We Nepalese have this tradition of remembering our ancestors, especially one’s father, grandfather and great grandfather, every year, called “Shora Shraddh" where “Shora” means sixteen and “Shraddh” means the ceremony of remembering one’s ancestors and praying for their peace. Yesterday was the day the lunar calendar showed the date to hold the ceremony in the name of my grandfather. It’s already been 11 years and I can’t seem to believe how the time flies so quickly, without giving any hint, without giving any notice.
I, as a seven-year-old kid, remember my grandpa as a tall and lean guy with big spectacles with a black frame, a brown and glossy walking stick in his hand and as a person always dressed in white clothes. The wrinkles, in his cheek and forehead, marked the journey he made against the eroding effect of time. But, the thing I remember prominently is his false set of teeth, that he would take out before meals. I, now, can only think about him and just appreciate him, his behavior and his values that have been passed on to me via my father.
As far as I know, my grandpa was a calm person who never spoke unless needed. He always had this mystical aura surrounding his face which would allure any person. The mystical aura, as I think now, was probably the satisfaction in his heart, the calmness in his head, the patience in his soul. I think he had understood the world too well, and had already learnt to enjoy it. My mother says that there was no food my grandpa detested, no serving he had ever complained of. He, probably, had understood the value of the food that was in the plate in front of him. The tales I used to hear from my father about grandpa, the journeys dad made with him, how reputed he was in his village, made me feel like a little kid listening to a story.
As I have grown up, I have slowly come to understand him, his life and his struggles. He, I believe, made sure that his children were successful, that they would transcend him and do things that he could only imagine. I now think about my grandpa as a wondrous person who probably knew the deeper secrets of life and learnt how to enjoy them.
"I wanted to know you more, Grandpa" is all I can say now and contemplate about him.
