About my father

A portrait I made for my father on his birthday 

My father celebrated his 70th birthday last week. We had 2 parties at our place, everyone was invited ! All of us - my mother and brothers wrote something about him, about our perception of him. It was a treat to listen to what all of us had to say. Here is what I had to say about him :) 

It is not easy to write about baba. He’s not the one we would usually associate with drama and excitement. He is always about calm and balance; I have never seen him jump with joy at a happy occasion or seen him break down at the time of crisis. He is the original ‘Wall’ ,much more before Rahul Dravid came into the picture. He is a simple man, and a self-made one. He dosen’t boast about the silver spoon in his mouth, he’d rather work his way up, which he did, and set up a great example for the three of us. He chose to live a simple life, when he could have easily led one of indulgence and extravagance. He’s honest and a straight talker. He may sound rude to a lot of people, but he’d rather not beat around the bush. Therefore, he has the most brutal sounding opinion and most generous compliment.

He’s a man of few words with a wry sense of humour. This one is my favorite anecdotes, happened in Bharuch. I was watching a music video featuring a certain very popular girl band of that time. Baba was watching too, for a while. Suddenly he quipped “Isn’t that Old Spice?”

This happened many years ago , and I still laugh when I think about it :D.

He’s also great company. He always has funny stories to tell about his travels or his childhood or something he read in the newspaper. One of my favorite stories is the one about the ghost in the Met house. He narrates it with a particular impact. He is the real traveler. We have enjoyed lots of spur of the moment holidays with him. It never seemed to bother him that he was traveling with a wife and three children. We have been to the most extravagant trips without any travel reservations or hotel bookings, that too in peak holiday season. I guess he knows that an unplanned trip is the best way to enjoy a new city. I began understanding and enjoying his idea of a holiday much later in life, but now when I have , I would rather not travel any other way. His love for food is legendary. He loves to eat and makes no qualms about it ! He loves to listen to western music and loves watching western films. I was first introduced to famous art works and
 artists through his collection of art books. And, I always associate instrumental piano music with him, along with music from the 40’s , 50’s and 60’s. Science claims that music calms the mind and I am totally convinced because I have never seen a calmer person than my baba.

There are lots of things I wished I had inherited from him – His health and his discipline comes foremost to my mind. But, I know these don’t come easy, it’s from a lifetime of commitment and focus. Seems to me he has all the keys to a happy, peaceful and content life. He’s a great example to emulate, not only for me but to all the people who have the privilege of knowing him.  

This entry is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with imlee.com

A Skype Tale

I am born in a family with loud booming voices, especially the women. No exceptions ! Family gatherings, as a result, are high decibel affairs. Everyone is talking to everyone else at the same time, no one really bothers to hear about what the other person has to say. Needless to say , everyone thought I'd be married into a family who were quiet and sophisticated. Umm .. not really..

My in-laws are equally loud , if not louder. Everyone's talking to everyone else with no intention of listening ... ditto! Thanks to technology (I mean Skype), they get together once in a while and chit chat with each other.

This was one such occasion.

My MIL (visiting us for the weekend) wanted to talk to my mother, on Skype. Both of them got so excited to see each other, their voices touched new heights of decibel limits.

"Kem cho Usha Ben ? "

"Arre , Swapna ben , aap to Gujarati bolne lage ! "

Big smiles.

Suddenly, my mother got up and fetched a piece of jewellery she had purchased recently. Seeing that, my MIL gushed and crooned and sighed. Their excited voices knew no bounds, as they discussed the piece. I think the whole of my housing society might have heard their conversation.

Suddenly, there was a little pop-up at the bottom of the screen - "Too much sound coming from the speakers ".

Guess, computers also complain when subjected to too much outside noise :P


This entry is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with imlee.com

Aunty

It was the beginning of the year 2008. I was engaged to be married to the love of my life. I had started slightly liking Mumbai because I knew I would be leaving it soon. Thankfully. I was staying with family in a very posh part of 'town'. Only I quite didn't like staying there.
One morning , I was travelling as usual to my workplace, I got a phone call. I would say that it was a defining phone call of my life. The next two days , let's say, was 2nd in the list of "the worst things to happen to me". Something happened because of which I had to leave the house and look for alternate accommodation. I say defining because I concluded a lot of things about human

nature and how we, as a family ,function. Maybe another post on what I concluded.

So, anyways , I got in touch with an agent and she took me to this huge flat at Nana Chowk. There was a lady who stayed there , all alone, apart from a caretaker. I had been to that place earlier , as one of my friends stayed there. Only when I went to meet her there , I never knew I would be moving to the same place someday.

I would be staying in that house for a little over a month. So , I didn't really take any interest in knowing my landlady. I had a room mate too, whom I didn't meet more than twice during my entire stay. On the first day ,I came back from office, locked my self in and started reading a book . The second night in that house , my landlady (I called her Aunty) came knocking at my door and gave me a bunch of takeaway menus. The next morning , I saw a cup of tea and biscuits outside my door. I looked up and saw Aunty peeping from her room with a sweet smile on her face. "It's complimentary" she said , "you don't have to pay for it !".

Here began my friendship with an 87 year old who had stayed all her life in this musty flat. I began looking forward to meeting this petite lady every morning over a cup of tea and biscuits. In the evenings , I stared visiting her room and she would talk about how this house used to bustle with energy in the "old days". We would watch K serials and the new Ramayan which started that time on the Idiot box, together. Aunty had this old glass shelf which was filled with curios . She once told me a man came and took many nick knacks from there and payed her 4000 rupees. I think he cheated her because a lot of what was there were antique silverware and Ming Dynasty china. She told me about a famous face reader and astrologer who used to come to this house frequently. That man also happened to be based in my hometown , in the south of Gujarat. She wanted me to look for him. She was out of touch with him for the last 20 years and needed to consult him.

I spent many pleasant evenings with Aunty watching serials and over dinner. I learnt that she was very well travelled and that she was a pioneer in a lot of social service initiatives in Mumbai.

Very soon , my stay at her place came to an end . I was leaving for Kolkata to get married. She gave me a pendant as a wedding gift. I believe it is a talisman of some kind.

All she did was to talk to me and give me tea and biscuits. And she has no idea how soothing that little act of kindness was, when some people in my own family have never bothered. I gradually got over what happened and she had applied the first coat of soothing balm. I haven't visited her after I left Mumbai, me been my lazy self. I don't know if she is even there in that giant musty flat of hers. She used to say she couldn't afford it any more. She reaffirmed my faith in people. I don't know how she is doing now , but I will always wish the best for her.