The author’s grandmother was an extremely old lady with puckered face. The author enjoyed about twenty year’s association with her. But during this period his relationship did not remain exactly the same. The initial and first phase of their relationship was when the author was living with her in the village. The relation was most cordial at that time. Rather they were good friends. She always used to accompany the author to his school. She used to get him ready for school. She would bring his wooden slate, earthen inkpot and a red pen. She would tie them in a bundle and hand it to him. She would serve him breakfast of a thick stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it. The second phase of their relationship was when the author’s parents called them to the city. That was a turning point in their friendship. Though they shared the same room, his grandmother no longer came to school with him. The author went to an English school in a motor bus. There were no dogs in the streets. So she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of their city house. Gradually they started seeing less and less of each other. For some time, the author’s grandmother continued to wake him up to get ready for school. She silently disapproved his schooling and particularly when he started learning music lessons in school. She was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She rarely talked to the author thereafter. The third phase of their relationship started when the author went up to university. He was given a room of his own. The common link of friendship had been snapped. She felt secluded and remained busy with her spinning-wheel, reciting prayers and feeding the sparrows
