The Mouth Mirror Legacy

Sometimes strange co incidences make us want to believe in the unspoken energy of the universe.It startles one into thinking that maybe all life events are connected in some way and messages in some unknown way get passed through generations.

These may seem like random ramblings from my end, but this is based on my amazing amd unbelievale story of a gift from grandpa.Now most of you may wonder what's so great about a grandpa giving a gift to his grandchild.So here goes .

My father's dad was in the merchant navy during the british raj.As all sailors,he used to be at sea most of the year,sailing to far lands across the seven seas.He would always come loaded with toys,chocolates etc whenever he used to get back to see his family in Mangalore.It used to be a festive atmosphere with all the children in the neighbourhood gathering to hear the stories and tales about strange lands,people and their cultures.

Way back in those days, when dentistry was still alien to many people, he purchased a mouth mirror during a trip to Japan.Till today nobody knows how he knew what the instrument was meant for or why he purchased it.Maybe he had a premonition that one day his granddaughter would choose to be a dentist(my wishful thinking) or maybe he just liked looking at his teeth(though I wonder why a layman would buy a professional instrument and know how to use it on himself).What amazes me about this story is that  my grandpa passed away many many years before I was born.Unfortunately ,I grew up not knowing much about the man.

The mouth mirror lay in my father's tool kit for almost twenty plus years and no one bothered about it.It was during my second year BDS days that I discovered it.I had an internal practical exam the next morning and my mouth mirror had been misplaced during sterilization.I was franctially trying to arrange for one when dad happened to remember that he had something similar in his tool kit which maybe I could use.Curious,I rummaged through the tools and there it lay!beautifully crafted,perfectly angulated and still in mint condition..my grandpa's mouth mirror.

It not only helped me to do the job well ,it also got a compliment from the examiner who wanted to know from where I had obtained such a fine instrument.He was shocked to know that it was my grandpa's  legacy for his granddaughter.Since then I have come a long way as a dentist, but I still cherish the mouth mirror and keep it as my lucky charm and blessing from gramps.