बोइ बायस्कोप

 Memoir  (My grandmother(Nani) passed away in the first week of January this year. Remembering her...) It was October-November 2012. I was posted in the Collectorate of the Nalanda district in Bihar under one of UNDP project. My own village is in the Bhojpur district, and most of my relatives are in Bihar. The festival season was here, and Diwali was approaching. For two weeks, I had been preparing myself to do something special. I hoped my office would grant me leave at least a week early. I had made up my mind: I would celebrate Diwali at my maternal grandmother’s (Nani) house. She lived alone in the village. It had been five years since my grandfather passed away, and my grandmother was around 80 years old then. But things rarely go as planned! I did get leave, but it was late—on the eve of Diwali, at four in the evening. Initially, I thought I’d leave the next day. But then, for some reason, I felt it was best to leave right away. The last train was at six. I looked out ...