It has
always been an issue of contention whether the date is 10th, 12th or 13th of
June. While the date registered is 10th, my grandmother remembered it as 12th
and my grandfather's niece was sure that it was on 13th, the 13th day after the
death a dear relative that they heard the news of the birth of her new cousin!!
So, the official, unofficial, the star connection or whatever might be the
combination, the occasion was celebrated on one of these three days. Even when
we want to commemorate his birth as it has been 64
years and about to enter the 65th one, we are still to arrive at a date. His
dreams and words still keep ringing in our years.
He dreamt of
a happy life post-retirement. He wanted to just go for a walk with a couple of
his close friends early in the morning, have a chat over coffee with Amma, see
off his grandchildren to school, get into a matured discussion with his son,
have an early lunch and then retire with his transistor radio, cellphone and
newspaper into his den.
He had a
treasure trove of books and wanted to collect more to compile a library. Then,
add the cuttings of his favorite stories from Vipula and Chatura and top them
up with Koumudi and Jeevana Kaalam posts by Gollapudi Maruthi Rao.
He also
loved discussing matters of childhood and household gossip with his brothers,
sisters and have a family time during tea. I think this was the intention
behind all of them building their houses close to each other and planning to
settle down there once they are done with the responsibilities!!
We should
have certainly found him at 3:30pm near the school gate (exactly behind our
house) as it would be the closing time. He liked watching the young ones
struggling with their bags, walking slowly without any consideration for time
as they are done for the day and are busy sharing their experiences with their
friends and parents!! He should not have ruled out the idea of meeting up a
friend or two who would have come to pick up their kids or review the plans for
the development of school and their repercussions on the immediate neighborhood
(our house), with the teachers or administrative staff, as he knew most of them
in person.
Next on his
itinerary would be to catch up with any cultural event, book fair or stage act
in Guntur. He should have never missed any one of these!! All these engagements
should have left him time just enough to catch up with the rest of his
children, grandchildren, kith and kin over Whatsapp and Facebook before going
to bed!!
These were
the ideal days he planned for throughout his life!! He was so much in love with
life and wanted to feel alive every minute of it and the days after turning 60
was the time he longed to live!! God had hijacked his schedule and had a Plan B
for him!!
So, celebrating Naanna's fantasy time, especially birthdays from his 60th one is the
way of paying homage to him truly!!
(Though dated 13th June, I have been late by
3 days in publishing the post)
