With nuclearisation of families, grand parents are becoming
a vanishing breed on the home front of Bangalore city, much like in other progressive
cities of India. Although adults may not quite feel the absence of parents, it is children
who are the real losers in this 'vanishing game', and their loss is invaluable as it is
not just educational but emotional as well.
Indeed, grand parents have played a crucial role in human development throughout the
social history of India and have, in turn, received boundless affection and even
veneration from their younger generations. If Bangalore is taken as an example, many great
personalities who have shaped the destiny of the city in the past four centuries have
recorded in their biographies, the role of friend, philosopher and guide that their grand
fathers and grand mothers have played. Quietly moulding their character and personality in
the formative years. There is hardly a kid here who did not grow up listening to fantastic
bedtime stories on the lap of its grand mother, always enjoying them and even getting
inspired by them. Taken from mythology, history and contemporary life, these stories used
to inculcate in the grand children the right values and ideals to conduct life. And almost
invariably, the grand father too used to pass his occupational/professional skills and
knowledge and rich heritage to his grandchild.
Emotionally, of course, grand parents have always been the greatest anchors of grand
children, intervening at the right time to save them from parental tantrums and giving
them affection and assurance almost in excess. The grand child has always been the
weakness of the grand parents and vice versa in the typical family life of Bangaloreans.
However, lately, many modern style families have begun to appreciate the loss that they
are now incurring by keeping their children away from the grand parents and with this
growing realization, grand parents seem to be slowly returning to the family fold,
carrying with them a wealth of emotional and educational inputs to nourish the citizens of
tomorrow's Bangalore.
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