Monday, July 8, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
My father, his life & times…
Yesterday was my dear father's first death anniversary, and we had a wonderful memorial service that was a fitting tribute to his memory. One thought that kept coming back to mind was how God honours those who honour Him.
We thanked God for his wonderful life and the grace that He bestowed on him all through the 68 years... This was my tribute to him...
My father, his life & times…
My dearest Appa, M.Samuel
Chandrakumar was born on 8 July 1943 at Nazareth, South India to Rev. S.A.
Maduranayagam and Christina May Pushpam. I never had the privilege of knowing
my paternal grandparents as he lost them in quick succession when he was barely
in his early teens. But he had such fond memories of his parents - his father
was a teacher-turned-Reverend in the Tirunelveli Diocese, known for his
Bhajanai (the art of narrating Biblical stories with
music in a concert-discourse format), while his mother was a very intelligent
trained teacher too.
Born to such God-fearing parents
with a zeal for spreading the gospel, it was no wonder that Appa’s love for the
Church knew no bounds as he was closely connected with it all through his life.
Church music was the love of his life, and he learnt to play the organ by
himself at the St. John’s College Chapel at Palayamkottai. Later as a student
at College of Engineering, Guindy, he was one of the first organists at the
House of Prayer, Adyar, during its early days. Throughout the 1980s, Appa was
the evening organist at St. Thomas English Church and he never missed a Sunday
evening – come rain or shine! After moving to Madipakkam, he spent all his time
training the choir there and downloading music from the Internet. Worship,
according to him, had to be lively and he would go to any length to ensure it!
A quality that I admired the
most in Appa is his passion for everything that he did – be it gardening,
raising pets or even his profession. He was a person who loved his job and gave
it his 100%. God blessed him with a profession that suited his adventurous
traits. Those were the days when communication technology was still at its
nascent stage, and mobile phones were non-existent. His job involved creating
communication link for the State Police force by installing wireless repeater
stations throughout Tamil Nadu. At every VIP visit, election or cyclone, Appa
would lead from the front, surveying hills and mountains along with this team,
trekking through forests and even camping in the wild! However hard the
assignment, his energy was infectious, and he would never take ‘no’ for an
answer! The result was a robust communication infrastructure for the Tamil Nadu
Police that became a model for other states to follow.
Through all his professional
success, Appa led a life of humility and I was truly touched by his compassion
for those in need. When he was in service, relatives and friends used to
frequently request police help for various matters, and as a child, I used to
watch him listen to them so patiently and immediately act on their request. He
would do everything possible to help them, sometimes by even appealing to his
superior officers - such was his love!
Looking back, I cherish the
times spent with Appa and the godly heritage that he has left behind. As a
family, we thank God for giving us Appa – he was truly the best husband, father
and grandpa anyone could possibly have. Our heartfelt thanks to you all today,
for taking the time to join us in honouring his memory.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again...
I came across this video last weekend, and couldn’t help but wonder how beautifully it captures the father-daughter bond. They say a father is every little girl’s first impression of the world that she will encounter when she grows up. I was so blessed to have such a great Dad who not only loved me more than anything in this world but was also my friend, philosopher and guide…
Partings are no pleasure and goodbyes are tough… the video captures that too…
Monday, February 20, 2012
'Concordia' - A Home Full of Memories
Yesterday, we went back to my parent's home "Concordia", the house my Dad built when I was a teen, in 1988. Having lived in his Official residence till then, this was his dream home! Gardening was his passion, and he loved animals - a quality I inherited from him, though I never got his green fingers.
I still remember how Dad got to work on his dream garden. The soil was quite acidic & not the best. But I remember him sending it for testing, and replenishing it with cartloads of red soil from Vandalur & Padappai. He dug a compost pit in our backyard, and long before "organic" became fashionable, Dad had his own supply of organic fertilizer, that he also shared with others who had a similar passion!
And we reaped the benefits for a long, long time! From Corn, sunflowers and lilies to betel leaves, he had grown it all, and until very recently, he would provide me a bag of his home-grown vegetables when we left on Sunday nights. My Monday sambar was invariably filled with his brinjals and onion from his kitchen garden.
Dad's pets ranged from Mynahs, bul-buls and squirrels in his younger days, to dogs, cats and our exotic mongoose Lizzy! All his friends from College of Engineering, Guindy remember the squirrel he had in the hostel and how he used to feed it by bringing food from the hostel mess! When I was but a toddler, he introduced me to this wonderful world of pets with bul-buls, mynahs and squirrels that fell from nests or were chased by predators. He'd always let me name them,as I watched him wide-eyed, as he fed the baby squirrel with an ink-filler, before tucking it into a shoe-box with holes for breathing! The mynahs and bul-buls he trained to stay on his shoulder and even succeeded in teaching them to whistle!
We had a long line of pets after moving to Concordia too. Apart from the dogs and cats (he thought they were a spoilt lot, pampered by Mom), our peacock Gregory and peahen Johnny were a talk of the town!Infact, Concordia is still known as "the peacock house" in this neighbourhood. It was Dad again, who persuaded me to get the baby Mongoose from urchins (as he was away on a trip) and groomed it into a wonderful pet!
'Concordia' also holds precious memories of my Grand-Uncle Rev. Y. M. Paul David (who brought up my Dad), as he spent his evening years with us and passed away in 1998. A man of prayer, my best memories of 'thatha' are here as he used to share his many interesting experiences with me in the form of anecdotes that deserve another blog altogether.
'Concordia' is also where my daughter was born, in October 1998 - and she was the apple of his eye. I remember, just after we reached home from the hospital with my newborn, the monsoon started and it rained continuously. The nappies and flannels wouldn't dry completely, so Dad would iron them himself to remove the dampness! He loved to spend time with her, taking her pillion on his bike and listening to stories about her school and friends. The piano he got her on her 7th birthday is the greatest gift he could have given her, as seeing her playing it was his greatest joy and a dream come true!
