Blog Marathon - Post 8 - Happy Birthday Aaba

It's Dasra today. The last day of the Navratri festival in India. It happens to be the day in the lunar calendar when my inlaws got married and also the day when my aaba, Mr. Devidas Vinayak Velankar, was born, according to the lunar calendar. The date was 25th October in that year when he was born.

I was the girl born after 11 generations of boys in that family. So obviously, I was the apple of their eyes, my grandparents, and their world revolved around me. My grandfather had retired from Ballarpur Textile Mills as a Manager and was a very hardworking and intelligent and well-read man. He had a collection of books ranging from literature to medicine and history in his library. You could never see him sitting idle doing nothing. He always was engrossed in reading or writing something. He kept his desk and drawers clean and in order. If I took a pen from his drawer in his absence, he realized it immediately. He always expected others to be near and tidy like him, and my dad is exactly like him. I am not as good as them both, but I try to be like them. He was very particular about time, a great disciplinarian. He was very punctual and always reached the venue 10 minutes before. He hated it when other people didn't come on time as expected or promised. This trait of his is much evident in me, and I am very proud of it.

He was a conscious eater, and he was very particular that he ate homemade and healthy food. He was never overweight. Though he had a short stature, he was always lean and active. He never ate sugar or anything sweet. He always said that whatever tastes good to the tongue is not necessarily good for the stomach. He went for a walk in the mornings, hardly ate any fried or junk stuff, and he always did breathing exercises. He was very particular about his teeth, and he hadn't had one single tooth decay or extraction when he died at the age of 80. He talked very little, but when his favorite topic of textile mills cropped up, he spoke at length.

He always helped me with studies and wanted me to excel every single time at school. He corrected my essays and helped me at doing Maths sums in which I was not so good. He helped my dad set up his medical stores and helped him with managing the cash counter of the medical stores.

I was his Deepa, and he was my Aaba. I miss him even now. He would have been so proud of my achievements today. He would have told everyone about me and my stay in Germany. I was with him when he breathed his last. His eyes lost their sparkle when his soul transitioned to another world, and I lost my first ever friend for life.

Wherever you are, Aaba, you must be watching me. Your Deepa is all grown up for the world, but she is still your Deepa, who misses you on her important days and unfailingly thinks about the first 17 years of her life she spent with you and will always be proud to be your granddaughter.

Love you, Aaba!