A Mental Strike...

A Mental Strike…that’s what I have named it…a state of mind, where nothing seems right and u feel blank…not able to think or decide properly…U r confused…and the thing makes u feel worse when u realize, u doesn’t even have a REASON for the confusion that is in ur mind…U can’t analyse WHY u are feeling low at that moment…. Every single person do get such attacks once a while…its just that, we never realize that is what it is…My mind do take me thru such Mental Strikes often and I keep wondering, WHY ME and WHAT is Wrong with me… I very well know I would never get an answer how much ever I try to solve the confusion…

But the worst is the situation when such a State of Mind is being faced by a very innocent sweet person…and today…I had to handle such a situation…Its not a good news…and tears filled my eyes even while I talked to that person…the person here is a very close relative of mine…She is my cousin M…

M is a mother of two kids…a son who is 12 years and a daughter who is 9…she has a very loving husband who could be considered a perfect match if their characters are compared….Both of them are Village born and grown…Down to earth nature with a soft heart…always holding a similar gentle smile…I have never seen either of them talking loudly or laughing aloud…They were a sweet couple..and always came and went from a scene without much pomp or show…Being very close relative, we knew them well…and compared to many other such close relatives, I knew well that these people never would do any harm… As the saying says…Neither for good nor for bad…

Now, maybe it was this soft heart that made her go through this Mental Strike…reason is unknown…but she had similar attacks twice before, but this is the first time, I witnessed the situation…

Yesterday late night, my mom who was still back home, called me and told me that M is having the similar mental issue as she had had a few years back…and her parents are really worried as they are back home…I, immediately called her home…Her husband picked up the phone and I could sense panic….he cut the call saying he will talk next day.. I called again just to make sure there was no serious issues and if he wanted me to go to their place then…His answer didn’t help much..he said.. “NO NO…I will call tomorrow…”

Next day early morning I called him…spoke to him..he was worried…the previous night, I had called when he was frantically trying to put his wife to sleep… This time, her issue was… “She was suspicious of everything around her… When somebody says ANYTHING in any TV programme, she feel they were talking about her…when her husband is on the phone, she feel there is some conspiracy going on against her…she was doubting that some TV channel has implanted secret cameras all around her…and so on…”

I rushed to her place by 10am…She seemed normal…I asked her, hows she..and she just bursted into crying…I couldn’t help myself frm crying…grrr…What continued was a series of her own complaints about herself…

“I am bad, isn’t it???”
“I am cruel, isn’t it?”
“I know, the food I cook is not tasty.”
“See, they are talking about me on the TV”
“I am a liar…”
“Ask my husband to divorce me”

And thus she went on saying things that had no connection…Her doctor had advised that she should be taken back home ASAP…and her husband wanted one of us to accompany her…He couldn’t go with her, bcoz again she was feeling that He is trying to take her with him to leave her…and she wouldn’t let anybdy take her anywhere….

After much coaxing and using so much of emotional blackmails, she agreed to cm with me to my house…we made her belive that my brother was flying home for a friend’s marriage and she should also go with him and take a second opinion from the doctor there…She was not ready to go..as she repeatedly said… “I have no disease, then why should I go…”

Anyways, she flew…and is now with her parents…Please pray for her…and her family…

It left me wondering and thanking God for giving me such a strong heart and will power…Else with all the problems I had faced in my life, I would have long back ended up at some asylum…uhmm…

As for her…she was too soft hearted and too much an innocent soul, that she couldn’t fight against what her mind did to her…Why couldn't she realise that, afterall, it was just…

A Mental Strike…

Happy to you...

Three years…three long years that went off before I could even blink my eyes a second time…I feel so…yeah…this day three years back had changed me…had changed my identity… my looks…my behavior…my outlook on life…my love…my feelings … in a way my whole LIFE…yeah, bcoz today three years back at exactly 10hours 25 minutes and 52 seconds, I saw him for the first time in my life…yeah, I saw my Love in front of me…my reason to live…my hopes…my happiness…my anxieties…my fears…all shaped as my LIFE…my Son…my dear son…

