Hemant Lata Duets

Father loved Hemant-Lata Duets. There is no duet more beautiful or romantic than the incredible number by Hemant Lata in Patita - "Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kahan Ho Tum." Shankar Jaikishen were brilliant in this movie, composing the other gem, "Andhe Jahan Ke, Andhe Raaste" sung by Talat.

Father also loved songs by Yesudas, especially the Chit Chor songs. He also bought the songs from Toote Khilone, especially the Yesudas number "mana ho tum."

Antha mana manchike

I remember spending a few days in Nellore and my father and our relatives went to see the move Antha Mana Manchike. It had Bhanumati in it.

Just stories

My mom was describing a dream she had last night, where she was at a train station and a young man took her into a room full of statues of Shirdi Sai Baba and explained to her the life story of the Sai Baba. It shows the depth of my mom's devotion to God.

My mom also told me about her father's mother's mother, Lakshmamma, and her mother in law, Rangamma. The latter single handedly worked hard and over time acquired 60 acres of farm land. That is simply spectacular. However she also made her daughter-in-law also work very hard, grinding rice kernels. Laxmammma apparently would tell stories to my mom when my mom was 10 or 12 years old, Laxmamma being in her seventies then. After her mother-in-law died, Laxmamma managed the fields and the farming, as my father's mom died at a very young age.

Flying...kites

One of my fond memories of childhood is that of flying kites. When I was very young my father would take my sister and me to the open space near our house and he would fly the kite. He would let the kite go very far- it would take a long time to bring it back and wind all the string. The specialty was that father would make a long tail for the kite, so that when the kite is flying, the tail would be blowing in the wind, creating a beautiful moving imagery. It was a sight to behold. There is hardly any kite flying now!

Playing table tennis with father

One of my most enjoyable childhood memories is playing table tennis with my father. He had designed a beautiful dining table and had it made by our carpenter. It had a decolum top. After lunch or dinner, I would take some notebooks and arrange them across the table - these would serve as the net. We would then play the best of three sets. This was a lot of fun as my dad was in good shape then, and with all his biking he would move very well. I have a feeling that he intentionally made me win many times, so that I would feel good. The immense love of a father.

AN Amazing Focus

Today my mom and I were discussing my younger sister and how she would forget to eat when she was into something. She inherited that quality from my father. He would not get up until he had finished what he had started. On a weekend, he would start cleaning the bulbs, lamps, his bicycle, and other things and he would eat lunch after completing all the cleaning- this often meant eating lunch at 3:00PM. He would drink coffee, a habit I inherited in good measure. I don't have his power of concentration, and his interest in mechanical things.

Camping

Today our mom was telling about the times when my dad was on his geological survey field work and my parents would live in a tent for weeks or months at a stretch. My dad would come back to the tent around 5:30 PM after completing field work. He would then take my sister and I in his Jeep and we would go to the nearby town and spend some time in the lights before returning to the tent. At the time, there were only lanterns in the tent, and the dinner was in the lantern light. A very very tough life, but a de-lightful one! The love of my parents for me and my siblings knows no boundaries- it truly symbolizes the essence of Atman, or the supreme one-ness of being.