MyStory

Slowly, surely, she heated up the wok. Soon, the oil started to bubble. Upon contact with the cold surface of the fish, oil droplets sizzled and sprayed out of the wok. Hot droplets landed on my grandma’s hand. She was unperturbed and continued frying. Only when she had finished her cooking that she brought out her bottle of cure-all ointment and rubbed on the parts of her arm that hurt. How my heart ached for her!

Her arms are covered with such oil-scalds – battle-scars from years of cooking, yet she is unfazed. She takes it all in her stride and still cooks for the whole family at age 81. After all, she is not one to bow to hardship, as seen from her tumultuous past.

She grew up in a kampung at Pasir Ris. At the tender age of thirteen, grandma had to shoulder the burden of being the main breadwinner for the family upon her father’s death. Despite her petite frame, she had to take on a man’s job of hacking away the husk of the coconut with a knife to extract the coconut flesh and juice for sale. I can imagine what a gutsy teenager she must have been!

In order to catch prawns to supplement the family income, she had to immerse herself in the water to put up the nets. Not knowing how to swim was her greatest obstacle. Grandma had found an ingenius way to do it – by clutching onto a coconut to float! How brave she was!

During the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945), she had to slog under the scorching sun from morn till dusk in exchange for daily rations of rice. To shelter from the merciless sun, she tied a cloth over her head, just like a samsui woman. Carrying bricks, rocks and sand for long hours was indeed hard work. At that time, she was merely fifteen! For three years and eight months, she willingly did all these without a single word of complaint. If I were thrown into the same circumstances as her, I believe that I cannot bear such hardship and may even give up! That alone, puts her on a pedestal as my hero.

Now that she is in her eighties, she simply refuses to sit back and relax. She still cooks for the family and for grandpa, preparing our favourite dishes. She is still as feisty as ever -driving the car to do marketing on her own. I really admire her for her drive and tenacity.

Deprived of a chance to pursue her studies beyond Primary school, she places utmost importance in education. In fact, she is a great inspiration– she display photographs of family members who have graduated prominently as a visual reminder to us. Thank you, grandma, your encouragement landed me my degree. Other grandchildren in the family are similarly inspired and are graduates or in the midst of pursuing their degrees.

I have a special spot in my heart for grandma because she raised me and rushed me to the doctor when I was ill. I treasure the times we spent together. Before, I used to wonder where her strength of character came. Now, I have the answer.

Grandma, from you, I learnt to be stronger, to plan ahead and to take up challenges that come my way.

Grandma, I love you. I want to be a hero like you ---- a fighter, brave and resilient in the face of hardship.