Indore: It is said that 'the family which eats together stay together', and the four generations of Pandey family under one roof are a living testimony to this adage, and now it is something more.... the love and bonding between them are increasing by the day thanks to the lockdown.
81-year-old matriarch, retired teacher Chandravati Pandey, heads the family which includes her two sons Sanjay and Satish and four daughters Shila Awasthi, Shobha Tiwari, Shalini Shukla and late Shakuntala Awasthi along with their respective families.
Rishab Shukla son of Shalini, who is Youth Congress secretary, said, "My nani always wished for all of us to be together but earlier one or the other member always remained busy which used to upset her a lot, but now we are all together, much to her delight.
Chandravati, who is full of life exults, "I had my 81st birthday on Monday. That day was one of the most beautiful days of my entire life until now. My family members made a cake for me. My great-grandchildren enjoyed the celebration and I enjoyed watching them".
Rishab said, "We all live in adjoining row houses. We spend the entire day at Nani's house, and we go to our respective houses only for sleeping."
Needless to say, the entire day is one big riot of fun. "We have a karaoke system at Nani's house so daily in the evening we all play antakshari or sing songs for entertainment,” said Rishab.
But with so many people to feed, there are numerous chores to be done every day - cooking, cleaning, washing etc. "We share the workload and do whatever our elders tell us and everything works smoothly," said Rishab.
But, they are also careful to take all precautions against coronavirus. They go out only when absolutely necessary, and use sanitisers frequently. And they take special care of their grandmother - who acts as a glue that binds the family. "We take care of each other, but we take extra care of our grandmother," adds Rishab.
