My father expired 36 years ago, while we were in Canada. Just before that he was carrying my telegram in his pocket that had a message that I had cleared my PhD viva voce. I was looking for some job, and I had received a telegram that he had expired; I broke down, and I wounded up my things from here and went to India to stay with my mother and two younger brothers.
He was an advocate, a social leader, a community well wisher, a columinst of a community periodical in Gujarati, a reformer, and more than that he was tremendously a family care taker, very homely and a great father; I learned lot of good things from him, and he used to confide in me many stories of our society, and families, and his cousins; he was very honest, a follower of Theosophy, and an ardent seeker of the universal truth.
Though I am myself a grandfather now, I miss him so much, and I wish he were alive!
He was a unique mentor, and he taught me Engish at an early age, and educated me upto my master degree in engineering.
He never told me to follow this path or that; he never forced me to follow any religion, or any food choices, he taught me discipline, and accounting to an accuracy of and value of one paise.
He had a good library from which I read books, and maintained them in order and in good conditions; this also he taught me; and he used to encourage us to go to public library of the towns wherein we used to live.
I consider him as my lovely father, a teacher, a mentor, a humanitarian, a social reformer, a simple living man with bare minimum requirements, and no extravaganza.
His main goal in his life was to educate his children, and spread the message for education in our community.
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He is not in any hell or heaven, he is in my heart, and mind. I cherish lots of sweet memories of the gorgeous moments that I had spent with him.
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