This was a fantastic family trip!

Big shout out to Natasha whose concern about my dad’s health and insistence on seeing him got the whole ball rolling.

Also to Sharmila who helped put the meticulous planning behind this – it took us days and days of research and phone calls to put a nearly three week, three country, five city tour together. That involved co-ordinating the schedules of no less than ten families!!

Special thanks to Nikita for agreeing to drop school for a week to make this happen!!

And with that we bring a close to all the posts from this trip.

Dad was too tired to get out of his bed or from under his blanket, for that matter. Natasha and Nikita – and the two cousins who were there – gathered around grandpa to say Goodbye!! For now!!!

… without the evening sojourn to the street side “foochkawala”!!!
As Nikita likes to describe it – “You poke a hole in the crispy bread, put potatoes in it and then pour dirty water into it”!!

Heavenly in taste!!! We missed my sister in law who was in Kolkata!!

I cannot possibly overstate the improvement in his condition from barely 2 months back. He is actually sleeping, has gotten some memory back, speaking coherently, trying to walk and even having some great moments while chatting with people around him!!

This guy and I go back forty six years – from the time he was born. Born with a lot of complications and almost lost to a virulent attack of jaundice when he was barely a few days old, he was always the “young” one in the house that had to be protected. Somewhere the big brother protective genes had kicked in due to this and all throughout my life, we have been very, very close. We used to write a lot of letters to each other when I left home and then he left home. Now, we talk every single day and almost always we travel together when I am in India.

When we came back from the day trip to Debipur, we realized that dad, mom and the attendant were all sleeping. The evening outside was beautiful. The sun was setting and thru those hazy layers, it looked like a perfect orange orb.

We just sat down with two glasses of wine and enjoyed some quiet time together.

It had been a good day!!

As impressed as I was, (self-indulgently, no doubt) looking at the array of fountain pens I had set up on the table, my father summarized his opinion in a few choice words…

“Streeter more-e dnaragey ja. Khodder peye jaabi”!!!

“Go stand at the street corner. You will get a few customers!!!”

That be my brother (left) !!!

In a somewhat different twist to the age old Shakespearean quote… here is a classic role reversal. The child helping the father take baby steps and learn how to walk by himself!!!

When my brother and I reached home, the first thing dad wanted to do is try practicing some more walking!

When we are out for a week, apparently he tried again walking by himself when everybody was sleeping and had yet another fall. Fortunately, he again escaped easy – with a bump on his forehead. (Last time he had stitches).

As worried as I am that he is being too impatient, full points for not giving up on the urge to walk around again in spite of the falls…

The girls are off to Durgapur. My brother and I are headed towards my parents now.
First things first! Tea by the roadside stall to commence the journey!!