The world comes crashing down when we get to know that
someone close to our hearts has left us for good. Never will we see that face
talking to us again, that room and office where we had those discussions will
be empty when I visit home next. The vast distance between us means that I wasn’t
there to pay you my last respects. This sudden journey of yours to the heavenly
abode has left us dumb-struck and grief stricken. It is only after the initial
shock at hearing the news, has the realization dawned of the possible
after-effects of your loss.
You may not have been our own grandfather, related by birth,
but you have always been our very own Jha ji “Baba”. With passing years and the
commitments that this world brings in, our communication may have become less,
but the memories with you had never been forgotten. Meeting you in your office
in hotel was one of the few things I did, every time I got a chance to visit
home, and those few but precious moments will forever be etched in my memory.
Tears come to my eyes, when I think that I will never see
you again. Being so far from you at the time of your untimely demise that I can’t
be there for your last rites, writing about what I feel and what you meant to
us is the least I can do as a token of my love and respect for you. To learn
about you and my grandfather work together, amidst personal turmoil and society’s
snide remarks, and to have built something big from scratch has been admirable,
and you have given us something to emulate.
Events like this makes me question the trivialities of my
day to day cribbing & problems. There is just not enough time to make everything
work, and I must utilize my moments to the full.
Wherever you are, you will always be there in our hearts and
your memories will linger within us.
RIP Baba!
