An Unfitting Tribute

I am not usually the one to write about such things but for the last 48 hrs I have been unable to move past this feeling and I thought maybe writing about it would make me feel better.

Yesterday, my family lost a beloved relative. He was sick and we knew it was going to happen some time soon, but when I got that call, my eyes instantly welled up. I didn't realise I was going to feel this sad, let alone teary eyed.

It's difficult to describe my relationship with him - he was my grandfather, he wasn't immediate family, but I have seen him at every important function, festival and event from the day I was born.

As expats, he was one of the reasons why my family was in U.A.E. I admired him since I was old enough to know the kind of person he was, I spoke about him with glowing admiration and slight pride on being related to him. When I was growing up, everytime my dad got a promotion or the family passed any important milestone, the first call would be to inform him about it. So when I got a job, my first call was also to inform him and tell him about it. And he listened.

Behind his back, he was always talked about fondly, no one had a single bad word to say about him and he always managed to make people smile around him. I admired how he kept his family together and I admired how he was the life of very party he went to. I admired the way he called my uncle 'banta' with endearment (his pet name is Bunty). I also admired how he always gave us a chocolate before leaving his house. I admired how he was the life of any party he attended.

He lost his wife a year ago and I was travelling when I heard the news. My phone suddenly bombarded with messages. People (specifically, close my family members) were giving their condolensces to the family. And I was unable to write anything. Somehow I felt, these condolenses were for me. That I lost someone who was important to me. It's true I never video-called her or shared anything from my personal life with her, but it was also true that I knew her from Day 1 of my life. Her daughter was my gaurdian angel when I was a kid. Her sambhar is still remembered fondly. So I couldn't give my condolenses because I thought I was in grief.

And then Dada passed away some hours ago. And that was a whole new kind of pain. I couldn't sleep at night thinking of his immediate family members, all his brothers, all his kids. I couldn't digest that I was never going to meet him again. I was thinking of his house that I so fondly remember. I was thinking of all his family spread far and wide and how they were unable to travel during this Covid situation to be with their family and it was breaking my heart. I felts tears rolling down my cheek and they surprised me again.

I remember when my husband, then fiance visited my parents in Abu Dhabi for the first time. No one knew he was there. It was a quiet affair. The four of us were having coffee at Cafe Nero at a mall and guess who I saw walking towards us. Dada. I smiled ear to ear and there was no reason behind it. He came towards us, he sat with us, had coffee with us, even ate some banana pudding and then we said our goodbyes. I remember telling Rahul then, I am so so happy that you had a chance to meet him. And I genuinely was. I wanted Rahul to know that man he has heard so much about.

He was more than just any relative. He was tall, strong, optimistic, cheerful, humble and so so nice. I was blessed to be able to call him family and to know him as little or as much as I did.

And here is hoping that his legacy lives on and I continue to tell my kids about his greatness and his love for all things life. Also, I am sure he is happier up there with his wife whom he adored and loved beyond anything. I am sure they are both resting in peace, happy together. Again.