"Ah! the capital city roads," I murmured. The thing that I felt most lazy to do was to drop my sister to school on foot. Though it was a fifteen minutes walk, it was a difficult job I must say. On top of that, the road was sometimes slippery. It was to settle down the dust on the road for some time that people splashed water onto the roads. You know the streets of Kathmandu and perks of living here. I was walking behind my sister to avoid her from falling. But just then I slipped and someone caught my hand just in time. I squeaked like a happy mouse that had got a big chunk of cheese all for itself. "Thank you, uncle," I said turning around finding a person almost in his late 50’s. He smiled at me and stood there waiting for someone.

My sister went to the nearby shop across the road with me tagging along her. I heard a small voice and watched from the top step of the shop. "Hajur ba jau," a small girl almost aged three or four said holding her grandfather's hand; the uncle who had saved me from falling. Even though my sister was talking to me all the way to school all I had in mind was about my grandfather. I do not have the proper picture of my maternal grand dad as he had passed away when my mom was very young. As for my paternal grandfather I know him a little better. An old intelligent man with high morale holding the ideology of equality and having a maintained moustache and beard who loved the nature as much as he loved his family.

The first impression I got about him apart was that he was a long-term thinker as his actions spoke more than he did. No sooner had I heard from my father about my grandfather I had portrayed him in my mind the right way. Though I do not have lots of memories of my grandfather nor am I able to create some now or will be in the future. But the thing I vividly remember is him being a part of my small birthday party. I often remember as these things still happen to me every time there is a talk about grandfather; a talkative person like me has so less to say.

Each time I ask my father about how my grandfather was and he would smile and tell me about what he knew and remembered. I would listen to him every time with fascination as if I was hearing a chapter from the fairy tale. I don't know if I would still have my grandfather around me. Would I be a moron and end up meeting him in an old age home like most people do or would I be walking like that toddler with her grandfather hand-in-hand, hearing his talks of the past days? "Don't worry, hard work won't betray you", is one of his philosophies of living life. This is one of the lessons I learnt from him and the more I think of his sayings, the more I admire him. I know it might sound a little out-of-place but sometimes it feels like he is watching me fall and walk, praising and trying to teach me to do things right in one or the other way.