A Tribute to my Nonagenarian Father 

Now that my father has entered the 99th year of his life, I feel like placing  something on record about  his remarkable life journey. You can learn from him how to soldier on in life despite heavy odds. Even after battling at least three life-threatening medical conditions from each one of which he rose like a Phoenix, apart from grappling with 

a number of less threatening ones over the years , he never lost his zing and zest for life. He has been a great  walker, a yoga enthusiast, ever curious about life, a life-long patron of cultural events, a voracious reader and an avid traveller who not only toured the UK and Canada extensively in his seventies but also went on an overseas cruise in his mid-eighties, making him the oldest member of a 500 strong group that was on board . A cool bureaucrat of yore,who got his law degree from Panjab University in his fifties, and  an equally cool dad , he was given to managing his affairs on his own and expressing himself  and forcefully putting forth his point of view till his early nineties when he started slowing down and  withdrawing into himself  though, with God’s grace, his mental faculties are still intact . While my dear spouse and I try to do our best to take care of his daily needs in his second childhood and every now and then to enliven the proceedings by striking  a conversation with him to perk him up and draw  him back into the world , he now moves through life without any irritation and with equanimity . What amazing patience! And the beatific smile he gives to all visitors in response to their greetings! To us he seems to have become a yogi, a realised soul, making us  often wonder what, while he gradually  but inexorably distances himself from this world , must be going through his mind in the late evening of his life. He has seen it all, from the freedom movement of the country, the horrors of Partition, the two World  Wars , the wars of India with Pakistan and China and now the 75 years of India’s independence and beyond . But now  he seems to have moved beyond the long shadows of his memories and beyond  all the frenzy, the frenetic  activity, the chaos and the challenges of life around him. At this ripe old age,  he has certainly become an institution in himself but an institution which, unlike so many other cacophonous ones, has made equipoise its hallmark. An amazing life indeed, full of grit,  fortitude and serenity ! Even today, sitting almost ramrod straight in his chair, he can browse through the morning paper or  watch TV for a long time  if he feels like it , sit  in the verandah outside and stare at the greenery and beyond for hours or sleep through the day to recharge his batteries! He eats well, his digestion still  standing him in good stead, and sleeps like a baby. Thus,  God has given us this equanimous  baby to tend to and fuss around when we have ourselves become senior citizens ! When he was more his usual self, he would often say with a mischievous glint in his eyes that, on completing the 100 years of his life, his pension would be doubled. And his prophecy seems to be coming true as he fast heads towards that goal! Of course,  at this age he has issues like a measure of incontinence but now  he seldom falls seriously ill, necessitating nothing beyond being given his daily dose of essential medicines and a periodic  visit to our family doctor for tests and treatment. Having lost his partner, our mother, more than 17 years ago, he, goaded by God and His infinite grace  and humbly  aided by us, marches on bravely to the beat of his own drum with tremendous resilience, forbearance and an iron will, offering us all an invaluable lesson on how super cool, tough and courageous people go through life with their  head held high and hardly any complaint! God bless him! 

Arun Bhagat