My grandfather or my Nana-Ji, was the first pilot to land an aircraft in Udaipur. He was a passionate writer, story teller, workaholic, part time farmer with versatile mechanical skill.
Life does not pans out the way we plan it, or we think have control off.
My grandfather had a commercial license, but unfortunately lost his license to fly due to a medical fitness failure. He had developed an eye disease, and those days laser was not a technology that was around.
So he tried his luck around many businesses, from toiling to lay railways lines, starting a marble factory to running a hotel and distribution of medical books.
My summer vacations were mostly spent at my maternal home and here are a quick life wisdom that I learnt from him and would like to share.
- Never compete with others: During summer vacations, when the results for the previous class were announced, however good or bad we performed, we all celebrated our success. I remember him say, “Gadi aage chalni chahiye” translates to “The vehicle should keep on moving”.
We were taught never to compete, cry over petty issues and never compare ourselves to others. If I sang good and other one sang too melodiously, never feel heart broken, instead improve your weaknesses.
- Be helpful without an expectation of return favour : From washing clothes, to chopping vegetables and fixing cars, video tapes, windows, tape recorders, washing machines, my grandfather honed a life skill and excelled at it.
He worked out of passion, in a state of flow, without expecting a favour from anyone. I would wonder, how much he has to give to others, but very little to take back.
- Being frugal and sustainable : Being sustainable in our behaviour translates to us being frugal i.e we generate less waste and spend wisely on every single penny earned.
I remember a train journey, after finishing up our dinner, I had to throw the food packages and the plastic cutleries.
I reached out to him, asking him to handover his plastic spoon, so that I can discard it. He strained his forehead and raised his eyebrow, and said, ” You may be born with a silver spoon, but we were not, I’ll save this spoon, clean it and re-use this”. That incident etched my memory, and I still carry those values with me.
- Listen to good music and immerse yourself in farming : A die hard Lata Mangeshkar fan, my grandfather would play soulful music for my grandmother, both listening to the melodious songs and reminiscing their past.
He had a small farmland, where he would toil hard mornings to afternoons, growing vegetables for family, so that we can all be together and eat with joy.
Today, the same farmland lays empty and I haven’t heard Lata Ji’s songs in a while, it just reminds us so strongly of him, it is hard to fathom that he’s no longer around us. - Live life vivaciously : Not the end of the story, but yes celebrate the moments of life. Decorate houses around festivals, being helpful to others, being funny and making people laugh.
He believed in brining people together and celebrate together, that’s life and part of our Indian culture.
That’s all for a read today 🙂
A good read 🙂 and a great inspiration