Baba
On Tuesday, 3 rd Apr, Pappa called me and said, ‘Baba’s health is not good and we are shifting him to Rubi Hall.’ I grasped the depth in those words as in recent years, I had started to read between the lines especially when there is a medical emergency. But for someone like Baba, the Everest of our family, a steely man, forged through decades of hardships, who epitomized the art of healthy living in our family and inspired many, for whom, not a single day would pass without the diligent rituals of Yogasana & Pranayam , even at the age of 81; it was sad to watch the King fall as he struggled to cope up while on artificial ventilator. The last I met him was a day before he was sedated. He would gasp for breath. He was physically fatigued. But not mentally, nor emotionally. Despite the breathlessness, he talked to us as if he was sitting in his library, cracked jokes and laughed thunderously in his typical country styles. Even the meals he ate with his own ha