From my diary...Tribute to Daddy

Almost six decades ago, (I can still remember vividly) as a small girl, I was watching my eldest sister Linda Christy, ever a topper and always a genius, holding a gleaming glass vase and taking a child's steps, down the school-day stage in LMS Girls' School, Marthandam. Her desire to aim at the stars became contagious in our family. It's her thirst for knowledge that instilled the same taste in her only brother and three sisters.

Leaving the idyllic Munnar and the warmth of parents, if we drove down seeking education, it was due to the vision of a great person we all adore till date. Leaving the physical support of the parents, if we came to our uncles and grandmother,  it was because we carried with us loads of emotional and psychological support from Appa. Every centum, every first rank, every prize, every accolade and every achievement became significant to us because it brought with it tonnes and tonnes of appreciation from that great person we call APPA. After he left us, even my PhD degree lost its savour.

This glass vase is the first of the many prizes my sister received in that school, and it was treasured by Appa. Ever in his view, it adorned the round table that was a favourite haunt of his ten grandchildren. Now, for about two decades, this glass vase is in my view, adorning my bedroom windowsill, casting a nostalgic glow and bringing refreshing memories of everything so... ...dear and so... ...precious.