I still remember…the day when I unbelievingly stared at the pregnancy kit…I was ready for my baby... but when I saw it was going to be real..I couldn’t believe…I kept on staring at the kit…I had no words…I just mumbled…Is it true…I could hear gasps from my mom and hubby…couldn’t read expression on my husband’s face…he never changes, I suppose…but Mom…yes, she was happy..above the world…I immediately went into the bathroom to take a shower…The secret mission was to touch my baby…a gentle touch and I asked “Are you there…?”…

Seconds passed as minutes and minutes as hours and days and months…One thing I would always say is during those months of my trimesters my baby never gave me any trouble..Not much morning sickness…I, who was always sick with allergy and nose block never had a single sneeze or cold those months…I came to work from Day 1 till the D Day -1…yeah…I worked till 25th evening...As per intial findings, he was due by November 12th which changed to November 05th and then by October 15th, the doctors said… “Hey your baby is all set to come any moment…if you want him now, you can have him…hes quite a big baby and fully developed and ready for this world…” …

Lol, like me…he too didn’t wanted to turn upside down inside me..maybe he preferred stepping his legs first into this earth…So it was confirmed, I would have to have a C-section… Only the day had to be decided…

On 25th evening, at almost 3 O Clock…my gynaec called me on phone… “Hey dear…your reports are ready…Think we can do it tomorrow…and even the Anesthetist is available tomorrow…Go to the hospital before 10 in the night and get admitted… I will see u in the morning…”… I was like Wow…but when I called my mom to pass her the news…she was shivering…lol!!! She was not ready, I suppose…after all those 9 months???hahaha!!! Anyways, I said a bye to all at office…My Boss was shocked when I told him I need to leave 1 hour early…He thought I was into some labour pain…I told him not to worry and shall inform him the good news as soon my baby comes into my hand…

Guess, where did I go straight…to the doctor??? To the hospital??? No…after picking mom from home, I went straight to a Beauty saloon…hahaha…after months…I did some real work on my face, hands and legs…I wanted to look beautiful for my baby…By the time, I was out of that place it was 0730pm… I knew, my dad would be in a fury…and sure he was…as I and mom entered the house, could see him sitting all dressed up…waiting for us to return, so that he could take us to hospital…His facial expression was ANGER…he was suppressing his shouting, I suppose…He grumbled and mumbled… “Would anywhere in the world we see this…She is supposed to be admitted in the hospital for her delivery and here she is roaming around through Saloons…and to support her a mother also”… To ease him off, I jokingly said… “WE HAVE TIME TILL 10, DAD…”..Before 10, I was admitted…a rough night followed… as suddenly, I caught a bad cough..which was not a good sign for somebody who was going to have a C-Section …uhmmm…

Next day morning …Ha, the Urinary catheterization which was fixed at about 0700am was bad and painful…Gosh, I was actually not able to even sit or lie down properly and was walking around with the bag in my hand…anyways soon after 0900 I was taken into the Theatre…But as soon I had the shot of spinal anesthesia (I opted for that as I wanted to be awake when my baby came into this world…) I felt relieved…I knew nothing much…Due cultural reasons, my husband was not allowed inside the theatre…even if he was, he wouldn’t have come in…lest the doctors would have had a Casuality inside the Operation theatre…

During the procedure, nurses and the anesthetist kept on talking to me…and I was not bad at that…I knew, the doctor was pulling my baby out…and there he was…right in front of me…The doctor said… “It is a HE…10.25am and 52 seconds…3.75kilos…Look at your mamma…”… I couldn’t talk…I was crying…they pressed his wet head against my cheek…and took him off to be cleaned…I knew, the doctors had proceeded with the cleaning and stitching procedure….I was not bothered…I just wanted to see him again…Then, smthing nice happened…

The Anesthetist asked me.. “Do u want to talk to anybdy…”… I was like… “Uhhh??? Yes…”…He dialed my husband’s mobile and gave me the phone…I heard my hubby’s voice

“Hello”

“Hey, it’s me…”

“Uh…???U??? where r U??? What Happened??? Where r u calling from…???”

“Hello, hello..wait…it’s a boyyyyyyyyyy…Can you hear him crying..they r cleaning him…”..I could imagine my husband’s face…I knew he was BLANK and lost…all he said was…

“Ah..I will give to Mom…”

My mom didn’t know what was happening..he just saw my hubby’s White face maybe…and worriedly picked the phone and …

“Hello…what happened…”

“Amma, I am calling from inside the theatre…from a Doctor’s phone…It’s a boy…10.25am…Can u hear him…”

I could sense mom’s excitement in her voice…as her non ending questions erupted…

“Ha…it’s a boy!!!How is he…Is he fair..Who is he looking like…How r u…How many kilos…Here, your husband is all pale faced and looking lost…I thought some other tension….Maybe he is shocked that you called from the Theatre…lol!!!”

