March 16, 2015
It is the 25th anniversary of my father passing away. I remember the day in February when I got the phone call that my father was very ill. My manager at ZS, Jaideep Bajaj, was truly a kind soul- he allowed me to leave for India immediately. It was a day of omens- there was a massive snowstorm when my friends Chandra and Ajayan started driving me to O'Hare. We had to abandon driving, and park the car near a train station and take the train to the airport, as the visibility was almost zero. However the flight was canceled, and we had to return, pick up the car and drive back.
I did board the flight the next day, and eventually made it to Hyderabad.My father was quite sick, and he lived for just about a month after my arrival.
I could not understand the pain he was in, and how hard it was for him. Perhaps I was cruel, assuming he was not trying hard enough. Those days remind me of my weaknesses- unable or unwilling to understand, short of patience, and not being kind.
I do remember the brighter days- dad giving me a beautiful HMT watch when I got into Little Flower Junior College, going to father' office for a cup of coffee when I was in St. Pauls, listening to sports on the radio with him, and playing table tennis. Father had a nice Decolum table made by our maestri- father designed the table himself. The table used to be our lunch and dinner table, and then during the weekends we would put some books as a net and play table tennis. He would allow me to win, even though I was a rather poor player. I remember having lunch in the canteen near SBI with him when I was in Little Flower in Abids. He would help me with my drawings for biology classes- he was a master artist, and would sketch beautifully.
It is the 25th anniversary of my father passing away. I remember the day in February when I got the phone call that my father was very ill. My manager at ZS, Jaideep Bajaj, was truly a kind soul- he allowed me to leave for India immediately. It was a day of omens- there was a massive snowstorm when my friends Chandra and Ajayan started driving me to O'Hare. We had to abandon driving, and park the car near a train station and take the train to the airport, as the visibility was almost zero. However the flight was canceled, and we had to return, pick up the car and drive back.
I did board the flight the next day, and eventually made it to Hyderabad.My father was quite sick, and he lived for just about a month after my arrival.
I could not understand the pain he was in, and how hard it was for him. Perhaps I was cruel, assuming he was not trying hard enough. Those days remind me of my weaknesses- unable or unwilling to understand, short of patience, and not being kind.
I do remember the brighter days- dad giving me a beautiful HMT watch when I got into Little Flower Junior College, going to father' office for a cup of coffee when I was in St. Pauls, listening to sports on the radio with him, and playing table tennis. Father had a nice Decolum table made by our maestri- father designed the table himself. The table used to be our lunch and dinner table, and then during the weekends we would put some books as a net and play table tennis. He would allow me to win, even though I was a rather poor player. I remember having lunch in the canteen near SBI with him when I was in Little Flower in Abids. He would help me with my drawings for biology classes- he was a master artist, and would sketch beautifully.
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