Summer Vacation: The Grandparents’ Time!

Spending time with family during summer vacation is a beautiful experience, and visiting your grandparents’ place can be memorable. It gives you a chance to get close to your grandparents, make enduring memories with them, and gain knowledge from their experiences and advice. This visit comes with a chance to unplug from technology and experience. A more traditional way of life can be found when you visit your grandparents’ home. Spending time with them while enjoying the outdoors, reading, conversing, or simply unwinding is heart-warming feeling. This gives a break from the daily commotion and teaches us to appreciate a gentler pace.

Staying with grandparents helps you forge closer ties and develop a more intimate relationship with them which rejuvenates both parties. You can discover your family’s past, hear fascinating tales from it, and create a sense of identification and belonging.

Hence Summer Vacation is not at all about foreign locales and trips- it is also about connecting with our roots! Let us read what the Raconteur of Manav Rachna International School, Sector 46, Gurugram has to say…

RACONTEUR RIGHTLY REVIEWED

“Grandparents are like magicians. They create wonderful memories for their grandchildren out of thin air.”

Summer vacation is one of the most awaited times for all school children across India. The sweltering heat and soaring temperature remind us to take a break and learn beyond the textbooks. The hot gust of air magnetizes the children towards ice cream and gola vendors. For the students of the Best CBSE School in Gurugram, despite the blazing sun- this is the duration to unfold adventure in the form of traveling, exploring, and connecting with our roots. Away from the mundane city life and in the real heart of Indian hometowns someone eagerly looks forward to their sunshine of life! I am sure you have already guessed that it is the grandparents with warm hearts and cool minds prepared to shower their love and blessings on their grandchildren.

Adwik Das of Grade XII proudly calls himself the apple of his grandparents’ eyes. They not only prepare for his comfortable stay and an involved routine but also open the treasure of family stories and traditions. He shares that he has the best of memories with his grandparents and each day spent with them has helped him in multifarious ways

According to Nikita Guliani Grade XII, being able to visit grandparents is a boon and she heartily admits that summer vacation for children of all age groups is a blessing in disguise. It brings a flash of a smile to her face when she is reminded of the excitement of packing things for a month to stay with her grandparents. Being the only girl child amongst all siblings, she holds a special place in her grandfather’s heart.

Thawishaa Mansukhani of Grade XII strongly feels that grandparents are a powerhouse of all those qualities that shape the overall development of children. They love unconditionally and sometimes become children’s best friends and confidantes. She is uninhibitedly able to share her stress stories with her grandma as she trusts her to be non-judgemental and a patient listener. As per Thawishaa, it will not be an exaggeration to say that she has more faith in her grandma than her mother.

Another student of Manav Rachna International School, Sector 46, Gurugram Tashvi Oberoi says that her grandmother is a role model for her. She is highly influenced by her grandmother’s ideology of multiculturalism and diversified living. Tashvi is an avid reader and she boasts of acquiring this habit from her grandmother. She confidently states that her grandmother’s vivid perspective of life has been gained from reading books of a variety of genres and multilingual authors. Tashvi’s grandmother is a retired CEO and she is currently spearheading reading programs for underprivileged children.

As narrated by the students of Manav Rachna International School, Sector 46, spending summer vacations with the grandparents add to the quality of learning in the following ways:

Gratitude

The children share that their grandparents live by their words and show them in their actions. Their day starts with the early morning rituals of prayers and chanting mantras. They are full of compassion and gratitude for having lived a blessed life and continuously wish better days for all the family members. One of our student’s reminiscences was that her granny’s morning prayer used to be the best kick-start for her joyous days in the outskirts of Lucknow.

Self-confidence

‘Be the best version of yourself.’ The grandparents need not emulate anyone as they are the self-believers. No matter how difficult were the times for them especially during the coronavirus, they trusted themselves and the Almighty and dedicated their services to the needy people in the forms of home-cooked meals, comforting telephonic conversations, and reassurance of faith in God. Those trying times were scary but with each other’s support, we could curb the dangers and overcome it.

