Everyone is special in some or the other way. But we dont feel so most of the times,
unless someone makes us feel special ! And those become our beacon for lifelong as they
help extract the best out of us.
For me, it was my Bade Papa :) A lean frame, grey hair, eyes that had compassion for whole world and a face that evoked respect and love. At an age, when people think to relax, the enthusiasm he had, could make even youngsters run for their money.
I was the happiest soul on earth, holding his finger. I felt like Jungle King,with him by my side. I was a small kid then, and he was the Big Daddy(father's father). Anything he asked, was command for the rest of the family. And I, even as a kid, was smart enough to figure this fact out ! And I never missed any opportunity to cash on it. Infact sometimes, I think... I did see jealusy in my Dad's eyes for his own son, but I was least bothered about it.....then !
I remember,when I was 4 yrs old,once my Dad could not hold his nerves and showed me "Tare Zameen Par" for some mischief. I could not dare say anything to him, but my small fickle mind drove me to Bade Papa and instead of complaining directly, I asked him, "you are the eldest member of family,rite ? that means you can over-rule anybody in the family, rite ? and what if it is my father? can u show him, whos the boss here? coz he messed with me !" He laughed out loud, because he knew from the beginning, what I was narrating whole story for! And when my Dad came back home from office, he told him the complete story and he also couldn't stop smiling and agreed to get a fake scolding from Bade Papa, just to pacify my false ego!
Bade Papa were a child magnet, he loved kids and they loved him too! And I felt real proud to introduce him to my friends. Evenings were so much fun with him. All the kids of colony, flocked at our home to be a part of evening proceedings, which ended with Bade Papa's stories in twilight. My favorites included those of Cheikh Chilli and ghosts. In short,we operated a Crech for all kids of vicinity. Now I regret not charging their parents for it!
I loved to go shopping with him, even if it was for vegetables, reason.....the sports shop!
It was like auto-pilot,wherever we went, it ended up landing at sports shop to buy a new ball everytime. My mom hated me for this, because a new ball meant danger for her crockeries and other valuables! But who can stand against the "Lord of the Ring", so she also surrendered.
In summer holidays, we had yummy mornings....as sugar parathas were a ritual, a family patent recipe! Evenings, movie was as inevitable as the evening itself. In fact, even before end of the holidays, we did raid the whole video library, ofcourse Bade Papa being the sponsor. It was like a holiday assignemnt to watch all movies of library, which we completed before time!
On our annual day of school, every year, he used to accompany us. I still remember the glitter in his eyes, every time we went onto stage to collect the prize with him, he seemed to be no less excited than us ! And when we did return back with bags full of prizes, we got welcome like Indian Cricket team does after winning a major tournament.
But as every sweet dream gets over with night, he also passed away. But his memories still tickle us(gulguli, as we say it) like a feather and bring smiles to our faces. And the seeds of love and confidence that he did sow in our lives, we are reaping benefits of them even now. His teachings still help me to get the best out of me !
