Remembrance from the Celebration of Life on 8/11/19
Hello, my name is Anne. I am Prafulla's daughter in law and Ashish's wife.
Ashish introduced me as his girlfriend 17 years ago to his parents. Many of you here have known Papa for longer than 17 years, but as you all know, it only takes a very short time to love him. For me, it only took hours. I clearly remember when it happened...
Ashish and I had a date night at Mom and Papa's house. They went to a party. We decided to make dinner, but forgot to shut off one of the burners and melted the grill rack on the stove. At that moment, I knew I just lost a boyfriend. We paced and waited for Mom and Papa to return home. When they did, Papa sat us down and stared at us for a long time, making the suspense ever so long. He suddenly put up his finger and I winced. And then he said "Safety first betchas. Safety first. Glad you all are safe. We will worry about replacing the stove in the morning." He got up, strode off, and bid us goodnight.
In that instance, some points ran through my mind about Papa:
#1 - Spoken like a true engineer
#2 - He's patient, generous, and only cared for your well being.
#3 - He's in your corner.
#4 - He was not going to make Ashish dump me.
And from that moment on, he was my 2nd father. I have a soft spot in my heart for Papa. Ashish knew he could call a "Prafulla" on me if he wanted me to agree to something I usually wouldn't. He would say "Well, Papa would like it." And then, I'd agree to whatever it is just to make Papa happy. Sometimes I suspect Mom knows that too...but she's always been so kind as to not call a "Prafulla" on me often.
He believed in challenging yourself for the better. He welcomed people no matter what. He told the funniest and sometimes the corniest jokes. He loved his wife and children with all his heart. He was always able to help you see the bigger picture and where the battles make the war. As my bother said, "He made the best darn, burnt fried rice." He was always in the know on tech, politics, and news. He rarely spoke ill of anyone. He was intelligent and thoughtful. He was a wonderful father, husband, father in law, grandfather, friend, and human being.
I'm reminded of a quote from Richard Matheson that sums up how I feel about Papa's presence in my life. "Thank you...Thank you for gracing my life with your lovely presence, for adding sweet measure of your soul to my existence."
I struggled to put my thoughts above from pen to paper (or nowadays, finger to cell phone) and stayed up late last night and willed myself to do it. Mainly because to write this, it felt that I was finally admitting that I won't see him again. He was the quiet, gentle strength that sat in a room and we all could feel it in his presence. But that strength is not gone nor lost, it is now everywhere around us no matter the distance or coordinates. Thank you Papa for sharing this with us. We love you.