MyJampoTales : The Family Neighbor

The principle of altruism and affection was fed into my mind and heart through him,

After my family, it was he with whom I confided my innocent childish tales.

Rarely do you find such gem of person who is affectionate and forever giving

The epitome of sacrifice to remain a chronic bachelor for nursing his ailing mom.

A multi-talented chap who had creative ideas and magical hands

His culinary skills were similar to that of a professional chef, name any and he served it.

He made the festival of lights all the more special with his hand-made crackers

The knowledge about Ayurveda was on his finger-tips and owned a mini in-house medicare.

His friends hailed from all religions, all equally intellects and humble souls

His faith in the Almighty reflected in the  daily practice of gratitude.

He would feed the stray dogs and the sparrows almost on all days

He was God-friendly and recited the holy books of most religions fluently.

A perfectionist and an honest human, quite a mismatch in the showy society

With a generous heart and a simple lifestyle he always remains a man-of-honor.

A neighbour like him was a blessing from the Almighty in my childhood days

He remains as an epitome embodiment of a kind, caring, elderly friend who was a true humanitarian by deeds!

Note: This is a mini-series of my childhood and teen years in Jamshedpur through which I wish to share memorable tales of people, culture, food, festivals and lifestyle in the early 80's  and 90's.  I call it MyJampoTales. Photograph credit goes to Google Images/ Social Media. Thanks for stopping by, to read and rekindle your childhood memories as well.

An ode to the childhood friend - Part 1

As she opened her feeble eyes, the world stood welcoming her with love, care and comfort. The love of her parents and sister, the care of her mother and the comfort of being protected from chilly winters and the humid summers, the somber monsoons and the dry spring. A special child of God who was given a second life by the Almighty –perhaps to be blessed with such wonderful parents.

As she grew, she was slow, weak but had a sharp mind and a pure heart that know only love. She went to the best schools in the city, used to get good remarks from her teachers. She had one best friend who was there right from the time she was born. A lovely human, her dad’s age, a chronic bachelor and perhaps one of the most adorable and selfless human ever to be seen. He had taken to look after his ailing mother and let go his youth. He had done his duty as a brother, uncle and a son to make his family well settled and happy. Very few people knew him well as she did. He was her first friend. He hailed from Andhra and she from God's Own Country (Kerala), but she picked his language much faster than her very own mother tongue.

Her wishes would be a command for him and he would best ensure to make her happy. Even though her family would tell her not to do this or that as everyone does, he would always give her the freedom. The best being the time when she would sit near the gate waiting for him to return from office. By then she would complete her home-work and so spared of getting scolding. People called him a crazy man because he was difficult to be convinced, he was hard at hearing and he had his own ways and methods. Then, he would always be honest and teach her the same.

Late in the evening, she would squat and sit on the cement plinth in the kitchen to watch him make the chapatti dough and sabzi. More because she would get her share as well. Just 5 chapattis and that would be enough for him. He would surprise her with her favorite ‘kala jamun’ on festivals. He would cook excellent-keeping in mind the right proportion of ingredients and health too.Diwali would be the ultimate bonanza as she would get the share of crackers from her dad and of course her friend too. He would even make crackers for diwali a week prior. When the crackers got exhausted, he would take her to the kiraana-store a little distance away and buy her many more. Things were all cool and lovely with her life revolving around her school, family and best friend when suddenly things changed.