Remembering grandma

A short speech made by Neel (grandson) at Mrs Ruprah’s funeral

Good afternoon to everyone. On behalf of my grandmother, I’d like to thank you all for being here today.

Many of us only see each other at weddings and funerals and little in between. My grandma’s passing is a reminder to all of us that our time on this earth is fleeting and precious.

She was mum, she was Kirpal and she was Mrs Ruprah. I knew her simply as ‘Grandma’. I will be forever grateful that she was a part of my life from the beginning into my adulthood and was able to share so many milestones in my life with her.

Even though I might be biased, she was one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. I had her love unconditionally and probably got away with a lot as a kid. During hard times in my life she had always been there for me and always managed to somehow cheer me up when no one else could.

I’m not going to stand up here and tell you she was like this with everyone. My grandmother wasn’t always an easy person to deal with! She had a razor sharp wit and directness that probably offended a few people in her time. We still reminisce over the time she had an eye appointment and called the doctor a Chinese bastard for having the temerity to give her eye drops. In my grandma’s defence, she didn’t discriminate and found bastard haramjadas of every creed and colour.

One of my friends who had been staying with me at my gran’s for a few months was out of work and my grandma used to harangue him on a daily basis to ask why he hadn’t got a job yet and what was wrong with him.

Another friend of mine on holiday with us, whose name was Ian, tried to introduce himself and spell out his name for her. She refused to accept this spelling of his name and called him Eon instead.

I’m sure if I asked you to share similar stories, we could be here a long time this afternoon!

But I look back at those times with great fondness and a smile. She was unique. Too many of us are too scared to say what we really think and we let things slide all the time. It’s the easy thing to do. I think it’s incredibly refreshing that my grandma had the courage to say some of the things she did. I’m a firm believer that if you haven’t made an enemy or two in your life, you might not be showing your true self to the world. In her own words, she told me once ‘I’m an old lady so people will let me say these things!’