My heart is heavy as I write this tribute.
My childhood was spent knowing my uncle Indra Mama as my mother’s youngest brother who occasionally came back home from England to visit his mother (my grandmother). At the time, we were not closely attached to him or his family. After we had all moved to different countries, we had hardly contacted each other. However, I should mention that Indra mama always tried his best to maintain some connection with his sister (my mother) and her children.
Several decades passed and we got the opportunity to become closely connected with my uncle and his family. We got to spend weeks together and he was amazed and proud to see us, how his sister Ganam Acca raised her children and how we were all well established. That is when I learned and understood how big of a heart my uncle had and how much love he had for everyone. I then realized that we missed out on getting to know him and his beautiful family for so many years and my uncle felt the same way.
We then tried to begin spending many occasions together and traveled to each others’ countries of residence and spent remarkable times together (holidays, weddings, cottages, house parties, casual dinners, etc.). During my time with my uncle, I absolutely loved hearing his stories and learning about so many things about my mother’s side of the family (whom we hardly were in touch with for so many years). It was a small part of our lives and we planned and expected to do more, like a large family reunion…Unfortunately, God took away a man loved by all.
“Indra mama, I will keep your hard-worked “FAMILY TREE” you shared with all our family members. I remember you mentioning that you took over one year to complete the family tree as you had to contact all your relatives around the WORLD and do some historical research. Also, I remember how you struggled to get every single person’s current email contacts to share your painstaking mission; although, it turned out to be a beautiful memory that we will all cherish, as it was constructed and made by you! What a thoughtful way to connect the families. This can only be thought of by you Indra Mama. As I promised to you, I will treasure the family tree”.
What a wonderful Uncle you were…a loving brother to your sister…a lovable and caring husband to your wife…the world’s best father to my wonderful cousin Monica (Manohary)…an awesome father-in-law…the best and most wonderful, most magnificent Grandpa ever, and a lovable human being to everyone else in different forms.
I do not know what else to say about my uncle except that I was extremely fortunate to have him as my uncle and now that he is gone, I miss him and wish we could have spent more time together. Rest in peace, in the arms of the angels, as they carry you to heaven. Goodbye, my dearest uncle Indra Mama. We miss you greatly!
You are always in our thoughts and hearts
Chitra & Family