Farewell Chittappa - The sun sets on a triad of brothers

Farewell Chittappa -  The sun sets on a triad of brothers.

That death is a irrevocable finality - all of us know and acknowledge; but, when faced with the actuality of it, something deep within recoils, churns with pain, anguish and unfathomable regret. Today Morning (IST), my Paternal uncle-  the last of three brothers decided it is time to leave this stage. My father died in 2012, His elder Brother in 2013 and now Ambhi Chittappa in 2016. It seems as though, all three had a secret pact to follow each other in regular succession. In life, all three were so very different,  but in death, they resembled each other by passing away peacefully with as little pain as possible. What better exit can there be?

My earliest memory of Ambhi chittappa is that of a physically active man, kind to the point of excess, workaholic, supremely religious, and above all - a wonderful father to his children, husband to his wife and genial Uncle to all of us. Our summer vacations in Chennai were always enlivened by his generosity and ever embracing kindness. He would take us out to Marina beach, stick around there until all of us were soaked in salty water, get us back into his car unmindful of the Mud and grime we would fill it with.. But i dont remember him ever admonishing us. Not a word of anger or irritation ever passed his lips. I  also have vivid memories of all cousins sleeping over at his comfortable managerial lodgings in the factory he worked in. A colonial style, wooden bungalow - cool and cosy even in warm Chennai summers. On one such outing, he took all of us to watch the wonderful Charles Bronson movie "the dirty Dozen". Even now, as I write these words, I can see in my minds eye his ever watchful eyes keeping us in order as we clambered to our seats in the theater.

With each passing day, the older generation is slowly, imperceptibly and gracefully yielding to younger ones. The responsibility of carrying their mantle is heavy and difficult. What came easily to them - qualities such as unconditional  forgiveness and compassion, Unwavering commitment, wholesome contentment, unsullied affection - now seems so very difficult to even conceive, let alone live. But try we must to carry on their heritage.Otherwise all that effort they so assiduously invested will be rendered meaningless.

Our family joins in conveying our deepest condolences to Chitappa's family Sindhuja Shankar, Shankar Narayana Venkatesan, Jayashree Suresh. We share their grief and anguish, and pray that life and time will  give them enough strength to accept and tide over the loss of a Man - the likes of whom we dont see anymore.

Rest in immortality Chitappa...

Sunder