CELEBRATIONS

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Books, handwritten letters, photographs, records, memories and posters, his life were full of them. He woke up religiously at 6 every morning and went straight to his treasure chest, filled with things which others called old junk, but for him it was his life. It was everything he ever wanted and ever owned. He had lived a life the way he wanted. He was 85 and a widower. It had been 15 years since his wife had passed away and he missed her the most. His two sons had left him long ago and he lived in a small house that he built himself near the lake where he met his wife for the first time 55 years ago. It was the place he proposed marriage and she had said yes.

The treasure chest contained all that means the world to him. Photographs of his wife, his kids, some real close friends and memories from each and every one of his trips. He loved to travel and he ensured he took his wife with him everywhere he went. Old records that he used to listen to all his favorite music from everyday on the gramophone player that adorned his desk. He would start his day with some lovely music that would fill the three rooms that he had in his house. Puki, his dog was the only other living thing that stayed with him.


Kishore’s voice echoed in the background, as he made his first cup of coffee for the day. He whistled to Puki to fetch the newspaper that was thrown near the gate by the little boy down the lake who delivered his dose of world news. He settled down on the big easy chair overlooking the lake and began sipping his coffee. His face had a lot of wrinkles. His hair was silky but silver in color. He had aged gracefully. Looking at his face one couldn’t understand him completely. One had to look deeper and deeper, like excavating the real face that hid behind all the layers of wrinkles. It was poetry in motion if you had to analyze the man’s face. After completing the newspaper, he walked up to his treasure chest and took out an album. He had collated it himself, with photographs that spanned many decades. He had also written notes about the places where those pictures had been taken to remind him of all the things beautiful in his life. He saw a picture of his wife, this young gorgeous woman who was 26 at the time when the picture was taken. He gently ran his wrinkled, shaky fingers over the picture, caressed her face and smiled. A drop of tear trickled down from his eyes and changed its course many times before falling on the back of his hand. He scrolled through the many pictures that adorned his album and he did this everyday.


He would then take another paper bag which had all the letters that his wife had written to him when he was in the army. The letters were very brittle, almost had a shade of brownish yellow after all these years. He still loved the smell of his dead wife’s perfume on those letters. He had been in the army a year after he had gotten married and was away from his wife for four years. He still believed that it was those four years that made him realize that she was the one he wanted to spend all his life with. These letters were worth a fortune. Every time he read those letters, he could visualize his wife reading it out to him, speaking to him. He could feel her presence. That’s why he did that everyday. The many names she would address him by, the little fights they had, things that were bothering her in his absence. It was magic.


Today as he was reading those letters, he was overcome with emotion. It was their anniversary. After he was done with the last letter, he closed the box and walked up to the lake. He stood there gazing at the water. He could see his reflection on the water. His eyes were moist. As he kept looking at his reflection, he could see another person next to him. There she was, smiling at him. He whispered, “Happy Anniversary, My love. What would you like to have for lunch”?


His way of CELEBRATION began.....

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With Love,

Tardy Realization

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December 20th, 1991

I got up soon this morning. Stood near my wife's photo and prayed for sometime. I myself prepared a can of juice. My daughter-in-law gave a very little breakfast - a slice of bread and quarter cup of tea. Whereas the dog gets 3 sandwiches and a full glass of milk. She asked me not to sit and waste time and asked me to water the garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of juice that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the juice aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I realize the juice is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the juice, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye. They need to be watered. I set the juice down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the driveway is flooded the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of juice sitting on the counter, there is still only one check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. Nobody knows that recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. My daughter-in-law tells my son that am fit for nothing. My son don't bother about my health, wish my wife was near me in this old age. I want her to be my companion in these old ages, but fate had something in its store for me. I don't know how long I will live. But God, my son should be very happy. He should be bestowed with all the wealth. God, my son shouldn't be left in a old-age home by my grand children, like what my son Alok is planning. He can't tolerate this loneliness. I want my son to have all the happiness in this world. My 15 year old grand-son looks at me with tears in his eyes. I feel his love for me. But when will my son realize my love for him? Through my grandson I learnt that Alok enrolled my name in an old age home. He felt me to be a burden. What more should I write? My hands are trembling now. After penning down all these, I feel relaxed. Diary has been my best companion after my wife's demise. I can hear something now. Yes, my daughter-in-law is calling me to do some work.

September 30th, 2009

Devraj, Alok's dad couldn't digest the fact that Alok thought him as a burden. He attained God's abode on December 22nd, 1991.

Drops of water fell on the yellowing papers of the diary and Alok felt it in the moistened paper. Quickly Alok removed the tissue from his pocket and prevented the water to blot the paper. He found this diary in a wooden trunk which once belonged to his dad. Alok whimpered, "Am really sorry dad. Wish I should have taken care of you properly. I could have given the best treatments for you. I Shouldn't have listened my wife that time and enrolled you in Old age home. At that time, we were pondering the reason's for your sudden death. Now I understood the reason behind it. Everything has gone out of my hands then. Even my wife, no your Daughter-in-law realized her fault in her death-bed...". A shrill voice, brought him back to reality. It demanded, "Hey dad, what you are doing? Go and help my wife or else I should get your name enrolled in an Old- Age Home. Don't make me shout dad, i have got works". Its his son. He wiped the rolling tears and kept the diary in his dad's trunk and locked it. Came out of the room and headed towards kitchen thinking, "My wife should have treated dad like this"...

"AS YOU SOW SO SHALL YOU REAP."

This may be a fiction. But its happening everywhere, Old Age homes are becoming the dwelling for many aged one's. The reason is, we forget all the good deeds our parents did to us. I wrote this after witnessing a real incident that took place in my neighborhood few days back. Take a pledge today - 'I will make my parents feel secure in their old age. I will take care of them with utmost care'. Love your parents and get the best blessings anyone can shower you with.

I love you dad! I love you mom!!

With Love,

Image Courtesy : Google Images