Vitamin-M

Vidya wishes for "Vitamin-M" for old people's memory; Grandpa moved in after double medicine dose and getting lost; he hates noisy city life.

Former lawyer Grandpa resents being forbidden to go out alone. He longs for his quiet brick house with the mango tree where he fell and lay all night.

Grandpa tricks Ravi into letting him fetch the Tamil paper; Ravi follows secretly while Mother forbids solo outings.

Grandpa twirls his mahogany walking stick and wears a yellow cap. Ravi faces a dilemma - hurt Grandpa or disobey Mother.

Ravi hides behind bushes and trees, gets scolded, watches Grandpa eat banned treats, boards a bus - but follows wrong man in same cap.

Grandpa enjoys peanuts, sugary tea, bananas and ice cream. A stranger wears Grandpa's coffee-stained cap after a kind exchange in the barber shop.

Grandpa is safely snoring at home; gives gifts on his own birthday; tells Vidya she needs Vitamin-M; gives Ravi detective stories.

Grandpa coolly reports Ravi "disappeared"; the twinkle in his eye suggests he knew about the trailing all along.

"I cannot remember my mother" - sometimes a tune hovers over playthings from a song she hummed rocking the cradle.

Auditory memory during play; mother's face not recalled but presence felt through music.

In early autumn morning, shiuli flowers and temple morning service scent recall the mother.

Olfactory imagery links nature and ritual to maternal presence; outdoor setting.

From the bedroom window, sending eyes into blue sky, the stillness of mother's gaze seems spread over the sky.

Visual/spiritual symbolism: sky extends mother's watchful presence; tone nostalgic and serene.

Refrain emphasises forgetting face yet feeling presence through senses - universal theme of love beyond clear memory.

Alliteration, symbolism (shiuli, tune, sky), free verse without rhyme scheme yet deeply emotional.