Monday, September 05, 2005

No News.. Is Really No News..

I was away from work for almost 2 months (2nd Jul to 31st Aug). A friend mailed me saying .. "Hey long time !! Wazzup ?? Hope No News is Good News.."

Well No News..is really No News !! I am slowly getting back in2 my "working" groove. I am working for the same client for almost 5 yrs now.. & the work out here isn't that challenging (not that I look for challenges!) , just routine Application Support kind of stuff. One can really sleepwalk through the work that I do. So far as work is concerned, it was not really that hard to pick up from where I left.

On personal front too, I have got back in2 my "drifting" groove. I am really appalled at the ease with which I have accepted the loss of my father. I guess it has got something to do with my age. At 32,one becomes mature enuff (or maybe insensitive enuff) to accept the harsh realities of life & accept death as a part n parcel of life. Besides that I have been away from my folks for past 5 yrs, so in a way we have gotten used to not being there,"physically", for each other. This longish separation has kinda made it easier for me to come to terms with this loss. Dad passed away on 2nd Aug-2005 , he was 69.

I am trying to stop any guilt creeping into my mind, but deep down I know that I failed in my duties as a son by not being there in last few years of his life. I was too busy drifting in my life for past 3/4 years. Although the thought of my dad's mortality did cross my mind..But i never thought the end would happen so swiftly. Or maybe I fooled myself in believing that I had enuff time on my hand to regain focus of my life & that somehow I could makeup for the lost time with him.

My dad (like me) was also of the silent type. We had healthy respect n love towards each other,though we never expressed it in plain words. I guess in some relationships you don't really have to say the words. In that sense we had an old fashioned father-son relationship. No Hindi movie style back slapping or hugging or any overtly symbolic gestures for us. But sometimes I do wish we had a relationship like that. Alas that would never be the case now that he is gone.

He was, by no means, a strict parent. Infact he never ever hit me or my sis anytime, not even once. All of the spanking was done by my mom.More or less we had been quite obedient siblings. I don't have any memories of having any fights with my sister either.Just remember this one instance when we had fought over Diwali Crackers & I don't even remember the juicy details,so I can safely say that it was quite a minor,not so memorable, spat between siblings.Life was quite uneventful then.. Even now life continues to be quite uneventful.

Life is just a never ending chain of weekends thesedays. There isn't much happening in my life. No News is Really No News..Life is very much the same,except that my Dad isn't around anymore to have dreams about me. Dreams about seeing his son married.. Dreams about seeing his son settled in life..Dreams about seeing his son cured of arthritis.

Although Dad never said this openly..but he had these simple dreams about me. If only I was focused enuff in my life,I could have made those dream come true while he was still alive.

18 comments:

buckwaasur said...

hey iw...

sorry to hear abt ur father...my condolences...

Ardra said...

came by here just today...
dont know what to say...
so let me just say take care
rgds
ardra

NS said...

Take care, IW.. and do take care of ur mom as well.

thoughtraker said...

gosh, am really sorry to hear this, didn't know about it at all. my condolences to you and your family. do take care.

ano

Priyamvada_K said...

:( Very sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to you and your family. Take care.

Priya.

DilettanteMoi said...

Was this posted in September? I saw it just now. I think you have a good way with words, I dont see why you should wait for any bout of creativity. It is just there is you if you tap a little inside [that is if you care]. Simple and straight-forward.

I dont know if it is insensitivity or if it is just accepting life for what it is. And about dreams, I know my parents have a lot of dreams for me, but I know I will not be able to make all of them true, simple or not. I just focus on my dreams. Does that make me selfish? Maybe, maybe not. I just try to control things that I can. No point trying to do the impossible. [I am not saying my parents dreams are impossible, I am just saying that making someone else satisfied or completely happy is!]

I am really sorry to hear about your father. I wish the stoicism in you is just not on the surface nor it is escapism of some sort. I hope you are dealing with it well.
Take care.

parikrama said...

It's bit awkward to respond to condolence messages.. I really dunno what to say except maybe "Thank You" for Ur soothing /caring messages.

Funny, I wrote this in Sept.. Somehow couldn't bring myself to post it on DSS then. But yesterday my reservations got better of me & I decided to share it with DSSrs.

Doh said...

my condolences IW .. do take care.

asuph said...

iw,

I think what I had feared would happen has happend...

Hindsight is a pain, for it makes us look like fools, but that's just because hindsight has the natural advantage of knowledge we don't have. So please don't judge yourself based on hindsights.

I read somewhere that in hinduism there are different routes to moksha. One of them is self-realization. Well that seems like a very selfish motives, but nonetheless there it is. And I guess it's there precisely because each soul has its own abode, and unless it indulges, it has no human chance of reaching it...

In any case, it's a tightrope walk for most of us -- between wanting to be around people we love and finding a meaning in our lives (or struggling to find -- for success even in this domain is as serendiptous as in any)... So I wouldn't say you failed in your duties, you just didn't get enough time to fulfill them.

I know that these words hardly mean anything at a time like this, but I just hope you'll find the courage to forgive yourself, for you deserve it. I'm glad you put this on DSS. That's a big step...

take care,
Amit.

bilbo said...

hey whiner,
read this when you first posted it here and then on DSS. Did not know what to say then and don't know any different now either.
Dunno why I am commenting even now. Maybe something about the dreams of your dad. I've realised that the simplest dreams are the hardest to fulfill, whether they are urs or someone else's . That said, glad you posted it on DSS finally.
Take care

Rajavel said...

IW

Thats a tough blog to post !!!

my condolences

Sandhya Kapoor said...

IW,

Don't be too hard on yourself - I am certain that your dad was proud of you. There's a lot I'd like to say to you - and I will...someday. In the meantime, you take care of yourself...

Anonymous said...

Bro,

Im sorry to hear abt your dad. No, im sorry to hear abt what you must be goin thru, evne though i might not have the slightest clue.

whatever you're going thru in life, boring job, health issues and everything else can be resolved if you put your mind to it. You just havta take that nx step. Damn, you're one freakass photographer. Think happy days, and everyday wil be one. Bhai, jaag jaao, abhi bhi tame hain.
the sunrise is not far away ... you just havta be there to catch it.

Silent Melody said...

IW

I wish I knew what to say. It must have taken a lot of courage to post this on DSS.

My condolences and take care buddy.

Anonymous said...

Some soppy part of me likes to say that people are not gone when they die... especially parents. But that's a soppy part and I don't ezpecially like it. I don't know how it feels to want to fulfil someone's dream. My mum never asked me to do that, and my dad died before he could decide what he wanted me to be.

Does it cage you? Life's never uneventful. You just never realise sometimes, what events could be taking place. But then again, that culd be Soppy part talking. Take care dude.

-Phal

. : A : . said...

Welcome back after a long haitus. My condolences to you, sorry to hear about your father.

Priya Sivan said...

thks for stepping in to my site:) Let a comment there itself :) got a chance to go over ur blogsite too :)

Ashu M said...

I couldn't possibly add anything that hasn't already been said.
My condolences.

And good luck with your health and work!