I really love my grandmother. I remember how I used to visit her at the weekends. That was such a lot of fun! I liked her courtyard, the kids in the courtyard… and I used to be friends with them and play together. And if for some reason she couldn’t take me with her somewhere my eyes would fill with tears…Why won’t she take me? And I also really loved it when Granny came to visit us. I always tried to finish my homework as fast as possible to spend more time with her and just talk. She now lives with us in Moscow.

I was very lucky with my grandmother on Dad’s side, too. She would always speak to me in Tatar only, and I understood her. Thanks to her, I still understand Tatar, though I can’t actually speak it any more. But I could as a child, because my Dad’s a Tatar. And Granddad and Granny are Tatars too.