To Dada, with love
I remember when we were small, living abroad, Dada was a larger-than-life figure for us. We always heard of talks and speeches and the various literrary milestones he achieved in correlation with Pakistan. So much so that my younger sister used to tell people that "Dada was the king Pakistan." We drew him to be an important, busy man, someone who would always be too busy doing important busy things. We loved him, as we knew we must, and we looked forward to visits, but they were always tinged with a sense of awe which made him someone who was to be looked at and admired but not touched.
Funny thing about life is, that by the time you really get around to appreciating it in the fullest sense of the word, it's usually too late, which is why the time you can capture becomes all the more precious, all the more important.
Hearing Dada address the IVS graduating batch 2005 today was something I will never forget. I think of him not as the "great literary giant" as thariani sahab put it, or the daunting figure of my childhood years, but simply as my grandfather, Dada, who I have gotten to know as a real person in the last 15 years. I will remember him as someone with whom I have a very strange, gruff bond, of intelligent arguments and major differences and great great respect. I will remember him as someone who beleived in my ability to make decisions, who encouraged my verbal wars with him with much glee.
Today, as we heard him sing "jeevay jeevay" at the IVS, our second home in so many ways, I was again reminded sharply of the fact that life is so short and the people to love so many.
posted by jammie @ 5:27 AM
19 Comments:
honestly the first speech in 4yrs that i related to, only because he related to us, because of u guyz.
lol.
and the in between additions of "khaula pani lao", and "khaula file lao" were priceless!
thank u!
and i want to be a jammie too....any possibilities?
:D it was realllyyy greatttttt!
im trying to blog about it too but photobucket is being a paaiinnn!
it was truly a magical day fromt he start till the end!
hahaha kat...theres along lengthy PAINFUL inititaion! want to take it up?
i miss my dada very much after reading this post of yours. :( and i wish your's all the health, happiness and love of his grand-daughters.
p.s. i find the idea of your friends wanting to become 'jammies' very cute. btw, is Jamil your family name or is it your father's first name? just curious.
creativity runs in the family :)
Interesting. :-)
".. by the time you really get around to appreciating it in the fullest sense of the word, it's usually too late..." - Very true. I've had this feeling more than once - with my own parents, my parent's friends who I've known since I was a kid, relatives, everyone. Sometimes, it all crashes down making me realize how much I've missed out...
PS: Kay pointed me here in a reply to a comment that I left on her blog. I'm now-a-days a regular there. Hope my name sounds familiar..
thanks everyone. realizations realizations eh?
jnarin. i recognize you from kays blog comments and i think youve visited here a couple of times too :)
Nice blog you here. Pls take a look at mine and link it up here.
this one reaches out to everyone...it s truly very important to hold on to all the precious moments...that s what my hubby keeps tellin me everytime i fight with him...
love the indus pic....
miss it soo muchhhh...
miss it more then home at times...!!
i miss my dada so much after reading this. i was sooo close to him. when we moved abroad, he learnt how to use the net so he could chat/email me!
grandparents are always a source of knowledge and emotional comfort!unfortunately we hate that part about them until we ourselves grow older and strive to link our adulthood to our childhood. or like u said.. when its too late!
urbanniche: i SO know what you mean about indus. any visit plans?
shez: you said it. we learn hopefully from examples around us. :)
The one in the glasses had a slight look of Mahima Chowdary
now that u mention it sumaiya... sara u do look a bit like mahima chowdary!
p.s. (and considering the last indie movie i watched was kuch kuch hota hai, there's a LOT more to how i actually know what mahima actually looks like!!:P)
p.s.s i lied! i watched munna bhai MBBS too!
oh god...hahahah seriously??? i think its just the pic prolly..
sara u sooooooooo dont look like a teacher!!!!!!!!!! there's a certain image of pakistani teachers i have in mind and for the life of me i can NOT fit u in there!
hahahah. thats funny. so many people i meet tell me i look exactly like a teacher!! what exactly is a teacher SUPPOSED to look like shez? and esp a pakistani one as you say??
i dunno.. supposedly PMS-ing 24/7! much much older than ya! difficulty speaking english much less penning their thoughts the way u dO! im not buttering u up, but many of your blog readers will agree you have a sense of compassion and youthful zest for life... i cant imagine pakistani teachers being like that.. but then again perhaps college teachers have a diff r'ship with their students unlike when teachers that teach children (who are only to be seen, not heard!). i feel like a bigotted racist be ai te ce etch! but thats not what im intending here! i think im not educated enough of the current situation in pak and am basing these judgements on something i saw yrs and yrs ago! no offense intended in this post and i hope none taken!
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