Ninety.....

Ninety....

Ninety....a milestone....an age when one feels satisfied on looking back upon one's life.
Appa is ninety. It was a very important day for all of us in the family. Our father, a man of few words and a wonderful human being, my mind traversed on the journey of his life.
Our paternal grandfather passed away before we were born and we have only had the affection of our paternal grandmother but we have heard a lot of stories about the family.
Our father was born into a large family with three brothers and sisters apart from him, they were a family of seven. Theirs was a fairly well-to-do family with their father being a flourishing businessman. Life was cosy and comfortable with a loving family. My paternal grandfather despite being the wonderful person that he was succumbed to betting on horse races. He had to bear heavy losses and became almost bankrupt. His children had to bear the brunt of the hardships of that loss. From a life of comfort, their life crashed into one of abject penury. They had now to face the woes of a hand-to-mouth existence. However the children were well-educated and could therefore get over the crises though they were left with no money. Each of the four brothers managed to do well and made a postion for themselves in society. The daughters were happily settled after marriage.
My uncle is an engineer and my father a Diploma holder in electrical engineering. Both of them managed to get good positions in the railways. Soon after my father's marriage, his father passed away. After that life was quite a struggle. They coped with the tragedy and shifted to Mumbai when they both got posted in Railways. They continued to work for the Railways and now on retirement are well-settled.
Most of my father's postings took place in and around Bhusawal. So there was a lot of stability in our family.
Understanding the importance of education, our parents ensured that all the four of us studied in St.Aloysius High School, a wonderful school. We were never pressurised to perform. That may be due to the fact that we followed our teachers and of course our eldest brother who was  brilliant and hardworking as well as intelligent. He set a benchmark by performing well and we simply followed. Perhaps the greatest moments of satisfaction for our father were his annual visits to school when our revered Principal would invariably share how fortunate he was to have children like us.
It was actually the other way around. We were extremely fortunate to be born into such a family where we were nurtured to blossom. Life was simple, we being the family that prayed together and stayed together.
Appa was a workaholic. He took of to work early in day, striding briskly. He was also a tough task-master, a stickler for perfection at work and therfore became short-tempered if work not executed properly. His anger, however was momentary and vanished as quickly as it came maybe because he is so pure in his heart.
We have never seen any rancour in his behaviour any time. Always cheerful and pleasant Appa is a power-house of enthusiasm and positivity. He maybe ninety today but can still beat any of us in walking, doing exercises, solving sudoku and crossword. A few years ago her learnt to use Google, send mail, joined Facebook and watsap. He is so connected not only with us but with the extended family that he never misses to wish any one of us on our birthdays and wedding anniversaries.
He is a friend full of fun, stories and pranks for our children and a responsible member of the family overall. Imagine he used bowl 100s of balls to my son for cricket practice till he was almost 88. All this with a smile.
On his ninetieth birthday things are pretty much the same except that he is a bit feeble and has some problems with his legs. Yet he has had a life of fulfilment. He is a self- made man, coming to Mumbai from Chennai on a job with the Railways and to explore greener pastures for a living. He is also perhaps the only member of the family who is a patriarch to have conducted  the wedding ceremony of more than a dozen kids including his children and nephews and nieces.
He had the satisfaction of seeing all his children studying well, performing well, having successful careers and marriages with children and grand children. His ninetieth year would have been different had our Amma been there. It was like casting of some evil spell. Suddenly things went awry.
That special day could not be as special.
Yet we all came together and expressed gratitude to God for all the good things we had in our life, for all the blessings we receive from him, from our family, our friends and well-wishers.
Appa's ninetieth was more of a thanksgiving of being together, remembering beautiful moments of the past.
Our parents were simpletons, but an inspiration for us. To the grand children and two great grand children beyond his silvery white hair and twinkling smile he is a repository of self-made stories and memories, of someone who is vibrant and full of life.
Yes, living to be 90 is a blessing and we are thrilled, to have him with us, celebration or no celebration. We are privileged to have him and his blessings. His pure love and passion, his warmth and kindness, his humour and enthusiasm are precious.
I feel so proud and fortunate to be his daughter. I will always be the special one "chellam"....More important than the love is the purpose he brought into my life by encouraging me and motivating me to be an IAS officer.
I could never thank him enough for all that he has done, the untold sacrifices, the sleepless nights when i was in agony and he did all of that without expecting anything in return.
As family we have seen happiness and joy, sadness and tough times too but found inner strength to rise above them and glow with the blessings of God.  On his ninetieth birthday,  I can only say that Appa, you have made us by being yourself, being honest, being kind and by working hard. You have been our inspiration.
We love you Appa. Happy birthday and many more happier and healthier returns.....