Bye Bade Baba...

I don’t know if it really is so but I really do think that I still distinctly remember the way my Baba (grandpa) smelled. Every time he hugged me in that typical khadi kurta and absolutely ill-fitting mega-sized pyjamas, Grandpa or Baba as we fondly called him would leave us smelling like him…of parathas, doodh-bread (hot milk with pieces of bread slices in it that he always had for breakfast) and Brahmi Awla Kesh Tel (hair oil) all rolled into one!

After Baba left all of us in 1987, the closest anyone could ever get to that smell was Bade Baba, Baba’s elder brother. Bade Baba lived with his wife (Badi Amma) in Lucknow and was a man of short-stout built and a booming voice.

I and my sister cherished our trips to his house every time we went to Lucknow as we knew that Baba would as always be ready with on or other of his sweet creations. If it was not his trademark Awle ka Murabba then it would be the bright pink coloured ice cream waiting for us in the fridge. Something or the other would always be there for us and it would be definitely sweet, much to the dislike of Badi Amma as she knew that being a diabetic, Bade Baba should not indulge in sweet stuff. But when have the Saxena men listened to their women if it had anything to do about dietary restrictions?!?!

I still remember the gulel (slingshot) that Bade Baba made for me to chase away the monkeys that frequented our kitchen garden when we were in Lucknow. Though I must admit that the device hardly ever saw any real monkey-action.

But what I will always remember him for is what he told me when I called him after getting a job on my B-school campus. While every one else was asking about the salary, the bonus, the perks, the future prospects etc…Baba just said one thing after congratulating me. He said…”Beta…imaandari se kaam karna” (Son…always be honest to your job).

Bade Baba is no more. He left us today morning. He was 91.