To my Grandpa

My Grandfather.

My Grandfather in his sixties.

I said goodbye to my grandfather.

Although he was 93 years old, he was a youthful spirit.

My grandparents have been married 70 years. He met my grandma when she was sixteen.

Even on the last day of his life, my grandma, was near him holding his hand.

 

I am lucky to have listened to so many of his amazing adventures.

Never one to back away from any daring feat, he died with a smile listening to his own tales that we recollected together.

He was a freemason, an athlete, captain of one of the Houses in his college. He loved elephants, temple festivals, traditional Malayalee food…he could make a great Payasam too! 

He once had an entire retinue of circus people in his bungalow grounds just so he could be near elephants!

He used to be proud that when I, his eldest grandchild, was born, he was the one who held me first and on whom I looked first. 

Watching my Mom, his eldest daughter die in 2010, he was heartbroken.

For me, this is the third major goodbye in my life. 

Dad, Mom…and now Grandpa…the world seems different.

Or, is it me, changing?