Nagaraj Naidu

Attended the first death anniversary of maternal grandpa at Timmampet, a beautiful village bordering Andhra Pradesh, off 12 kms from Vaniyambadi, Vellore.  I remember him as a very industrious and nice guy.  He was a father of 11 children, a fatherhood feat nobody can imagine of today. We are not able to manage even 2 kids, how grandparents would have managed and adjusted raising 11 children. With aunts and relatives gathering to remember him and wailing, it was a day down to memory lane.

As a grandchild i have observed grandpa, who lived it up with huge family and seen great grandchildren, i admire him more for his attitudes and qualities. I happened to read a post card written by granddad to my paternal granny, after marriage of my mom in 1981. I found it very interesting that the concerns he had for everyone in the in-laws family.

Firstly, i have to thank granddad, for having educated me through CMS. I can't really thank him enough, though! In a parent meet in the year 2000, when he stood at the podium addressed the gathering with a classic 'namaskaram' everyone were in splits. Then, everybody turned to me and repeated namaskaras, which i cherish now.

The unfortunate demise of his 2 daughters at a tender age would have left him more agonizing. My mom, 32 years, died of illness, unable to bear an alcoholic addicted husband. And my buoyant aunt Humsa in her forties, died of fire-burns set by her own husband, who was also an alcoholic.

During the eve of the anniversary, I was lying in the hall,  while cousins and others were also with me on the front yard of the granddad's house, which lost the glory after granddad's death.   As i was gazing the star-studded open sky, the moonlight was reflecting on the moving fronds of the coconut trees in the cool air. The people who were more of agrarian then, have cultivated these plants, raised children and then were in a good society. Remembering the Kadapa slab in the left corner of the hall, where the grandpa used to sleep, i imagined as if grandpa was there. My sister-in-law and aunt, were sleeping on the corner of the hall beside us. Hearing this, at once, aunt and sister-in-law left hall getting frightened by my words. Now things have changed dramatically with increasing urbanization and white collar jobs. As i walk through the Coconut and Mango grooves, it reminds of his laborious years to cultivate them.  As i stay outside hometown, i always long and feel that this is place i wanted to live in, or the granny's lap i wish to lean my head. 

Many problems on the rise of distributing or inheriting the properties. We as responsible children should learn to behave fairly and treat the women heirs on par with male inheritors; taking care of aging parents with the due concerns, avoiding  the property disputes, preserving the ancestral properties from pollution, especially plastics, that is where we are going to retain the names of our ancestry. 

Granddad, may your soul rest in peace. We all miss you so much, maybe one day will turn up to the place you are right now to say hello. Until then, keep blessing us.