“Ok Ok amma…baby is fine…they are cleaning him now..and stitching me up…He is 3.75kilos…Will see u soon…Byee…”

I could hear screams and shouts in the background …I knew my close friends were there waiting for the news…

Today, even after three years…I still reminiscence those moments…that day when I saw my baby…when I felt my Life was right in front of me…I named him ‘Advait’ meaning Unique or Non-Dual…Yeah, he was Unique…my one and only darling…my sweet heart…my Life…

I Love you Baby…and here is wishing you…Many Many Happy returns of the Day…or in his own words…

“Happy to you…Happy to you…”

Think before you talk...

As I read Dost’s blog on an airline staff, suddenly I missed my days at the airport a few years back…Do u guys know, that I have been once an Airline staff for some years…???Oh, yeah, I think missed saying that…Yeah, I have had the fun of working at an airport and handling all sort of passengers with 1001 problems…the person who helped most became the passenger’s friend and the rest the enemies…that was the style those days…

The most common problem was the Excess baggage problems…On a daily basis we would see passengers coming in with baggages that weighed much above their allowance and then they start requesting which would turn to pleading and then to sympathy and then to frustration and finally anger…lol…

I would tell you about a funny incident that happened during those days…many have told me that I don't look like a South Indian in my Uniform…most passengers mistook me as a North Indian or atleast a Goan…Even when I was handling flights to South Indian states, I mostly spoke in English with everybody, but still used the regional language for the sake of the most illiterate people, who could understand Nothing of English…I had to clearly explain to them the way to their boarding gates and what should they be doing there after to reach the aircraft…They were always so happy to find someone like me in a foreign land who helped them so happily…Yeah, I know..I am sweet…hehe!!!

Ok, now…apart from such cases…I always spoke in English and never gave any idea to any of the passengers that I was from their place…as that would always gave them freedom to lure me to allow them excess baggages…the rate of requesting would be so high in such cases…Neither could I resist too much pleading nor could I help everybody...So, my English and my looks helped me stay as a North Indian most of the time for such passengers…

So one day…I was handling a Kerala bound flight…there was a couple of young boys who would be of the age of 26-30…Young and handsome too…lol, my colleagues were surely eyeing them and passing comments too…Luckily, they stood in the queue in front of me and slowly reached my counter…The first passenger, Dilip, handed over his travel docs gave me a cool smile and kept his baggage on the scales…OH GREAT, He has Excess…Now, the sweetness in me has to go off and I have to make him unhappy by telling him something that he wouldn’t love to hear…lol!!!

I looked at his face…and I knew, he too was expecting the worst from me…I said… “Excess...”…and then he started on (something I was already used to)… “Madam, please…its just 7 kilos…leave it na…You are also an Indian..you can do that…”…After much NO and suggestions and excuses…I asked him to remove 4 kilos and put it into his light handbaggage…I allowed him the 3 kilos to go off…That was very well under my allowed limit…He was happy…He expressed his thanks and took his travelling stuff and moved back…smiling at his friends…

Next came his friend, I am not sure what his name was…think it was Rajesh…a repeat telecast…an excess baggage, but this time, it was more than 10-12 kilos and he already had a heavy handbaggage…I could be of not much help other than charge him for atleast 7kilos…The coaxing and pleading and requests happened for sometime..but I was helpless..I had to charge him…while I proceeded to issue the excess baggage ticket…he started conversing with his friends in their regional language, which was my Mother tongue too…Little did they know that…

Rajesh : Dey, Dilip…See yaar, she’s charging me excess…
Dilip : Haha, What to do…If my glamour helps me…Naturally, she would let me go…As she liked me..
Rajesh: Arey, I will tell her…what u told about her…I will also tell, you purposefully came to this counter to ask her name and get her details…

(I was trying hard to hold onto my laugh…I was used to such flirting passengers...But here, I was pitying them... as I had already decided to shock them by talking in their language at the …How cruel na…Anyways, point to be noted was, I was taking more time for this passenger, just to hear what else they were going to say…)

