I believe in being absolutely ridiculous rather than being even a little boring! Mumma- I presume I sometimes got you to think in that way too. Here is a fun memory of one such time when we tried so many hairstyles on you. Even though you never wore make-up because your face always looked naturally beautiful with everything you wore. This is one time when you tried something new on just for us!

No one can go back and change the begining but one can start afresh anytime to make a new ending. You took every chance at life and made it so big. Life is like a speed bike. Most of us end up using only a fraction of the gears but you used all of them. Here you are in action at the go karting circuit..

Life is art and you lived yours in colours. You used the full box of crayons and brought the entire rainbow to your and others lives around you. You painted the canvas of our world with the colours of your soul. For the next 7 days I will post pictures of you in your many different colours.
Here is one where you just parked and got off the trailer at Ashanti Gold mines in Ghana

Having reminisced yesterday about you as a good teacher, I remember you as a keen learner too. Learning anything requires commitment and the ability to push through the uncomfortable feeling of not being very good at it until you master the thing. However the willingness to learn and be involved in whatever was going around you was always your choice. You walked through life continuously experimenting with learning and participating in something new at every juncture. I think for the next few days I could run a series of notes on the things you experimented with. Be it swimming, video games, pottery, beading, mahjong, speaking English, computers, canoeing, kayaking, trying out new looks, makeovers and so much more. You showed us that your potential was never an end point, it was a capacity to grow, learn and participate.
Here is a visual memory of you trying out something new..and looking ravishing.

As I sat down to write this note today I started thinking of the things we take it for granted now. The things that are normal, expected parts of our lives today, but took an extraordinary amount of effort years ago. Earlier today I was writing some messages in a mixed Hindi and English script, to get the expression just right. I did not have to worry for a second if the kids would be able to read the hindi script or not. I remember how together, we taught the kids to read and write Hindi at home, as they never went to school in India. You were my equal partner in this effort mummy. As they say grand parents make the world a little softer, a little kinder and a little warmer. Mumma, you were a grandma that not only made our kids lives warmer and softer, you gave them the knowledge of a language. I remember buying basic Hindi language books from India each year for the kids and trying to teach them each day after work. I loved it when you would take over from me, and what started as a one day lesson, turned into a daily after-school class, taught every single day of your extended visits. The kids loved learning from you, listening to your stories and having fun with you. Today they both say the best moments were grandma (दद्दा)moments.
Sharing a picture from two decades ago of your first trip to Kenya..

Life’s greatest blessing is the love of family. While this love persists through physical distances, we often reminisce about all the fun that came with living in a large joint family, as we have done historically for generations. It was not really about how big the house was, but rather how happy the home was. Our family was so big and so closely connected especially thanks to the efforts of the ladies of the family to always keep it together. Remembering you and Asha Chachi today. Mumma, your best buddy was Asha Chachi. You two talked endlessly, whether it was from her small kitchen window overlooking our आँगन (courtyard), or while knitting a new sweater, or making the आचार (pickle) of the season, your intense discussions would last for hours. Sharing dishes and then later checking on unreturned empty containers was a ritual. Can’t forget the time when you two were traveling in a bus returning home and got so engrossed in your conversation that you forgot to get off the bus! The driver politely reminded you that the bus had arrived at the depot and you two had to take a long walk to get back home together.
Sharing a rare picture here..

Just as we visited the गुरुद्वारा (Sikh temple) today to offer prayers for Gurpurab and were remembering you, Manoj reminded me that गुरुद्वारा played an important role in your survival in Bangkok long ago. This was probably your first overseas trip with Papa to attend the 1977 Asian Games. This was the time 4 decades ago when vegetarian food was not as popular as it is today, and was hard to come by. The Sikh temple then came to your rescue with Indian meals available for lunches, dinners and even for takeaway of parathas.. at no cost! You explored Hong Kong and Bangkok on your own alone while papa was covering the games at the various stadiums.
It is amazing that we have been able to visit Gurudwaras and enjoy लंगर (meals) and प्रसाद (offerings) in almost every country we have visited including throughout Africa.

Here is an anecdote that cannot be forgotten!
I remember the time we visited the magnificent Dilwara temples in Mount Abu, Rajasthan. While walking around, a complete stranger came up to me and said “So you are from Canada? Here with two kids and your mother and you work for so and so.. company right? How is returning to India every year to meet family?”
I was shocked! Who is this man and how does he know so much about us?! It later turned out that you exchanged some pleasantries with him in passing, and ended up exchanging life stories- as was often the case with you and strangers!

I am thankful that you and I had our childhoods before technology took over. It was only about a decade ago that you decided to learn all the ropes of becoming tech savvy, and you were unstoppable since. With your determination to learn and your technology guru’s patience to teach, you changed your world. As they say “Technology is a useful servant and a dangerous master”. You killed it, made it your slave. So proud of you!

You wanted to see and feel the pyramids, and here you are lifting one. This Hercules task reminds me of what Hercules said “ a true hero isn’t measured by the size of its strength, but by the strength of the heart”. Your mission in life was not merely to survive, but to thrive. A dream does not become reality by magic, it takes sweat and determination, you had it all.