Memory games – The Hindu

Grandma had been worried that she was forgetting certain things lately, and this bothered Krish and Payal. But the doctor had reassured them. “She just seems to be anxious and preoccupied with certain earlier events,” he said.

An idea strikes

One day, as the children were watching television, they heard a writer talk about the positive effects of storytelling. This reminded them of a story from Grandma’s childhood. What followed was a thorough search of all their contacts to contact the right people. Then, when the guests arrived, they were ready to put their plan into action.

Thankfully, grandma recognised Gayatri and Vidya, her two friends from her own schooldays. Amid the reunion, Krish and Payal waited for the guests to act according to their plan.

“Remember that story from school?” asked Gayatri, in the course of the conversation.

Instantly, grandma began recalling the incident. It had begun when Gayatri, who was new to the school that year, and grandma became friends. However, Vidya had not approved of this friendship. She had been possessive of grandma and was often bothered by the growing closeness between the other two girls. She particularly disliked Gayatri because she would criticise Vidya for skillfully imitating other people’s handwriting.

Assignment time

“… And then we got an English assignment: to write about our vacation,” recalled Vidya.

“No,” Grandma corrected her. “We had to write about a social issue.”

The children were surprised at how well grandma remembered so many details. Grandma continued explaining that, after she finished writing, she handed her assignment to Gayatri to correct, since the latter’s writing skills were very good.

“I gave mine to Gayatri too,” said Vidya.

“No Vidya! You visited Gayatri only the next day on the pretext of seeking help,” Grandma said. Further, when Gayatri was not around, Vidya had seized the opportunity to use her copying skills to replace grandma’s assignment and make it appear as if she had copied from Gayatri. “This would have landed me in trouble.”

When Gayatri came back, Vidya hastily put both her friends’ notebooks back in their places. However, her nervousness aroused Gayatri’s suspicions. “The next day, it was submission time. A student got caught for plagiarism, leading to stringent action,” Grandma continued. “Now, Vidya was frightened that I, too, would be punished the same way! She prayed for some miracle and vowed to be honest henceforth.”

“What happened next?” asked the children.

Setting things right

Illustration: Sreejith R. Kumar

“Luckily, between Gayatri and I, we remembered what I had written. So, I rewrote the assignment quickly. Vidya was greatly relieved that things were set right in the nick of time,” recalled grandma. “Of course, when the story came out, it created a buzz. But, by then, the three of us had forged a strong friendship.”

“Gayatri aunty, did you think of altering the story just now? asked Krish and Payal.

“No dears. We did it back then. The altered version created confusion for those who were troublemakers at school,” said Gayatri mischievously.

“Your group was so happening!” exclaimed the children.

“And your grandma was the star of the group,” said Vidya

“Like she was today!” the children said together.

Having remembered so many details, grandma too felt hopeful that her fears about her memory loss would disappear soon.

Published – January 31, 2026 09:53 am IST