My Uncle

Above everything in my life, I honor relationships and human values. For me, it is more important to be an honest person, a loving friend and a perfect daughter than to know all the sciences of the world. Therefore, an inborn quality of mine is personal attachment to every person who matters in my life, every little remainder of how close my family is knit. My family is quite large, and everyone, including even the distant relatives are welcome here. Grandma, Grandpa, the Uncles, Giggling Aunties, Cousins, Brothers and Sisters are so closely attached that it is no surprise that even if one person is separated from us, all of us feel the pain.

Today, I want to talk about Kumar Uncle. Well, what can I say about him? He was unique in many aspects. Have you ever heard of a 48 year old reading children’s comics? Well, that was the man. He was quite brainy too. Chemistry was his first love. There was also this urge to share things with others—he loved to take time off, and watch a cartoon with me if he wanted to. He certainly had a different sense of humor that made him stand apart in the family circle. Humble, Honest, Hardworking. That defines him for you. He always loved to stop by my house to say hello, enjoy a cup of coffee, share those intimate moments with his cousin. Life had always been simple for him, and he ensured that he never missed out on conveying his greetings on people’s birthdays. He never forgot to celebrate life for what it offered, and even the downfalls, he savored.

He was a lovely person, really. He introduced me to comics, funny English comedies like Sister Act, and taught me to work out physics problems without using formulas. Dinner at his house was a wonderful affair. His daughter and me shared a lot of things in common. I remember his daughter had stored away some comics upstairs, which I wanted to retrieve. She bought down a whole gunny sack full of them, and asked me to choose some. I chose only the Tinkle comics, being my natural favorite.
“My! You read only Tinkle?” he had asked, “That’s bad! Kids should read everything. Next time, come round my place, and I’ll give you some Indrajal comics, I think you will like it,”
He was the first person who loved comics in the same way I did, loved to watch animated movies, loved to have fun in the real sense of the word. He was simple, but there is much to learn from his simplicity.

Kumar Uncle died today of Heart Attack. I guess he left too soon. He loved life too much, and had taught me to love it too. I will relish all the moments I have spent with this wonderful man. And just like he has advised me, I will learn to like all books equally, and when I grow up, I want to become a person just like him—the Happy-go-lucky girl who never forgets the value of life, the enjoyment that is to be derived from a simple living, and to celebrate everything that life will ever offer me, no matter what.