My
Father KK
We will always remember him for his 3 Ss --
Straightforwardness, Simplicity and Soft spoken approach.
We will always remember him for his 3 Ss --
Straightforwardness, Simplicity and Soft spoken approach.
We all lose a few loved ones to death in our lifetime. I
too have. The most painful of course was the death of my best and
childhood friend Sachin – with whom I grew up – in the year 2006.
But the most defining has to be the passing away of your parent,
because of whom we inherit this world.
The past week has been flooded with memories of my
father Mr KK Subramanian, who passed away on April 18. He was a soft
spoken and hard working individual who passed on simple but very
essential behavioural prescriptions to both his sons. “Never tell a
lie,” he would say. So simple, yet in the context of today's world
it seems like a re-discovered truth.
Having studied in the Tamil medium in school, I always
found his English impeccable. He developed it over time and served as
an inspiration to us brothers to pick up nuances of the English
language. He had a wonderful music sense too and was very fond of
carnatic music. I too love singing and have a talent to spot
similarity of ragas when listening to different songs. Some effect of
the genes I suppose.
When I reflect on my father's personality, one thing
stands out – his simplicity and loyalty. He was not the one to
invite any kind of complexity into his life – his sons are filling
that gap of course. Like an individual bred on typical middle class
values, he served one government organisation for 30 years and built
his career accordingly. He wanted both his sons to emulate this
approach, but we were made of different mettle and continue to
experiment with our careers even twenty years after we started
working. Like many fathers in our country, I am sure he was not
amused with this `current generation` style of living.
One of the aspects I feel my father missed out on
developing was his creative side. He used to make sketches
occasionally and I found him to be very good at that. Maybe somewhere
he was trapped into the focused way of living and not giving vent to
his creative potential, which might have required sacrificing the
beaten path a little.
While he went through the normal struggles and
frustrations of life, he was blessed that he could travel the world.
In his lifetime, he visited some amazing places like Rome, Geneva
London, Hong Kong, and Osaka, besides having put in a professional
stint in Africa. Having worked for Air India for three decades, he
loved being air borne and taking us all too.
In the last few years, my father suffered a lot with his
health and his last few months were immensely painful. In death, he
found deliverance from both suffering and bondage. April 18 however
would forever remain a solemn day in our life.
We will always remember my father for his 3 Ss --
Straightforwardness, Simplicity and Soft spoken approach. My brother
and I are grateful for whatever he did for us. Though he may not have
always agreed with our ways, till his last breath he stood by us.
Thank You Appa. May You Remain In Eternal Bliss. Will
Miss You Always!