Ajji's Sanjaya

“Ajji, walk faster. We have to see so many other rooms. Don’t spend so much time in front of each art piece”, Mohan dragged his 65-year-old grandmother. Saraswathi could not take her eyes off that beautiful painting of Ravi Varma. Mohan had brought her to the Jagan Mohan Palace Museum in Mysore.  

“Arrhe Mohana, I have never come to this museum, though I was born and brought up here in Mysore. After marriage, your Thaatha took me away to Bombay. In those days, that was a revolution. Nobody gave their daughters away to men who were that far! Life in Bombay was very mechanical. Your Thaatha was in a very senior post in a company. So, he was always busy. We hardly went out. Taking care of home and six children was enough to keep me busy throughout the day. To add to my burden, my sick mother-in-law too lived with us. You won’t believe 9 people lived in a small one-room house……..”

“Aiyyo, Ajji, I have heard this story some thousands of times. Now, hurry up.”

All this was five years ago. Today, Ajji cannot travel so freely. She lost her eyesight due to Glaucoma. Thaatha passed away three years ago and almost immediately after that she lost her eyesight. Until then, she was very active and enthusiastic. She loved touring and went on many pilgrimage tours with her friends, though Thaatha did not accompany her. But, she was not very happy seeing only temples. She was interested in seeing all places and hence tagged along with her children and grandchildren to other tours also. She cooperated with them perfectly and never nagged them, except with her habit of repeatedly relating anecdotes from her life. Mohan was her favourite grandson, with whom, she travelled a lot. He even took her to a few foreign countries. Everywhere, she was keen on seeing art museums, as she herself was a very good painter and craftswoman. She had made hundreds of paintings and craftwork, which occupied a special place in the homes of all her children and grandchildren.  

Mohan was shocked to hear of his Ajj’s sudden blindness. She went into depression for a few months but later got used to her new status. She still could do certain craftwork, as her other senses were perfect and even better now. But, she could not tour much. Mohan did take her along to a few places and at least made her feel the atmosphere and ambience. He took her to nature parks and resorts, where she could immediately sense the silence and enjoy the sounds of nature and chilly weather. But, he decided to give her the experience of other places through his vivid description.  

Mohan anyway travelled a lot for his work and wherever he went, he did take some time off to see the important landmarks of those places, jotted down all information and his experiences. Besides his official trips, whenever he went on a holiday with his wife and daughter, he consciously planned to go to places that Ajji would have loved to see. He definitely visited the museums there and noted down a lot of information. Ajji waited eagerly for his return from holidays.

“Ajji, have your heard of Mona Lisa?”

“Of course, I have read about that wonderful painting. I have seen pictures. Did you see it?”

“Yes, Ajji, I saw it in the Louvre Museum, Paris. You must see the crowd in front of this small painting. People from all over the world throng to that hall to take selfies with the painting in the background.”

“Is it so marvelous? I wish I could see it.”

“It is good. But there are thousands of other really beautiful works in this museum. They say, if one spends even 3 minutes at each work of art, he needs at least 3 months continuously to just see all the paintings on display here. It is a huge museum. Thus, we could hardly see 15 percent of the items. The building itself is a beautiful heritage building.”

“How is Eiffel Tower?”

“It is another magnificent work of art. The very size of the Tower is amazing. How could someone imagine such a structure and how did they manufacture and assemble so many pieces into that imposing Tower? In the night, the Tower is beautifully lit. It is an out of world experience.”

Ajji thus started touring the world through her grandson Mohan. He brought her some special gifts wherever he went, which she could enjoy even without her eyes.  

“Ajji, I just returned from Orissa. How are you?”  

“Come in Mohan. I am fine. Orissa? So, did you visit the Sun Temple, Konark? Do you remember we missed it during our trip to the East?”

“Yes. I made it a point to visit that temple. It is simply awesome. Our ancestors were such efficient and skilled architects, sculptors and engineers. The structure is that of a mammoth chariot with 12 pairs of huge stone wheels acting as sundials and the time can be calculated accurately. The 12 pairs of wheels represent the twelve months of the year and the chariot is drawn by seven horses. Oh! The intricate carvings on the temple walls are amazing.”

Ajji was listening to him raptly, with her mouth wide open. Though she could not see anything on the TV, she watched Travel channels and listened to the interesting commentaries. She imagined herself in those exotic locales and recollected all her tours.  

“Mohan. I am blessed to have you near me. You are my Sanjaya. Your descriptions help me imagine the places so well. I feel I am also travelling with you. God bless you Kanna!”

“Ajji, we may visit many places only once but are we not able to recollect our memories of those places years later and still enjoy them? You have told me so many stories and though they were all fantasies and neither you nor I have visited such places, I could imagine those locations and places, as though I lived there, with your excellent descriptions. When you described the forests in Panchatantra stories, I would get goosebumps thinking that I was lost in a dense forest and encountered the tiger or elephant that you were talking about! When you described palaces in fairy tales, I imagined those grand palaces and thus when I went to the Mysore Palace for the first time, I felt I had already seen it. That is why I decided to give you this experience. You may be unfortunate to lose your eyesight. But you are fortunate that all your other senses are better than anybody and your positive attitude is helping you to enjoy whatever you hear, feel or experience. Next year I am planning to go to Alaska. Get ready with all your winter clothing to experience my narration after my return”, said Mohan. Ajji giggled and gave him a tight hug.