It hard to imagine that this wonderful man was also once upon a time, 19 months old like my little one.
Baby G feeds cake to his great grandpa on his 92nd birthday. A milestone for all of us. He wished thatha 'appy burthdae thatha'. He shares a beautiful relationship with my grandpa. As a baby, his first smiles from face recognition was seeing my grandpa. G knows that the little green box with snuff powder belongs to thatha and if he finds it elsewhere, he picks it up and runs to give it back to him. The walking stick with the blue handle belongs to thatha and exactly at 4pm every evening, he brings it out everyday to go on his evening walk. Baby G dutifully follows him. At 6pm everyday, he hears the kanda shashti kavasam on thatha's tv and runs to listen to it and does the 'thalam' on his thighs.
Thatha, on the other hand doesn't start lunch without asking if 'Gnanu thambhi' has eaten. However late it is, thatha peeps out of his room to make sure Gnanu thambhi is asleep. When Gnanu thambhi is unwell, he makes his rare visits to other rooms in the house to check on him. They share such a beautiful bond, its joyous to watch.
A grandfather is bit of a parent, a bit of a friend, a bit of a disciplinarian and a bit of a doter. A great grandfather is just much more! Happy birthday to Thatha!
