Grandfather passed away…

The year had end for us with greater destruction and sorrow sent down to heart. Missing someone who’s dear, when we’re looking forward with hope and improvement in health is something painful to bear.  Although my grandfather wasn’t well for last few months, he continue to show hope through his little gestures and when the force inside him decides to stop, no one could do anything and at least he exhale at peace (just like his desire to go home) is consoling. As you all know my grandfather has been with us until three months back, though it was for a short term, the time spent with him and grandmother was precious and never going to replace anything. He’s someone great at expressing through his eyes and I always see a yearning in his eyes for me. His affection and care is something very special for me and is always evident through his eyes. Though he couldn’t’ speak more and make gestures easily, I understand him quite well (I guess) but I can’t explain how much I loved him and mean to me. He’s been our great well-wisher and what and where we are today is only because of his chief intention and selfless being provided us so many advantages in life.

With my grandparents, during one of our traveling to Valparai

He had been a hard worker and active being until he decides to retire from his dairy business. But what brought him more down was the demise of my uncle in 2001 and just being idle draws greater setback at his health and a cardiac arrest in later years and expose to Parkinson’s put him out of action. We never expected him to become so infirmity as early as 70s (though he died at the age of about 77), while many older than him were progressing well. I’m one of his concerns to feel regret and many a time he had felt sorrow for my state of unable. Though the memories of him are immense and certain things are impossible to forget, and during the days of school, he used to pick me in his bicycle if I received none. Putting the bags on the handlebar, he used to pedal me to home taking on pillion since my latter school was nearby his house. In later days he used to drive me daily to a clinic in T. Nagar here, where I took Ayurveda treatment for some time. Driving through the heavy morning traffic is a true venture in his way of driving, and he managed it only because of the eagerness to see me as a normal being.

He had scolded me and also embraced at same, as he always had a special attention towards me. Until 2012 he had been traveled with me for many places, as I love doing so, he and granny had been great companions for us and moreover I enjoyed taking them along and I also thought they deserve going out, as they spent most of their lifetime for others comfort and prevented to be outside. Though his bad health condition is the cause for his loss of life, he has been emotionally disturbed by others or changes in their attitudes, forgetting whatever he had done and just for the brief of ego and updating their fake statues, made him feel anguished. If there’s something to exhibit purity, I think grandparents love and affection has a large space to accommodate. What the old age people anticipate from their children, as well as the grand ones was to make feel comfort, which I think, exists only by reflecting what we receive from them and that happens through sharing. Though my grandpa’s demise left a deep sadness and hollow in our lives, the consoling thing was that we had been around him and also got to spent time back at home (when he was staying with us) before the unexpected blow.

I know he lived a content life and his death was also peaceful and concluded without pain. But grandma’s state really makes us all worry. She has broken down quite when let know grandfather is no more and also become fragile weeping all the time from the moment doctor declared his death. Grandfather got a severe heart attack on 30^th night and become unconscious when transferring to hospital where they told he has died on the way or at home. After years I visited my grandparent’s house to pay my respect for the grandfather, who was kept at his newly built home, which was constructed mainly for his comfort of living and grandparent’s moved to this house only 3 months back. Grandma couldn’t console the loss and the struggles she took to make certain he’s well and his needs are addressed to become nothing now make her feel lost. I don’t know how to console her and seeing me she burst into emotions as she knew how much I love him and they petted me. Wondering what would have been filled in his mind during the last moment of breath, which I believe, perhaps, how granny going to accept his destiny? I know it’s impossible to anticipate feeling better soon from granny, but I do hope she come up from his loss and lead her remaining life at peace in the embrace of his dear ones like us. 

Happy New Year

Greetings for a bright and beautiful year to dawn, and let there be peace and happiness, hope and vigor to sustain our growth and cheerful warmth was spread through the thought of sharing.

The picture above was captured during the morning hours (in March) when the sun rise above a mountain and peek through the branches and leaves of a tree, at Cloud Mountain – my favorite part of Western Ghats. It make feel of waving a good bye, as well warm smile as we leave the pristine mountain landscape.

December and Troublesome

The year has almost come to an end with Christmas and New Year ahead; I convey the greetings to you all for the same, first. The mood seems to be refreshing every time a year set to dawn or beginning something anew and this time too I feel the same, though I decided to skip making Christmas tree that followed by lighting for New Year this time, the feeling of celebration happening around could not prevent giving a sense of happiness to me. Though the mind doesn’t agree to celebrate, when still many of our people are affected by flood and rain haven’t returned to normalcy, my anticipation with the year ahead were lot. There’s a promising feel in the air, which I don’t want to disappear, and the mind also makes conclusion with an urge to renew the activities to do much better. I don’t know what things going to happen next year and I wasn’t sure about my anticipation to share anything right now. But hope for the best, as it is yet to come.

So far this month, I have done only two posts and that too on the experience related to flood and rain. December has been a devastating month for some time lately, with great disasters taking place at this time mostly, the torrential rains and flood had made this year an unforgettable one revealing a face of Chennai that the modern Chennaities unseen before. December has been my favorite month always, despite being a primary season for mosquitoes, and the beginning of Margazhi – the Tamil month and the coldest season of the year, and the only time Chennai becomes cooler as it is well known for the hotter weather almost the year. December brings me memories of travel in past, as some of the places where explored during this time and trying to connect the moment and time of each passing day make feel cherished. I also decided to make use of this month to explore places around the Chennai that I wanted to do for some time and also waked up on the day 1 of December with an active mind-set but what happened keeps me away from almost everything and also couldn’t blog on things I intend to cover this month.

