Exactly four months after Sangeetha's grandmother passed away, we got word that "Thaatha" (or grandfather in Kannada/Tamil) suffered a massive heart attack and passed away at his home.
This time I asked Sree, Sangeetha's sister to pen a few words about him here:
It is with great sadness that I am writing a few words about "Bhupe," the name I used to refer to my late grandfather. It is hard to believe that the patriarch of our family has passed on. He was a bearing figure in all our lives and it is sad to see that his legacy is over.
Despite the fact that he had dementia the last few years of his life, he refused to give up control of the house finances and running the household in general. This was often the topic of friendly banter between my mom and thaatha as he would add or subtract zeros when dealing with money and then claim that my mom did her bookkeeping incorrectly. This of course was amusing to me. Irrespective of how he was feeling physically each day he was always properly dressed by 8 am every morning and took his post by the front gate on a chair watching the flow of people and haggling with the constant stream of vendors. I had the pleasure of spending 6 months in 2006 and 3 months in 2008 with both my grandparents and I'm ever grateful for having had this opportunity. Both of them spent time with their great grand children memories that I will cherish forever.
While Sangeetha, my sister, or "Changanna" as he used to call her was his favorite grandchild, my fondest memories of thaatha were his stories. He was a master of voices and loved talking in different languages. We often conversed in Jatkawala Urdu or pure Ashtagrama languages. I remember him taking Sangeetha to the nearby "Popular" store every day after he returned from work for some chocolates.
I can go on for pages with my fondest memories and some not so fond memories but I will suffice to say - D.V.R. (D. V. Ramachandran) lived a fulfilling life. My grandmother was a devoted wife. My mom, aunt and uncle were devoted kids and he had many friends and family that were equally devoted to him. He never turned his back to a friend in need and that is something that I will remember about him forever.
So, good bye "Topi Thaatha" as Rohan called him and may your soul rest in peace. Hope you and Ammati are not arguing in heaven as you did on earth. |
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