Dilip: Oh, u go tell her…Then I can openly ask her details...
Rajesh: Owwwwwww…Dey, u marry her, then we can take any amount of baggage with us…Do u want me to tell ur mother...anyways…if u want I can ask her opinion... (and he turned to me…Dilip was like nudging him to keep quiet…)

Anyways, I dint give either of them a chance to talk…before that…I excused myself to their conversation and handed over all the documents and explained to them the way to boarding gates…I could see both of them trying hard to hold on to their giggles…as even I was trying to do the same…they turned to go…and then in our common regional language I said…

“Excuse me Rajesh…Don’t think, I left his excess baggage bcoz I am interested in your friend or liked him…This is my duty to work and that too work with ethics…I have done the maximum that was under my authority for both of you…So next time, you try coming without excess baggage and then maybe I can be more nice to you also…Else I can’t waiver this much excess even for my Parents…”

Hahahahahaa….still, I remember both of their faces…As soon as I finished saying this, I heard a sudden laughter among the passengers in the nearby queues..naturally they had heard the conversation between these two guys and also my Final Blast….but for the boys…they were like Haaaaaaaaa…I could see the helplessness and embarrassment in their face…

“Madam…sorry…really sorry…we didn’t know, u were from South India…It was just tht…we had excess and…Shey…we are so ashamed…Sorry madam…please don’t take us wrong…we were just joking…” and so on…

I was like.. “Its ok..I was also joking…”…but couldn’t stop laughing…so badly, that even the airline staff came near me and asked what’s the matter…When he heard of the news, he also broke into a loud laughter…

Till date, I can never forget these two guys…God knows where are they today…its been almost 4-5 years…but I am sure, even they would never forget me ever…and would never even talk in their regional language in front of another person who doesn’t understand it…I am damn sure, from that day onwards…they would surely remember the saying ‘Look before you Leap’ with a twist…

“Think before you talk…”

NB: Later, the airline staff had passed this funny incident even to the staffs at the boarding gates and when these two boys reached the boarding gates, they asked them… “So, when are you bringing your mother to marry that girl…”….hahaah!!! It seems, they were like so embarrassed and wriggling in shame…and was blaming each other for their idiotic behavior…

Phewwww…Dads are dadddds always...

Some time back, I had told you all about my dad, right?? In tht blog, I had NB’d that I need to write really a lot to explain about him and his Adventures…rather our Adventures with him…hehe!!! So here I am…I will tell you a big Adventure I had with him years back…lol!!!

Ok, if you all has forgotten about my dad…let me just remind u…In his words…Children are to be kept at a distance else they will sit on ur shoulder and eat ur ears…hehe!! (I know, it is true…afterall, that is what I am doing today to him…) So, he WAS (let me bold the WAS in here…) a very strict and serious father who never spoke to his children and always kept us kilometers away from him…He had his own Un-Spoken rules, which was known to us and we never tried to even break those rules…

Even as kids, I and my brother, realized one thing…something that we learnt from eavesdropping many conversation between the adults of our family… LOVING somebody is a BIG WRONG…or to be précised…A LOVE AFFAIR was a taboo…thereby, the girls / boys in the family after a certain age was not expected to have friends of opposite sex…for that reason, I was enrolled to a GIRLS ONLY school…hehe!!! (Future proved that being a Tom boyish girl, I had only Boys as friends…haha…and they could do NOTHING…) All my neighbours were boys and I had only them as friends…but then it was another Un-written rule that I should have no other feelings towards them other than Brotherhood…lol!!!

So years passed by…I was in my 10th grade…I joined a tuition class for Science subjects…little did my dad know that we had boys too in that class…(As I had told earlier..he had never been to our schools/ any classes…he just gave money to mom to take care of us and expected mom to do it in the way he wanted…)..Anyways, knowing his nature, I always kept distance with the boys and never even spoke to them on a friendly basis…I was scared that if dad knew, he might not like it…

So the year was almost ending…the tuition class every year had a farewell party sort of function for all the 10th Grade students…one fine day, when I was at home, I got a call on the local phone…The call was from a guy called Sony....YES, he was a boy…he had called to discuss about the farewell..I was shocked…I was not interested in the farewell, but was more interested in knowing how he got my number…I warned him never to call me…I acted hysteric..haha…!!!Anyways, after the call, being me, I told my mom…

