Live, laugh and make others laugh - Sanjeev Jain
I feel so proud to be his daughter- to see that people only have nice things to say about him. To see how he made everyone laugh and went out of his way to help others. A man who met him only a month ago, said he was a very nice person (and this was just in one meeting)!
Papa's laughter was infectious. He was loud and unapologetic. He was so full of life, he always made his presence felt. At times it was annoying and I even called him crazy, because HOW can someone be happy ALL THE TIME?! His attention span for anything serious was 3 seconds (and it worked in my favour while telling him I have a boyfriend)!
From doing his famous Naagin dance at every wedding, to getting us banned from TGIF by dancing on the table, he could do and did ANYTHING. He'd always go out of his way to help get things done. He's the only person I know, who pretty much has a selfie with everyone he's ever met! He even has a picture at MY wedding, with MY friends, without me in it! He doesn't have a single serious picture or even a "bad angle".
He's definitely the most handsome "old" man I've seen, and he had his way of getting things done- whether it was sweet talking or threatening people (he once told someone on the phone, "Tu kal subah Okhla aakar dikhaiyo, main Sanjeev Jain bol raha hoon" and the man called to apologize within 15 minutes!)
He's been the biggest support by always letting me do what I want, the way I want and when I want. He's been dropping me to the bus stop throughout school, to the taxi stand throughout college and to the metro station when I started my first job. How many fathers do that for 24 year old adults?
3 out of the 8 times that I've ever seen him cry, have been for me- when I left for college, when I missed my graduation due to hospitalization and when I got married. He wasn't very good at verbalising his emotions but I know he loved me (maybe even more than he loved Aarjav).
I'm like papa in more ways than I could imagine- from being stubborn to sharing a migraine on the same side of the head, from enjoying the company of people to not listening to my mom- and I wouldn't have it any other way.
He was the strongest person I know. He survived falling from a camel in Leh and smiled in selfies with broken ribs! He survived a fire at home by jumping from the balcony! He survived a brutal car accident and even survived after the ceiling fan dropped on his head! Like his Manorite friends say, he was a fighter, and he did that till the very end.
My text has a mix of present and past tense because I'm still in denial. It feels unreal and unfair and it hurts every single hour that I don't get to tell him how much I love him or how much he means to me, how he's impacted everyone around him and how we can only picture him laughing.
If I could be even half the person he was, I'll know I've succeeded in life.
I will always love you, papa ❤️
Thank you for being a part of our lives