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.
