He would heed all requests. He would help everyone. Not just by sitting there, if he needed to go anywhere to help, he would not hesitate. He would leave no stone unturned till the job was done. This was his greatness. He would go out of the way to help anyone. I have honestly not seen anyone in our family including my grandmother praising this. In fact I have heard everyone complaining. I have heard my dadi complain when he would silently sneak in at 2 o clock at night after Ram lila. But he never gave up on his life interests. He was a born leader and would always lead up front. In all his endeavors he reached the very top. Be it his bakery, manufacturing diesel engines, leading social causes like ramlila comittee, political party, and the business organizations. I have always been amazed by his love of life despite odds. Many times in his life everything seems to have been taken away from him and I have seen how he could laugh about it and moved on. He rebuilt everything that was shattered and more. He broke his hip in later life and was left with a walking disability. That did not deter him a bit from carrying on walking through the city. He hardly drove or rode any vehicle. He could cultivate a full garden of vegetables out of nothing in the middle of the city single handedly at the age of 70. He would have enough vegetables to send near and far to all his children and grand children. His love for his grand children was unconditional. We could jump on his tummy, ask for money, take him to the market, play with him, anything we need we would get. He was always smiling when we were around. He would never complain even if we would really hurt him as we three (Amit, Atul and Vipul) would jump together on him. All my time with him I saw him being asked to justify his absence from the family, to fulfill some unknowns need. But I was in love with this. I used to go with him to his social meetings and he would introduce me to his friends personally. Endless people, everyone seemed to love him, respect him. He would often say to me- You are my only hope in this family who will carry my name and social work forward. No one else cares about all this work I do I loved his aura, his fame, his radiance. I admire his devotion, endless toil and readiness to help (anyone- literally). I feel sad that although I did always care for his work (apart from his business), I could not carry it forward so far. But I am sure He continues to inspire me to go higher irrespective of the odds, not be scared of change and win in all situations, and help, not because they need help, but I need to help, as he did. In his last few years, he started a marriage bureau to help people. He did not earn much money towards the end of his life, but he earned love. He had a stroke that left him unable to speak and paralyzed for the last few years of his life. He would still love us and smile. I was training in medicine and I was there for his final moments more as a doctor than a grandson. I lost a bit of me when he passed away in the year 2000 one day after Holi. His is a life story worth reading and writing about. I hope to revive this wonderful life through this blog and get everyone whose life he has touched to write a few words. I am deeply indebted to him myself and hope to get his blessings for a useful life, even half as much as His.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 19:25:36 +0000
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