the one she grew up with – when the disc was done playing, it would drop down and lift up another disc to be played automatically.
But, my favorite story she told that day was when she veered away from the technology talk.
Out of nowhere, Nani started talking about how she took a beginning economics class and was learning all about supply and demand. She recalled having to draw a graph explaining the concept. She said she spent a lot of time making the graph look beautiful and informative. She remembered the teacher picking her graph up off her desk and showing it off to the rest of the class. The teacher used her graph as exemplar work. She remembered that memory so vividly and was still so proud of that moment.
I continued asking her questions about the class and the teacher. She remembered everything. The teacher’s name (Mrs. Roy). That Mrs. Roy was from South India. What Mrs. Roy wore. What Mrs. Roy taught her.
And I just sat there listening to my Nani remembering every detail and every lesson she learned in a class she took over 60 years ago.
It made me wonder if I will be able to have the same effect on my students that Mrs. Roy had on my Nani. There was something about her particular class that made my Nani invested in it enough to remember the content and the work. Maybe the small gesture of showing off her work, giving her that positive reinforcement, was just a little glimpse into Mrs. Roy’s teaching style.
It’s something to strive for. Something to keep me moving forward. The hope that, some day, long into the future, when I’m not around anymore, my students will remember the things I taught them. But, even more importantly, I hope they will remember how I made them feel – special, unique, and loved. Just the way Mrs. Roy made my Nani feel.
Your Nani sounds like a very wise lady indeed. Thanks for sharing her story here today.
Think it is wonderful how you have written down all these different things and will remember the fun conversations.
candy recently posted…Chocolate Chip Cookie Mug
She seems to be a very wise woman. It’s great to have wise women in our lives to look up to!
Alicia recently posted…Family Travel Ideas
Awww she is so adorable and wise! She reminds me of my Grammie 🙂
I love your Nani. You are so lucky to have her in your life. All of my family of origin are gone now and there are no stories to be heard. Thank you for sharing yours.
She sounds pretty fabulous! I would love to hear her stories!
Such a sweet post! She sounds like an incredible person. 🙂
Jessica Bradshaw (@loveyoumoretoo) recently posted…Cookie Lover’s Brownie
grand mothers are the best!!! i bet you are making a difference every single day.
dixya @food, pleasure, and health recently posted…Easy Chicken Haleem
What a special story and special moment you’ve shared here today. I love listening to audio wise people talk about the past and they are life experience
Saidah Washington recently posted…4 P’s for prepping your living room for spring
It is really incredible that her class had such a long-lasting impact on her. Positive school memories like those can really drive people!
Liz Mays recently posted…Celebrating Pi Day with Pie
Your Nani is so cute! She is very wise! And seems entertaining as well 🙂
Sharon Samuel recently posted…The Luck of the DIY Shirt
What a beautiful story. Enjoyed it greatly.
Alexandra recently posted…The Ultimate Guide To Being The Perfect Houseguest
I’m glad you were able to record your conversation! It’s amazing how much has changed over the past couple of generations.
Rose recently posted…No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
I love everything about this. I’m so glad you took the time to “interview” your nani and learn new things. This is something we don’t do often enough in our fact-paced world. These memories will last a lifetime 🙂
April Walker recently posted…The Family Guide to Filling Out NCAA Brackets
What a beautiful post! I love hearing stories from my Grandma too (and my Great Gran before that), especially the ones about when they first moved out to Australia, how they lived in tin sheds and the conditions they endured. Hard to imagine in this day and age but so important to learn.
Such an important lesson about how that teacher made her feel too… It is wonderful to have memories like that and I hope to have made some students feel that way too 😉
Dominique recently posted…Can a Child Be Born Racist
Your nani is the sweetest. My dad doesn’t know how to send text messages either
Janella Panchamsingh recently posted…Wine Not! Wednesday Featuring Tenuta Frescobaldi Di Castiglioni 2012
Thank you for sharing this heartwarming post about your Nani. She has so much stories to tell, and her wisdom is beyond words. I wish her more healthy, happy years and may she continue to touch the lives of more people with stories of her experiences.
Awww, this made me tear up a little! How amazing to share this time with your Grandparents. And as teachers, isn’t that our goal. To impact our students and affect them! I hope that some of my students remember me in the same way.
Danielle recently posted…DIY Chevron Tray
there’s nothing sweeter than the wisdom of grandma….i listen hard these days and soak every story they’re willing to share…and thank goodness we don’t have to T9 our text messages anymore (:
I wish I had known my Nani, but she had passed away before I was born. I would have loved to have conversations like this with her. When I used to ask my mom about her, she would say that my Nani was a very good swimmer. As for the one channel on TV…. ha ha, I still remember that.