Wind In My Head: My Inheritance
Wind In My Head
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
My Inheritance
My maternal grandmother passed away about 5 years ago and I remember her far more clearly than I remember my Dad's mum. Possibly because I lived with Mama as a teenager and that wasn't too long ago. I remember her as a lady always dressed in a sarong, speaking a rojak** of English and Malay and cooking the most divine of dishes.
I remember tales of how she would pawn her jewellery just so that my mother could have a sweet 16 cake and I remember how she extracted all her teeth so that they would never bother her again.
She was one cool lady. Even when she became ill and threw tantrums when asked to take her medication. Much of it landed on the grass outside my window. I think my dogs had very thin blood from the aspirin after a bit. She also took to declaring days durian days, where she ate nothing but durian for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I miss Mama very much and when Mom asked me yesterday if I wanted her Peranakan Tiffin carriers, I jumped at the opportunity. After all, I have little to remember her by and I have little to celebrate my ethnicity by.
They are my Peranakan heirlooms, to be passed onto my even less Peranakan children. After all, I did not marry a Peranakan boy.
*Tengkat- Colloquial Malay Term for Tiffin Carrier.
**Rojak- mishmash of anything.
Ondine tossed this thought in at 21:20
