My Nanamma is an alien

I am a lucid dreamer and remember my dreams after I wake up. I write the ones I find interesting and amusing. One night, I had a rather strange dream that felt very real.

I was very close to my Nanamma (paternal grandmother in Telugu). Nanamma is my Naanna’s (Dad in Telugu) mother. Telugu language has logical names for grandmothers. Nanna’s mother is Nanamma and Amma’s (Mom in Telugu) mother is Ammumma.

I still remember how soft and wrinkly her skin felt and the way she carried herself. She spoke with authority and left an impression on anybody that met her. She lived on her own on a large property at the edge of town adjacent to a large palm grove. She was fearless and was blessed with a strong mind for otherwise weaker health. She was quick witted and could think on her feet. She suffered from heart disease caused by Mitral stenosis of rheumatic etiology. I loved and admired her strength of character and formidable spirit. I still remember her lying in state after her death waiting to be taken on her final journey. It took me several years to make peace with her loss. I lost her when I was 10 years old.

Nanamma liked sleeping outdoors under the stars on hot summer nights. My love for sleeping under the stars came from her. She told me several ghost stories. She believed her birth star (జన్మ నక్షత్రం) హస్తా (Hasta) gave her the power to see ghosts. She would tell me about the ghosts she saw while she slept outdoors. She asked the locals about known ghosts in the area.

In my dream I was sitting next to Nanamma listening to her telling me a story. All of a sudden, Nanamma turned into an alien. She looked pretty and glowing unlike the aliens from science fiction movies and TV series. She said she came from a different world and took a human form to live among the humans on the earth. This revelation that I am an alien from a different world shocked me. Does this explain why I feel different from people around me? Won't it be fascinating to find this world Nanamma came from? Is this why she loved to gaze up at her world as she slept under the stars? Does this explain why she could see ghosts? As these thoughts were racing through my mind, Nanamma vanished. Perhaps, she went back to her world after her death and appeared in my dream to share this important history with me.

A mother's day tribute to Nanamma, a strong independent mother and grandmother who continues to live in my memories.