“Amma, today Sony called…to discuss the farewell party…” and mom said OK…and some other queries like when is it..where is it going to be and so on…anyways the discussion and the Sony episode ended there…(atleast I thought so…)…

A few days later, it was some 8 O’ Clock in the night…I was happily playing a game of Monopoly with one of my neighbor at her house…Suddenly, my mom entered the house…As soon as,we saw each other…she scooted her question…

“WHO IS SONY?”…

Her question, tone and look scared me…I was a bit perplexed… I replied… “Uh, Sony…I told u the other day na…my tuition mate…”
“Is that a BOY or a girl…?”
I was almost at the verge of shivering… “Uh…BOY…whyyyyyyyyyyy???”…

"Haaaaaaaaaa…why didn’t u tell me it was a boy…when u told, I thought it was a girl...Why is HE calling u…that too this late night…”
“Amma, he might have called to tell smthing abt the party…”… (my heart screamed… grrrrrrrrrrr…what the hell!!!… I told tht RASCAL not to call me…and did he call???)

The ATOM BOMB fell on my head… “Ha, anyways…u better don’t come home now…That boy called and Dad picked the phone..he spoke smthing to dad and disconnected the call…When dad asked me, I also told, that is ur friend…and only when ur dad told it’s a boy, I knew it WAS A BOY…He is very upset and told me that he doesn’t like all this…” and she left…

I couldn’t feel my body…I was shivering from head to toe…I dint know what to do…should I jump into a well or run off and kill that idiot…grrr…I calculated the time…by 0830pm dad would be having his dinner and by 0900-0930pm he should be inside his room to sleep…So I shall enter the War Zone by 1000pm to be on the safer side…. I decided to get to my room thru the dining room and get myself locked in there till dad goes to office the next day…

As planned, I went to the back side of my house and knocked at the door.. My mom slowly opened the door…One step into the dining room and Alas….there sat my dad having his dinner…my bro sitting on the adjacent seat..and very clearly I could see the hard expression on my dad’s face and the most cunning and naughtiest look on my bro’s face…He knew, I was scared and dad was upset…and he was sure he will soon get to witness a good Show-down…and I could sense his eagerness...

I dragged my lifeless legs towards the dining table..sat against dad’s chair..shit…and slowly started munching my food…My dad said not a word…and I was expecting an explosion any moment…my bro was counting seconds…and myself milli seconds…Soon my dad finished off his dinner, got up, washed his hands and went off to his room…

Myself and bro both gave out a Haaaaaaaaaaa….while mine was of relief my bros was of disappointment…Now I was irritated with his untimely giggles also…I was about to open my mouth and give him a good piece of my mind…and there, right in front of me stood my dad..he was BACKKKKK….The conversation that continued was the most formal one I have ever gone through…his voice was low and calmmmmm…

“WHO IS SONY?”
“Uh…SONY???which SONY???I am not sure…Is that a boy or girl, Dad???” (a halo around my head)
“BOY!!! U don’t know any SONY???”
“OHHHHHHHHHH…SONYYYYYYYYYY…ya ya…I think, it s the boy who studies with me at the tuition class…Why dad…what happened…” (I knew my face was giving me up…and my bro’s giggle was irritating me still…)
“Uhm…why is he calling you…”
“Dad, maybe he called for telling farewell party date…”
“Uhm, what party…no need of going for any party…I am taking you out enough, right…Anyways…friendship is OK…but nothing should be over the limit…OK???”
“Uhmmm, dad…”

And he left the scene and the remaining casts of the episode was

Mom – Stood between me and bro, almost about to laugh…

Bro – Laughing and Giggling and making fun of me…and
Yours truly – Not DEAD…but Lifeless…upset bcoz my brother got the upper hand today…sad that I wont be able to attend the party…angry at that Idiot who phoned my home even after myself telling him not to…happy that the dad didn’t actually wash me off in rage…and all I could say was…

“Phewwww…Dads are daddddddddds alwaysss….”

Happy Blog Anniversary...

Hey, guess what...this is my 63rd post and I just completed one whole year in the world of Blogs and Bloggers...Wish me Congratsssssss...

