Dad is no more............
He passed away on 2nd of August ......
It seems unreal....I still feel I can pick the telephone and
call him in the evenings as I often used to do, after a round of farm work. We
would chat about our day, I would read out a bit of kannada and we would have an
impromptu lesson on pronunciation and vocabulary improvement for my (still
pathetic) kannada. He would enquire about the antics of the dogs
and I would regale him with the happenings at the farm.
Dad was our inspiration.
His energy level even at 80 was admirable. When we were in Mumbai, he enrolled at the
Shivaji Park swimming pool along with the kids. His day would begin at 5 am – a
yoga routine, a quick mini-breakfast of a boiled egg and Ragi porridge, and he
would catch the 6 am bus to Borivli station. An hour’s train ride to Matunga, a
20 minute walk to the Shivaji Park swimming pool and then a good one hour of
swimming and diving. He enjoyed his swim and enjoyed the multitude of friends
that he made at the pool. Often giving tips to young kids who were nervous
about diving and tips to improve their strokes, he encouraged quite a few of
his young friends. After the swim, he
would walk to our home and join us for breakfast. I would leave for office at 10 am and Dad
would go back to his home at Borivli. He
continued this all the way until the pool closed down for renovation. He was 75
then, and he still had enough energy for his various hobbies – wood-craft,
painting and playing the flute.
But then Dad was always one for physical fitness. His tales
of his boyhood days, his NCC days when he was a part of a team involved in road
construction through the thick jungles of Karnataka and his various adventures
have always enthralled listeners.
He celebrated his 60th birthday with a solo walk from Madgaon in Goa to Shirali , planning to reach Chitrapur Math on his Birthday on 13th of May. The blazing May sun, the long winding roads, a few troublesome blisters deterred him not, and apart from 2 ocassions when he traversed some part of the journey by bus due to a swollen foot, he made it to the Math on 12th evening, on the eve of his 60th birthday.
This solo walk was just one among his numerous other
adventurous trips, cycling and motorcycling,
each of which he has written about in his well maintained diaries. His meticulous planning of the trip, right
from preparing the vehicle, getting himself physically fitter, stitching his
own bag suited to that particular trip..... has all been documented in his
diaries.
This page is dedicated to my Dad and I will be posting his
writing here.
Dad will continue to be our inspiration our guide through
these very words that he has written.