But later my laptop becomes a problem, which perhaps I guess is because of the disaster. When I opened my laptop after more than a week, I was slightly taken aback seeing at its condition of dirt and dust spread around the screen and keypad. I thought something could have happened and when I switch on the device I was asked to select windows to go inside rather right into the desktop. The screen read windows memory diagnostic and later it took long time to boot and unresponsive from certain keys make me feel useless to hold back the device rather way to service center to mend on things early. I didn’t expect it to make such expenditure on hard disk and keyboard, but glad I got back the data’s that stored in the hard disk, which was converted into an external hard drive. With the new and replacement from 320 to 500GB hard disk, the laptop works pretty good and quicker than earlier and I also decided to hold minimum files on the computer to keep alive the swiftness.

Alright, have an energetic and cheerful year ahead and more charming Christmas. Time to catch up with all your blogs and some have been untouched for less than a month. Hope u all bear me…  I am also on a mission to finish APJ Abdul Kalam’s autobiography (Wings of fire) before the year end, and being a slow reader, I am trying to be fast. Lol

Hand pump – comes handy

(Hand pump shot at our previous house)

Though we use hand pump occasionally, during the flooded moment it helped us getting water when our sump and bore wells were fill by rain and sewage water. Not only us, many people in the locality used the hand pumps during this time since there was no electricity for more than 3 days to power motors to fill the over tanks with sump (metro water) and bore well waters. Chennai once infamous for water problem, haven't been through at least for last five years due to enough rainfall during the seasons of monsoon in past has make forget pumping. This rain people had restored the activity. Though torrential rains caused suffering, it remained us the significance of certain things and trigger memories. I remember, once people use to wait  in line to fetch water from the street pumps (as not many hold pumps at their home then) and the water will also be released between certain time and sometimes people has to wait throughout night when the time of release becomes uncertain.

I remember the time we got water connection at home and a hand pump being installed by the corporation workers. They dig the road across and brought a pipe from the main pipe line on the other side and seeing water pouring through our hand pump was a happy feel. Even before we got water connection many houses in neighbourhood  was connected with hand pumps and seeing those, I truly wished we had one and I was interested in pumping and many a time it would be very hard and I would make pour very little. At the house here, there's a pump at ground floor and also on the first floor and as we moved there during the flood the hand pump helped us (there was not only no electricity, but also the sump water was polluted by the mix of sewage in rainwater) so we are dependent on the hand pump.

Though we filled our over tank before rain started to flood and power goes off, the water wasn't enough for us and gladly the hand pump was there and we used it for domestic purpose and can waters for drinking.

P.S.  Some keys on my laptop’s keyboard stopped working, so was force to post through mobile... sorry if   I couldn’t reach you blogs, but I trying to read all.

Torrential rain and effect of volunteers

As you all know the torrential rain that stroke Chennai, last week, has washed off the city leaving very little places apart. December 1 recorded the highest rainfall in Chennai breaking down a 100 years history. Though we are affected in the usual way of rainwater flooding our home, this time it was threefold in height of coverage and electric was unplugged for more than 3 day and no mobile signal for 48 hours. The northeast monsoon was at peak for last one month and from the time of Deepavali there were more than couple of constant downpours making Chennai float in water and Dec 1 seems to be the climax. Glad the upper portion of this house was unoccupied from the first flooding time on Nov 15 and we used the upstairs as a temporary shelter to keep ourselves from calamity. Though it struck us in different ways this time with no power, and signal lose of mobiles and the scarcity of milk and can waters make brief trouble but what we have gone though was nothing when it comes to the worst hit areas like the southwest suburbs and places around the banks of river Coovum and Adyar.

Even though it was a great disaster Chennai faced ever or post tsunami, the volunteer’s involvement in rescue and relief operation was heart-warming than the painful disaster itself. Except the time of absence of mobile signal, I was keep checking Facebook (as it was the only source of information for me since there was no electricity at home to watch news/Wi-Fi for internet) for the update on rain and relay on things happening around and related to flood relief. I was quite amaze at the selfless act of youngsters, even before the local body and army arrive, the young people leap to rescue without waiting for anybody make feel the humanity doesn’t’ fail anywhere. SMSs, messages, calls were flying wherever possible on things on available and needed and people kept sharing messages on relief and rescue and teams up to promote the activities around. Beyond the manual helps, fishermen’s in boats were the first to land on water and gave wonderful aid to people to come out of their flooded homes and provided relief to those denied to exit.

It’s been 10 days the disaster stroke us and the surroundings continue to stay wet as it rained mild to heaver throughout last week and due to waterlogged the courtyard remains sludge and need to be washed away. Climbed down to home today, the entire day was spent on setting things around and this time we decided to stay above for some time, since the weather continued to be unstable with heavy spills now and then we doesn’t want to experience trouble again.  Glad the rain decided to stop and the sun was showing up nicely today, sending down hope rays that rain don’t come again and would be lighter even if it showers. Last 10 days was spent without watching television and no update on blog, but I continued to Facebook using the mobile network and later on Wi-Fi. Most of the time was spent on browsing newspapers which carries reports on torrential rain and floods in detail. The relief and rescue effects took by volunteers and uniformed personnel’s was the most impressive things about this time and without them it’s impossible for Chennaities to wake up from the disaster. Hats off all... because of you all we are safe here (though we aren’t affected the most, in some ways I believe their attitude make things possible) and wish you all the very best for the operation on relief and rescue. Let’s continue to stand for each other.