Retirement gave Dad plenty of opportunity to revive the garden, and in spite of his failing health, "Concordia" kept him busy, with choir practice, listening to music, downloading music from the internet for the church choir. He loved Church music, and his favourites were so many. His love of CDs and DVDs was taken to the point of saturation by my dear husband who used to get him all the music he loved, during his travels abroad. I have never seen anyone shower such love and affection on his son-in-law. Dad loved my husband so much - sometimes even to the point of making me jealous!
There was a music player in every room and in my mind, "Concordia" still reverberates with the music Dad used to play full blast - leading Mom to dub our home "the noisy corner"! It breaks my heart to see the house so silent now. His favourite spots, the easy chair in the portico, his table in the bedroom, and his Mom's wooden chair which always reminded him of her, all make me miss him terribly.
But I can't bring myself to say that he is gone, as he lives on in my memories, and the wonderful ideals he passed on to me.
I still remember how Dad got to work on his dream garden. The soil was quite acidic & not the best. But I remember him sending it for testing, and replenishing it with cartloads of red soil from Vandalur & Padappai. He dug a compost pit in our backyard, and long before "organic" became fashionable, Dad had his own supply of organic fertilizer, that he also shared with others who had a similar passion!
And we reaped the benefits for a long, long time! From Corn, sunflowers and lilies to betel leaves, he had grown it all, and until very recently, he would provide me a bag of his home-grown vegetables when we left on Sunday nights. My Monday sambar was invariably filled with his brinjals and onion from his kitchen garden.
Dad's pets ranged from Mynahs, bul-buls and squirrels in his younger days, to dogs, cats and our exotic mongoose Lizzy! All his friends from College of Engineering, Guindy remember the squirrel he had in the hostel and how he used to feed it by bringing food from the hostel mess! When I was but a toddler, he introduced me to this wonderful world of pets with bul-buls, mynahs and squirrels that fell from nests or were chased by predators. He'd always let me name them,as I watched him wide-eyed, as he fed the baby squirrel with an ink-filler, before tucking it into a shoe-box with holes for breathing! The mynahs and bul-buls he trained to stay on his shoulder and even succeeded in teaching them to whistle!
We had a long line of pets after moving to Concordia too. Apart from the dogs and cats (he thought they were a spoilt lot, pampered by Mom), our peacock Gregory and peahen Johnny were a talk of the town!Infact, Concordia is still known as "the peacock house" in this neighbourhood. It was Dad again, who persuaded me to get the baby Mongoose from urchins (as he was away on a trip) and groomed it into a wonderful pet!
'Concordia' also holds precious memories of my Grand-Uncle Rev. Y. M. Paul David (who brought up my Dad), as he spent his evening years with us and passed away in 1998. A man of prayer, my best memories of 'thatha' are here as he used to share his many interesting experiences with me in the form of anecdotes that deserve another blog altogether.
'Concordia' is also where my daughter was born, in October 1998 - and she was the apple of his eye. I remember, just after we reached home from the hospital with my newborn, the monsoon started and it rained continuously. The nappies and flannels wouldn't dry completely, so Dad would iron them himself to remove the dampness! He loved to spend time with her, taking her pillion on his bike and listening to stories about her school and friends. The piano he got her on her 7th birthday is the greatest gift he could have given her, as seeing her playing it was his greatest joy and a dream come true!
Retirement gave Dad plenty of opportunity to revive the garden, and in spite of his failing health, "Concordia" kept him busy, with choir practice, listening to music, downloading music from the internet for the church choir. He loved Church music, and his favourites were so many. His love of CDs and DVDs was taken to the point of saturation by my dear husband who used to get him all the music he loved, during his travels abroad. I have never seen anyone shower such love and affection on his son-in-law. Dad loved my husband so much - sometimes even to the point of making me jealous!
There was a music player in every room and in my mind, "Concordia" still reverberates with the music Dad used to play full blast - leading Mom to dub our home "the noisy corner"! It breaks my heart to see the house so silent now. His favourite spots, the easy chair in the portico, his table in the bedroom, and his Mom's wooden chair which always reminded him of her, all make me miss him terribly.
But I can't bring myself to say that he is gone, as he lives on in my memories, and the wonderful ideals he passed on to me.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Beyond the sunset...
With our dear loved ones who've gone before,
In that fair homeland we'll know no parting.
Beyond the sunset forever more."
- Connie Ruth Christiansen
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Missing you Appa...
My dear father, M. Samuel Chandrakumar passed away on 27th January 2012 at 10.45am in Chennai.
An engineer by qualification, he retired from the Tamil Nadu Police as Director - Police Telecommunication in 2001, and was a Consultant for Telecom Projects till around a few years ago. His greatest joy was Church Music and he immersed himself in it, by playing the organ in Church and training the choir, till the very end of his life.
Dad was one extraordinary person, and all who have known him will vouch for that. I'm still to come to term with his loss... and this blog is my way of remembering him.
You can leave a comment here if you have known him at some point of time, as a tribute and I'd appreciate that... God bless!
An engineer by qualification, he retired from the Tamil Nadu Police as Director - Police Telecommunication in 2001, and was a Consultant for Telecom Projects till around a few years ago. His greatest joy was Church Music and he immersed himself in it, by playing the organ in Church and training the choir, till the very end of his life.
Dad was one extraordinary person, and all who have known him will vouch for that. I'm still to come to term with his loss... and this blog is my way of remembering him.
You can leave a comment here if you have known him at some point of time, as a tribute and I'd appreciate that... God bless!
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