Futuristic

Another student shares that her grandmother is the most progressive soul she has ever met. She does not believe in being redundant and opines that ‘rest is rust.’ So, to be hand in hand with Gen Z and its technology she explores her smartphone and the unending applications with the vigor of a keen learner. She comfortably handles her finance nuances and online shopping lists. The grandchild is amazed to see the vigor in her grandmother’s eyes.

Optimistic

Dhruv Srivastava says that his grandpa is not only a strict disciplinarian but also a true optimist at heart. He fondly recalls the incident when they were struck in the huge traffic of the metropolitan and feared missing the Shatabdi Express to their hometown. It was his grandpa who kept him calm and assured him to hold on to hope to reach his destiny. And finally, they did make it on time to the station. Such undaunted support around the grandchildren helps them to achieve unimaginable heights and gives them the habit of self-trust even in the most difficult of situations.

Sustainability

Most of the children share that the concept of sustainable living is old for their grandparents. The grandmother’s kitchen garden harvest of tomatoes, onions, beans, guava, papaya, mulberry, cherries, lemons, and the list goes endless; speaks volumes about their knowledge and practice of sustainability. They are the masters of optimum utilization of resources and have always been in a habit of preserving nature. The most pleasurable part of the summer vacation for children is to lend a helping hand to their grandparents in their daily tasks and toil in the garden. Growing veggies and fruits together is the best hands-on knowledge for summer vacations.

Community Living

The ‘Joy of Giving’ is not experienced better by anyone but the grandparents. Children narrate that the grandmothers do not return an empty bowl. Our grandparents live in the localities where they know the neighborhood and people know them for their true spirit. Every day is spent like a festival. The aunt from the neighborhood would bring the new delicacy she has tried. And to add delight to each day the grandmothers’ recipes of pickles, curries, jams, jellies, and cakes are tried in each household in India.

True Nationalist

Grandparents are a true embodiment of patriotic fervor. They already know the needs of a growing nation and they try to imbibe similar vibes in the younger generation of the family. They show genuine love and patriotism for the nation. They feel that taking the responsibility of a country is a joint effort, as long as people are unified in their actions the nation will prosper by leaps and bounds. They motivate the youth to community living and cooperation and set inspirational examples to follow.

Inspirational

Huge words like ‘inspirational and bravery’ are hard to interpret unless someone exemplifies the growing minds of children. The grandpa who is a retired Army officer holds admiration in the eyes of his grandchildren when he shares the Kargil war anecdotes. The children are awestruck and mesmerized by his true tales and how they yearn to be the future caretakers of the nation. It is part of the family tradition to watch the Republic Day parade together and enjoy the seamless show of the various state contingents. Undoubtedly creating such memories with the grandparents leaves an indelible impression on the nurturing hearts of these grandchildren.

Grandparents are superhumans that are the perfect mix of love, wisdom, and a splash of magic. The suffix ‘grand’ in their name stands true to them literally and symbolically. They are grand in all their gestures of life and add a lifetime of incredible experience to the lives of their grandchildren. The company of grandparents is revitalizing, rejuvenating, and accomplishing for the grandchildren. It has been observed that the children who grow up with their grandparents are more mature, accommodating, and tolerant as compared to those who have lesser been in the company of their grandparents.

So here was a glimpse into the Summer Sunshine Stories by the students of the best International School, Manav Rachna International School Sector 46 Gurugram. The children felt that in the company of their grandparents, they have grown tremendously. It is their effect that would continue to inspire them throughout the year and they will realize their true potential. The grandchildren were connected to their culture and family traditions.

RACONTEUR: Ms. Reenu Dahiya, PGT English, Manav Rachna International School, Sec 46, Gurugram

Expressed By: Thawishaa Mansukhani, Adwik Das, Nikita Guliani, Tashvi & Dhruv Srivastava