Ever since I got into a age where I could remember the things I always used to hear my mother say that her father or my grandfather was a strict man and has been like this right from my mother's childhood.
My mother was the first child of my grandfather and she had a brother younger to her by five or six years. Being the elder child there were so many responsibilities on my mother right from the childhood. She has to learn to handle the house and cook the food since these were the things that were essential for a girl to learn before her marriage in a society that is somewhat to say is patriarchal so that she could handle the house of her future husband even when he is nowhere in the picture now.
Apart from this she also had to take care of her younger brother, my uncle. Being an elderly sibling also mean that sometimes you have to sacrifice some things which are dear to you for the sake of your younger sibling and when you are an elderly girl sibling then this sacrifice also includes the sweets and candies and ofcourse the milk (a boy needs more strength than a girl).
My grand mother, the mother of my mother who is known among us as a nasty old crane was a true representative of this patriarchal society and always used to differentiate girl child (my mother) from the boy child (my uncle). Although she was never nice to anyone but what I could never grasp is that how could you not care about such a loving daughter and instead love a boy child even when he is an spoiled brat.
The fourth member of my mother's family, her father was a very decent gentleman and although I could not imagine this but I always heard my mother say that she and her brother were never scolded by him but yet they always used to fear him in a way that involved a sense of respect. It was not that he was harsh towards them but still he was respected. Respected among family, respected among relatives and respected even among children. A man who never asks for the respect yet you just can't disrespect him. His voice so deep and serious as a night and his persona so cold as steel.