A lovely story from India

November 1, 2016 at 1:24 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The most soul satisfying thing I have ever done was to force my nani (grandma) to sit outside in the sun.

My nani is around 78 years. She lost her birth certificate while moving to India from Pakistan (then undivided Punjab) in 1947. However, she looks way older than her age because of her health issues and attitude.

A combination of diabetes, blood pressure and general loss of interest in life lead her to be restricted in her room. Of course, her children and grand children are equally responsible for her situation. She lived alone in the older apartment but my two uncles met with her 6 days a week and my mom along with my aunts visited her regularly. Her 7 grandchildren met her on some key occasions and spent some time with her to cheer her up. I am the only grandchild who lives away in America and gets to meet with her once or twice a year. I’ve seen 90 year olds active, fit and doing daily chores so many times in America and other places.

NOTHING made her get up and go outside, even for a short period of time. Her hardly used bones and muscles were now too rested to do anything more than necessary.

March 2016

I go to India for a short 7 day vacation. I promise myself I will change this and somehow get her out of her depressing room. Thats it. A small mission – get my nani outside and make her sit under the sun.

I go to visit her with my fiancé. We asked her about her well-being and why doesn’t want to live with her children and go outside. (Just FYI- Both my uncles and my mom have offered her to bring her to their apartment but she refused). She dodged that question and told she doesn’t have any interest in living. I could understand how boring it must be for her to live alone with no interaction with anyone other than the domestic help and few members of her family.

She then asked us when will we get married. There. I got my lead. I knew how important it was for her that I get married and that too, in traditional Indian way. I argued with her asking what is the point of getting married if my grandmother doesn’t attend? (She missed my engagement ceremony too). I told her Eeshaan (my fiancé) and I have decided to get married in the court. After arguing for 5 mins I asked her if she will make a deal with me.

You come out and sit under the sun with us and we promise you a traditional wedding. Mission accomplished.

Both, Eeshaan and I were so content that day. My nani felt so good after sitting outside. My uncles own a business and their office in 30 secs away. She wanted us to call them so that they can see their mother is sitting out, just like a kid.

June 2016

What was even a bigger achievement was that one of my aunts (and my grandmother’s daughter-in-law) got really motivated by this and managed to convince my grandmother to stay with them! My grandmother now lives with my younger mama and mami (maternal uncle and aunt) and their 3 grandchildren. My aunt makes sure my nani dresses up nicely (like she used to), the grandkids take her down to walk in the evening or to just sit and breathes some fresh air and, meets more people.

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Man leaps out of swimming pool after six-foot CROCODILE dives in, leaving his partner to fight it off herself: “A couple’s late night frolic in a lodge’s pool in Africa nearly turned into a blood bath after a crocodile suddenly jumped in. Terrifying CCTV footage shows the 6ft crocodile creep up on the unaware victims between empty sun loungers. It then lunges into the water immediately snapping at the bikini-clad woman who desperately begins fighting it off. The man quickly jumps out of the pool leaving the woman fending off the huge reptile alone as it splashes around underwater. Luckily, she manages to avoid being forced deeper into the water and furiously paddles back to the shallow end. By that time her partner has seen sense and returns to the poolside to try and distract the animal. The woman manages to clamber out and gets to her feet despite having suffered several bites. The clip is believed to have been recorded in Kariba, Zimbabwe, in southern Africa”

Flabby, older fathers are healthier, live longer and more attractive to women than their lean, muscle-bound peers, study reveals: “Fathers over 50 who are more accustomed to watching sport from the comfort of the armchair than being active are more likely to live longer, a new book claims. Men with an extra tyre around the waist and saggy moobs are more attractive to the opposite sex, better at passing on genes and are, in fact, healthier than peers who are always in the gym. That is the conclusion of academic Richard Bribiescas who has written his ‘pudgy dad hypothesis’ in his new work How Men Age. He says one of the keys to a long life for men is the natural decline of sex hormones which is blunted when muscle-focused friends spike their testosterone levels with months and years pulling weights”

Huge muscly kangaroo flexes his muscles as he poses for a photo: “A massive kangaroo has been pictured cutting a menacing figure as it flexes its muscles and it could take the title as Australia’s most buff marsupial. Photographer William Thomsen has snapped photographs of what he described as a ‘huge’ male kangaroo near Denmark, Western Australia. Mr Thomsen, who moved to Australia from the U.S. 16 years ago, said he’d spotted the giant while out with his sister from New York. On the last day we had a bit of a kangaroo hunt and there was this big group of them. Nine or ten ran away but this big guy just stood his ground. We were a bit taken aback. He was huge. He stood right up on his haunches and just stared at us.'” Researchers found the muscular physiques of male kangaroos were to attract females and compete with male rivals, WA Today reported.”

The fish that always finds its way home: Shannies migrate like birds, returning to the SAME nest each year: “For one species of fish, there really is no place like home. With its big head and large eyes, the shanny can be spotted on rocky shores, hiding under seaweed and in rocky crevices. But marine biologists have found that the small fish have a remarkable knack for finding their way back home, returning to the exact same nests each year. Shannies (Lipophrys pholis) live in the coastal waters around the UK, Western Europe and North Africa, but can range relatively far and wide in their search for food. But when mating season rolls around, from winter to spring, males set up nests in crevices, protecting the eggs laid by the female fish. Portuguese researchers believe that these small coastal fish have a well-developed navigational system and can accurately determine which way is home, even from unfamiliar places”

Zika virus may cause men’s testicles to SHRINK by up to 90 per cent and permanently reduce fertility: “ZIKA infection could cause lasting infertility and lead to men’s testicles shrinking, medical researchers warn. Doctors warn that if the ‘dramatic’ findings, in mice, apply to humans it could lead to an epidemic of infertility caused by the disease. It is not yet known whether the 90 per cent shrinkage in mice would apply to humans – but doctors believe at the very least the virus is likely to reduce sperm counts and testosterone levels in affected men. The virus is already known to leads to shrunken heads in babies whose mothers catch the infection, which is carried in tropical countries and has recently been found in the tourist hotspot of Florida. The virus has the unusual ability to cross the barrier that separates the male reproductive organs from the blood stream”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.