I would really like to thank each one of you who are reading these lines at this moment for taking time to be with me through my blog…Thanks to all of you who takes an extra minute to jot in atleast one word into my comment column…I always look forward to read ur comments and feel so happy to see them…I would like to name a few genuine readers of my blog, who really took that pain to suffer my tantrums for one whole year and supported me with their beautiful and inspiring comments…

1. Dost (kparthas.blogspot.com) - He gave me a new name "Anamika" meaning Nameless...lol!!!
2. Lekshmi (worldlyviewlakshmi.blogspot.com)
3. Jogi (joginderrohilla.blogspot.com)
4. Anshul (stirrupking.blogspot.com)
5. Amity (intelclub.blogspot.com)
6. Anu (anupama-sincerlyyours.blogspot.com)

7. Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (my regular silent reader...)

The above were there with me from starting and Hey, some of them are missing for some time now…But can’t blame you guys, as myself was also in a Hibernation mood, right…Btw, I want to say a sorry too to u guys for not posting in comments at ur blogs eventhough I m reading them if not regularly, still often…As I told u, from office, the Comment box doesn’t work..it doesn’t work even for my own blog…So I always think of commenting into ur blogs once I reach home…But then, these days, at home, work keeps me so busy that even switching on my laptop is almost near to impossible…I hope, atleast the coming days would see a much more regular me among ur readers list…

The past year…I still cant imagine, how fast time flies…Why did I start blogging…and to what extend did I stay loyal to my motive…these are the questions tht is coming to my mind right now…to be frank, I realise that I couldn’t do full justice to my real reason for starting a blog…the main motive of Opening my mind to those deepest secrets inside me…and pouring them out of me, so that I feel relieved…

I couldn't…reasons were many…first and most important reason was that knowingly or unknowingly…wantingly or unwantingly… I had built a bond...a relation with some of my blogger friends… and there ended my secrecy… I wanted to be a Secret blogger who says only secrets…but then, how can I tell my secret when the fear of being caught was so intense…lol!!! So, many a times, even when words came out of my heart, I pulled myself back from typing them down and publishing them…Instead, I told the lighter side of my life to you…In a way its wrong…I shouldn’t be afraid of the world when my intentions are not wrong…RIGHT??? So, here after, I wouldn’t pull my words back if ever it comes out from my mind…

Another absolute reason was my time constraints…Unlike earlier days, today I have less privacy and less free time to really word my thoughts into this blog…most of the time, mind would be too occupied that nothing else would come out…or the body too tired that laziness sits on my head…if not anything else…I had my office mate to keep her staring eyes on me whenever I started typing fast with Tak Tak tik tik clic clik…sound..hahah…!!! So I really need to wait for one of those Soundless keyboard..where I can type in and none would even know…I wouldn’t even mind having one of those equipment where I just need to think / imagine things and words get typed up on itself…lol!!!

Ok, now I need to stop…else I am sure, even the very few readers I have, will sleep off..haha…So, with that note...I wish myself a big big bigggggggggg

Happy Blog Anniversary…

Be Happy and Go...

Ok, so I have been lazy too lazy to blog…uh??? No I have been busy..busy at work..busy at home..(Dint I tell u guys…when I came back from vacation, my mom dint join us…as she is taking care of her sister…who is on bed rest after a surgery…uhmm..) Now, with no other option, I had to takeover her responsibilities too..Now, I have to cook and do all house chores, take care of my son and still go to Office…grrr…so this made me tooooooooooo busy that I didn’t even call back home for past 2 weeks… and yesterday my Grand pa phoned me…He called me as he didn’t hear from me for long time…How sweet of him…Hey, have I ever told you about him…??? About my grandpa…my dear Appups…

Now, in our language Appuppan is Grand father…and I lovingly shortened it to Appus or Appups to address my dear Grandpa… He is popularly and widely known as Daddy among family and friends after his kids started calling him Daddy…I know only very few people who doesn’t call him Daddy…It just became his name…and indeed he was precious enough to be a Daddy…a good daddy…the most Cool and loving but still strict and disciplined Daddy…

A small past on my Appups…He got married at a very young age, had 3 daughters...his wife, my grandma passed away during her 4th delivery due brain tumour…rather the truth is, she died on the operation theatre table, when she was 7 months pregnant…the baby (my Uncle) was operated out from grandmom’s dead body…My mom was just 11years old then and Appups some 33…the 7 year old baby, in my mom’s words looked like a frog and was taken to incubator and later taken care of by my grandma’s sister…anyways, that’s a different story…

