On 'Bhalo mamu'

Me and my didi call him 'Bhalo mamu', roughly translated means ' Pleasant uncle'. He is my elder maternal uncle. Bhalo mamu has always been one of my favourite relatives whose visit and whose company I have thoroughly enjoyed over the years and continue to do so. He was the first to introduce me to the world of encyclopedias ( i still have the first one he bought me from the Kolkata book fair years ago), western music and everything that is new and futuristic. An engineer by profession he has retained his immense thirst for knowledge and anything that is new in the world. Yet he has not done this at the cost of traditions and values. He enjoys the company of old friends and relatives and large family get togethers with large family group photos :).
Whenever he meets, he will invariably quiz me on latest movies and music and books.. 'Have you seen this movie?' or 'have you bought any new cd?' or 'have you read this book?' these are obviously things which are close to both our hearts..movies, music, books, politics...
My earliest recollection about Bhalo mamu is of his Yezdi bike and his Hara jeans. I remember him advising ma to never say no to us, or never stop us from doing anything we wanted, or exploring new things... Now that I am a father myself I have made it a point to never say no, or hold back my son from anything he is exploring, lessons I remember from my childhood.
Oh yes, one cannot talk of Bhalo mamu and not talk of cricket. Himself a prolific cricketer in his days he has retained his love for the game till date. Never missed a single India match in his life and not to mention a die- hard fan of Ganguly.
Today he might have grown old, but his thirst for knowledge remains, his positive attitude towards the future remains... he will remain young at heart for ever i believe. Looking forward to meeting him soon...

Chromosome 21

I have no idea why I am penning down this particular article if it is not from a sense of acute pain and helplessness. I have always loved children ( who doesnt ?) and the joy of being a father and too see your own child grow up in front of your eyes, a little everyday, is perhaps the greatest feeling of satisfaction that there is. And it is from this sense of satisfaction perhaps stems my deep anguish. Since I now know what it feels like to be a father to a normal healthy kid, my heart goes out to parents who are not as fortunate. Particularly with kids who have Down's Syndrome. How must they be feeling when they see other kids playing in the field, making friends, fighting, laughing, crying.... I cannot begin to imagine!!

Two instances that i would like to put down least I forget the intense, gut wrenching, soul stirring pain I felt..

The first involved a train journey from Dehradun to Delhi. Right in front of my seat were seated a couple with their beautiful angel like daughter. I still remember, she was wearing a pink dress, made her look like a cute bunny rabbit. I saw other kids running up and down the alley in between the seats in the train, but little bunny rabbit just looked on... from her father's cozy lap. I am sure her father wanted her to join the other kids and play... later she started crying and her mother took out some biscuits and handed it to her. Little angel couldnt grasp the biscuit and it rolled on to the floor... Her name as I later found out was Rashmi.

The second involves a speed boat tour in a foreign land. A family who were our fellow tourists had a kid, a little boy with the syndrome. The family had other kids his age who were enjoying thoroughly, but he sat next to his grandma and just looked on. While the other kids got onto the sea beach and built sand castles he just stayed away from the water and shadowed his grandma.... I dont even know what his name was...