MY FATHER- N G Uke

On the 4th of November 2006, suddenly my whole world came crashing down in front of me. I knew it was inevitable but when I got the news that my father had died, I could not bear the news. I wasn't shocked, I was devastated. The person whom I had known my whole life, who was ALWAYS there guiding me, teaching me, helping me,scolding me, holding me in high esteem, the one who made me feel , as if I was the greatest, that person, was never going to call me again. I would never be able to hear that unique way in which he used to call me"Varshaaaa".

Could I live in a world where he was not going to be around. Whom would I turn to in moments of distress-emotional, financial, work related stress?

Who was going to make me feel that I was equal to or far superior than anyone else? He always had the greatest expectations from me and I always strived to come up to his expectations. I got a medal for Good Conduct in my school. I got two double promotions in school. I topped the University and was First Class First in Political Science (Hon's). I was a National Merit Scholar. I did meet his expectations academically

My whole personality was his gift to me. The way I conduct myself, my self confidence, my language, the way I handle problems, the way I look at other points of view, my tolerance and intolerance of different views, are all that I learnt from him. The importance of being earnest, the value of time, to be a visionary, to be an optimist, to be able to forgive, and to take life in it's stride, was all that I saw in him, and now I try to emulate. I am trying to walk on the path that he showed me.

My father was very much ahead of his times. When I was born, people came up to offer messages like, "Koi baat nahi, next time it will be a son", my father in return asked to be congratulated as for him a daughter was as important as a son. All my life, he was my ideal. I actually hero worshipped him. He was very idealistic, honest and always stood by his beliefs. He was extremely straightforward, and never minced his words. He would say what was correct, even if it hurt him too in some way. He never tried to please anyone.

He was a staunch atheist. He could never understand why people needed the crutches of blind faith, rituals and religion to live in this world. He believed religion had been created and allowed to flourish for the benefit of a few people.

Daddy was a strong believer in equality. No one was inferior, whether a boy, girl, or a different caste, class or creed. All human beings were equal. He would never get beaten in an argument on these subjects.

His wisdom, knowledge, analytical mind were par excellence. His thinking and crystal clear view of things, events and incidents were a treat to hear and read. He was a great writer. I used to be amazed at his command over the English language. He who had studied in a village school and a person from a rural background, whose parents were not educated, had such a beautiful command over the language, which I who had a convent school background, and also a voracious reader could not match. He loved collecting books. It was his passion to buy books.

A person who had gone on a Government of India scholarship to London to pursue the graduation course in Engineering, saved every penny that he could to buy books. When he returned from London after a stay of three years, he had an enormous collection of books. However due to his transferable job, he had to leave his collection in Nagpur, where they got destroyed. It was a great loss, as it was Love's labour lost.

Although a good collector of books, he seldom had time to read them. He took ages to finish a book, because he took pains to understand each and everything that had been written. The book would actually be studied in great detail, with all his red pen noting in the margin of almost every page. He could never read fiction. He always planned to read the books in his free time, which he never had. He was always busy. His mind was always preoccupied with his thoughts on how best he could uplift the people of his community.

He was always very particular about the language that we used in our daily life. It was important to always present a correct picture and never have confusing things to say. Be clear and use correct language. He always said that we should practice what we preach. He did not believe in blind faith, evil eye, superstitions, religious rituals, luck, rebirth or migration of soul. In his language he never used the words luck, fortunately or unfortunately.

He was always ready to greet a new day happily. He never wasted time. Everything was planned meticulously. He had a lot of work to do as he wanted the whole world to become rational and not live in the world of make believe of superstition and religion

I miss him every day of my life. One person whom I could implicitly trust, who never deceived. He was extremely devoted to the service of his people.

Losing a parent is a great tragedy, and if the person is of the stature of Mr. N G Uke, then the tragedy gets manifold. He had so much to do, he wished to do so much.I need to take up some of his unfinished task. I wish and hope that soon I will gather some courage and go through his papers. I am determined that I will try to finish at least somethings that my father wanted me to do. I will be courageous and try to do what best I can.