Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

I got married and my father ( baba) passed away within 15 days of my wedding.

He was unwell , but we still never wanted to accept the hard reality that we might lose him.

We kept trying all alternative medications, therapies as it gave us the hope , that something may work and he will recover.

My baba turned 50 and within a month left for his heavenly abode.

At the time of my wedding rituals , my baba being sick was not able to perform an important part of it and that is ensuring the guests attending the wedding have been fed well.

As he was unwell,he couldn’t climb the first floor where lunch was being served

He regretted this a lot . After the wedding, he was very insistent that my in-laws come home and eat lunch with him .

That was the last time I had a meal with my baba and last time I saw him .

My husband and I were traveling for our honeymoon the next day.

We wanted to cancel it , but my baba won’t hear it , he said – ‘Do you think I am going to go away from my darling daughter’?

In those days, there were no mobiles.

My bad luck , the day my baba passed away , I was to return back , but I missed my train and came back 3 days later .

I never saw my baba again.

How do you reconcile the passing away of someone like this?

I never could say good bye to my baba .

I lost him forever.

I couldn’t accept my baba demise .

For years when he was referred, in the past tense, I would scream and have major bouts of grief.

For years my loved ones refrained from doing so .

How do I say good bye to my life giver who shaped me and made me capable of what I am today , and left me quietly without even waiting for me to come back ?

How do I say goodbye to my baba who promised never to leave me , still being snatched away  by destiny ?

How do I say goodbye to all my carefree days which ended abruptly without me even realising ?

How do I say goodbye to the person I loved the most and whose every memory is etched in my heart?

How do I say goodbye to all the teachings of my baba only because he left me without any parting word or message?

Can anything be more difficult than leaving your parents after a sumptuous lunch and come back to find out that one is gone away forever ?

My son Sujay was born within 9 months of my Baba passing away .

And my Aai had this strong belief that Sujay is my father’s rebirth.

I don’t know whether that’s what it is , but yes can say my son and my mother had a bond which helped my mother to recover from her grief and my son to imbibe the strong value system which I inherited from my parents.

And last but not the least my son Sujay has maturity and understanding way beyond his age .