My grandpa who was still very young was forced to get married again for the sake of the 3 young daughters aged 11, 7 and 3…One day, he asked his younger daughter (my aunt who is under bed rest now…) if he can bring another mom for her…and she said NO (but today, she regret that... as she feel if she hadn’t had said NO that day, maybe her father wouldn’t have been alone at his house today…)…my grandpa told everybody “NEVER EVER TALK ABOUT A SECOND MARRIAGE FOR ME”…from that day, he has been living for his children…and so you can imagine how close a relation could be between those children and father…their Daddy…

He was in Army then..and served several years in Security Forces…and then for the sake of his daughters, he voluntarily retired from Service and started a business…He is 80+ today…still he follow the same routine that he followed years back…Regular morning walks…controlled and timely food…and so on…he is as healthy and strong as any of us, if only better than us…even if he has all the different diseases a man can get during Old age, he never show them out…That is how my Grand pa is…

To be frank, as kids he was a “Warning” to us kids… bcoz …as he didn’t live with us, during vacations we used to go to his house to stay with him for a few days…These days, days which was supposed to be ALL PLAY NO STUDIES/WORK was changed to a different style due his disciplines and creative ideas to make us kids work…haha…He had this way of luring kids with promises of Gifts for the kid who does the best S U P W…haa!!! I really forgot what it exactly stood for…I think it was something like Socially Useful Productive Work…grrr…he used to tell that kids need to work hard and learn to earn and then save them…We would enthusiastically jump into the trap and then soon find ourselves carrying buckets of water from the well / pond to the plantain fields or cleaning the plant pots or brooming /moping the floor and so on…and every now and then one of us used to hear his MASTERPIECE Phrase… “You are an Irresponsible IDIOT”…as long as the receiving end was not one self, the rest of the kids used to giggle hysterically when they hear this…(he doesn’t mind using this statement to his children or grandchildren even today…lol!!! And its still EMBARASSING…)

He never allowed us to sleep after 8am…which was a shock… A Glass of Milk was compulsory during breakfast, which I hated…we were not allowed to waste food…and that made us sulkingly sit in front of the plate with vegetables…had to push them down our throat… the worst was the Ginger drink that was forcefully poured into our mouth every Saturday morning…he said it cleans our stomach and keep us healthy…I haven’t actually heard him scold any of us ever…he dint look like a Villain out of any Action movie nor he used any Action stunts with us kids…still, none of us ever did anything against what he asked us to…WHY, I don’t know…maybe bcoz of respect…maybe bcoz of the love we had inside our hearts which we never realized during those days….

But as years passed by the bonding between us increased…when I was in college, he used to come daily afternoon to my house and have lunch and then take a short nap…I would be reaching home after College when he would be taking his evening Tea…I would sit with him and say all news and gossips of college…he would eagerly listen to them, gossip with me..joke with me..till he leave to go back to his house…with these evening talks our love grew…our bonding grew…we became so close to each other that, it was difficult for us to not see even for one day… if he missed seeing me any day, he would wait for me the next day…

I still remember, how hard was it for me and him when I was leaving my home to pursue my future in this land…I still remember how he comforted me when I cried at the airport…I could see tears in his eyes…but still he strongly said… “Hey…dear…why r u crying…you are going for a better future…u can come here any time to see me na…then why are u crying…Be strong…and be happy…only when u r happy Appups will be happy…Now be a strong girl…Be happy and go…” … Even today, he is staying all alone in that same old house…a house maid cooks him food on time…Even though his children loves him so dearly, their responsibilities force them to stay at different parts of the world…all his children never lose one chance to visit him every time they could…Still the yearly vacation is the time when some of us get to see him and relish some memorable days with him…Whenever we land at the Airport, I know, whoever may come to receive me or not…My Appups will surely be there waiting for me…

Its been years after that day at the airport…Even today whenever I am at the airport and hugging him Good Bye, tears fill our eyes…and his words are still the same…

“Be happy and go…”

NB: The kids in this story are majorly, myself, bro and cousins. We all used to visit him during vacations and those were the days when his house was filled with screaming, laughter and shouting...heehe!!