G2Mom's unusual behaviour!

Otherwise very sane, alert, physically active, creative, full of fun and always on the move, the sudden change in her behaviour got everyone in the family worried. You don’t know who G2Mom is? No, she’s not the mother of 2 kids whose names start with the letter ‘G’. Neither is she some fictitious super-mom character! And she definitely does not have anything to do the latest 2G scam of the nation. G2Mom is my 84 year-old great-grandmother. My sister, my four cousins and I call her G2Mom for short!

She is such a sweetheart. She plays games with us. The grey in her hair is not as prominent as that in G-Mom’s (my grandmother, who is her daughter). So, when she is asked if she’s my grandmom, she beams with pride and says, “No, I’m Ila’s great grandmother.”

I am the envy of all my friends to have a lovely great-grandmom like her.
My grand mom comes and goes as and when she likes – visiting like a guest. But, G2Mom is instant family – always staying with us and she rarely goes on holidays. Now, coming to her strange behaviour!

She had suddenly become very suspicious of the people we  had trusted all our lives. Just as Shanta, our maid, was about to leave every day, G2Mom would send her off on some errand and then quickly check her bag.

Every time we returned from grocery shopping, she checked the the car thoroughly, and when Ranga, our driver, asked her what the matter was, she eyed him with disdain. She even insisted on accompanying Dad whenever he went to his friend’s restaurant to buy dinner for us. There, to the amused irritation of Khanna Uncle, she smelled the packed food and even tasted all the dishes, embarrassing Dad no end. She fought with the vegetable vendor almost every day, haggling over his measures and the prices he quoted when the whole neighbourhood swore by his honesty.

One fine day, she called up the carpenter asking him to come and install locks in some kitchen cabinets. That was the last straw. Mom was really upset (at the inconvenience this would cause), embarrassed (at Shanta’s dirty looks) and worried (for G2Mom’s state of mind). She called her friend Maya and requested her to come and take a close look at G2Mom.

Dr Maya came and spent one hour in a room alone with G2Mom. In the drawing room, Mom was very tense (she was biting her nails but I didn’t dare correct her), my sister was chanting and praying and I had my fingers crossed.

Dad called thrice to find out what had transpired. At the end of the hour, G2Mom and the doctor came out laughing loudly. Maya Aunty requested G2Mom to make her some special herbal tea.

As soon as she went into the kitchen, Maya Aunty laughed out loud in response to our questioning looks.

And this was her verdict, “She’s fit and fine as a fiddle and more normal than all of you put together.

She is only disturbed and deeply affected by the rise in price of something as basic as onions. And so, she ensures that honest Shanta is not tempted to slip an onion or two into her bag! After the grocery shopping, she checks to see even if a single onion has rolled away in the car! She fights with the vendor for an extra onion or two, and makes sure the chef in the restaurant has used enough onions in his dishes. Don’t you think this behaviour is normal for a person who once started buying onions at 35 paise a kg and now has to pay a princely price for the same?! Relax everyone.”

We all heaved a sigh of relief. As usual, G2Mom’s brain was working faster than ours!