Tall and thin, a man of few words. A voice that drove the girls crazy whenever he sang, in the old days. And a thirst for knowledge that he passed on, to his elder sister's two sons.
He couldn't take up singing as a career because it was considered too unconventional by everyone except him. And his parents couldn't afford to send him to college for higher studies. His two passions in life, and they were both closed to him.
He took up a job as a tailor, cutting and sewing clothes all day in the dingy backroom of a small clothes shop. He withdrew himself into his own world and gradually lost interest in everything. He started drinking.
He wanted to live and die a bachelor, but his mother and sisters found a girl for him. So he got married like everyone else. And he got kids like everyone else.
He never left his tailoring job though everyone was sure he could do something better. His health was deteriorating fast, and he was just too tired all the time. Or too bored. Or maybe, he saw something that the stupid doctors and the rest of the world had failed to see. He never left drinking either.
Two young kids and a wife. And two brothers - his sister's sons. That's what you left behind.
And my memories, with you and my elder brother...lying on a mat on the roof, listening to the stories of the sun and the stars; huddling around a fire on cold winter evenings, listening to the romance and tragedy of great kings and beautiful princess; sipping hot tea on rainy afternoons and playing cards on the balcony; seeing you in the crowd after school and coming home with you and brother on my father's old scooter...
For once I'm glad that there's a distance of more than 2000 kms. For once I'm glad that I haven't seen you for almost 7 years. If the distance and years had been lesser, the tears would have come freely. If they had been lesser, this would have broken me in pieces.
But deep down inside, I wish I were there with you, today. I wish I were there to see you for the last time, before you left us.
May you find the happiness that had eluded you in life. Above all, may you find peace.
9 comments:
Home is where the sad stories become one's own.
Take care.
May his sould rest in peace!!
sorry for the typo.
came over from ash's blog. lovely writings :) very touching :)
it's hard losing a loved one. easy to distance the self in the short run.
you take good care of yourself *hugs*
R.I.P.
sita: too many sad faces and broken dreams - that wasn't the home i knew years ago. but somewhere, sometime, something happened on the way.
ash: i feel that too. you, isha and me - the unholy trinity, what do you say:-)
white willow: thanx!!
isha: it's actually the physical distance that has cushioned the sadness over the loss of my favourite uncle. thanx for the hugs:-)
arunima: thanj yoi:-)
unholy trinity? sounds wicked :)
all the hugs you need to get through this dude. *more hugs*
Well writ. Your style is warm and nice to read.
And the case is too pervasive across our society. Of peer, parental and other pressures preventing the bud to bloom. Hopefully things will change. And change should come from within..
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