Page 37 - Cherished Memories of Yesteryears - A Collection of Grandparents' Life Experiences

Let me tell you about my grandmother. My
grandmother’s name is Munjit, and she is fifty-
eight. She was born in Malaysia and grew up in
a kampong that was near a big river. Her family
made a living by selling textiles. The textiles came
from India. However, my grandmother and her
eight siblings had to stop school early and go out to
work to make ends meet. She remembers schooling
till Secondary Two.
She got married at nineteen and had to move
to Singapore. It was difficult for her to adapt to
married life as she had to separate from her family
and make a home with a stranger in a foreign
country. She only met my grandfather once before
her marriage happened. She has fond memories of
a temple she visited during her childhood; those
memories helped her relive her childhood years “Work hard, be courageous, resilient
when she was carefree and did not have many and independent!”
responsibilities.

My grandmother said that the temple was clean. It husband would spend long hours at work. She
was painted shiny golden and had many flowers. often felt lonely, but she would make the most of
She would play hide and seek there with her her time by educating her children and teaching
them various things, such as arts and crafts.
siblings and use it as a hiding spot whenever her
parents were angry with her. Every day, she would When her children got bigger, she had to go out and
work as the cost of living had risen. They could no
walk to her home from school, scrub the floor, and
clean the house for her parents. Her parents felt longer survive solely on my grandfather’s salary.
She found a job as a childcare teacher. The hours
it was important for a girl to learn how to do the
chores in a home. So, they did not encourage her to were long, and her salary was meagre. After work,
she would hurry back to cook, clean and help her
study or do her homework after school. children with homework. She remembers being
Her parents could not provide for her, so they exhausted, but her love for her family kept her
decided to get her married at a young age. Her going.
husband was a friend of her brother’s who was also I find this story interesting. I never knew that my
looking to settle down. Her brother had moved to
Singapore from Malaysia in search of a job. He grandmother had worked so hard when she was
young. My grandmother showed independence,
enlisted in the army and met my grandfather
there. They became fast friends, and her brother resilience, and courage as she could do things
by herself without help from her parents and
felt my grandfather would make a good husband
to her. At first, she was apprehensive about the friends. My grandmother said I should always be
courageous and independent like her.
marriage, but her family assured her they would
always be there for her.
Arella Kaur Choudhry-Gill
The early years of her marriage were difficult as Primary 4.1
she had to raise children independently while her
Circle of Life 33
Cherished Memories of Yesteryears 33