“A SOUL TO REMEMBER!!!”

“Thatha” is what an infant
An adolescent, an adult cognize u!
U like a commando of our legion,
Took your troop thru a breathtaking journey for 86 years!
Still leading the troop, and will lead it for eternity..!
IMMORTAL is what u r…!!

“Thatha, can I have an éclair?”
I never mooted u,
Coz’ that choco moment,
Recreated every dawn n dusk,
So afresh, I still bide one’s time…!

RAGHU, as u r known to the world,
Phoenix is what u r to us!
Though not nee thru cinder,
But nee every second,
Eternally in our hearts!
An immortal soul u r……..!

The above poem just depicts the great soul’s authority, kindness and his immortality! There is more to ‘Raghavendra Rao’ a.k.a ‘Raghu’ a.k.a ‘Rolls Royce Raghu’ a.k.a ‘London Raghu’ than this!!!

This piece of paper is not sufficient to write about an amazing personality like him! It would be wrong if I say I can write a memorial. It is practically impossible to describe him through just mere words; This, I would say is my futile attempt to do so, just in his memory….!

When I remember him at home, THATHA was a man with a lot of enthusiasm to talk or must I say “chattering off to glory”. This was one of his best known trademarks. Any person, be it a kid, or an adult, he would talk endlessly! He would stand near the gate in the afternoon and wait for the children of ‘Mahila Seva Samaja’ to pass by our house and talk to every familiar face, come what may; nothing in the world could stop him from talking. He was popular because of his constant communication with everyone in the neighborhood; again because of this trademark he had made loads and loads of friends of all ages.

With all the talking going on, he was one perfect example for “discipline”. He would wake up early in the morning, read the newspaper from the 1st page to the last page. He had made a scrap book containing all the health articles published in the newspaper or any kind of magazine. In this way he was very “health conscious” would not only stick articles in the book, but would make it a point to follow them to an extent. Scrap book did not contain just the health issues, but also had cuttings pertaining to sports, discoveries etc. He wanted his coffee on time, food on time. Every cloth he used, was ironed neatly, even his towel! His shoes were neatly polished and kept at a particular place; before and after using. Every part of his day was divided into particular time zones, or should I say he was the most organized person in the family…..!




Sports, I can say had become an integral part of his life. If a cricket match was played all day, all night, he would make sure to watch every ball played! Not just cricket, he would watch every game that is played on this planet; tennis, football, golf, hockey, billiards etc etc! Let alone the T.V he would go to “uttaradi mutt” to watch the kids there, play all kinds of games, and sometimes would ask me to accompany him, but I never made it a point to do so, and will regret it for the rest of my life.!

Another aspect that inspired everyone in the family was his unmatched hospitality. Till very recently, people who visited our house got a taste of our brewed coffee. He would not let anyone, who came home to leave without a cup of coffee. His hospitality did not end just here; it reached every kid who knew him. He would give an éclair to everyone who visited him. At home every member was treated with that 1Re chocolate twice a day and on special occasions such as., India wins a cricket match, I do well in my exams, good luck éclair before an exam, when we played games like “guess who’s picture is this..?” and such innumerable little things. Well, I have just spoken about humans. It would be very wrong on my part if I don’t talk about his immense love for animals. He nearly and dearly loved every animal on this planet, be it a reptile, amphibian, mammal etc etc. He would talk to every pet walking on the street; give him or her, a treat without fail. Our pet veeru was so pampered by him that, he never listened to anyone but thatha.

Just when I was talking to my mother about his nature, I learned one thing that I had not observed all these years. His love for this country! It seems he could not hear anything against the country. That accounts for his patriotism!!!!!!

Every person in this world has his or her own way of waking up in the morning. My wake up call was his patting. Every morning he would come to my bed and pat my back saying “1,2,3,4”…! I was surprised to know that this ran in the family and it was not only me who received it, but also my mother, my aunt and my brother. This sure was his love to us.

There are a few sentences and words of his without mentioning which, this memorial will not be complete;
“missy (me) bandhyene?!!!!!!!!!!!”
“malathi baiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (which then turned into ‘ammamma” J), oota aaita?”
“shisya (my brother) coffee aaithenoooooo?”
“Senior missy (me), junior missy (my cousin, sunaina)”
“Good! Good!”
“male bartha ide yaru ellu hogabedi”

He loved eating rave idli, wrote his diary regularly, would never allow anyone to go out after a particular time in the evening, savoured every bit of his coffee, loved reading, loved plant life and after all this I am running out of words to describe him! But can say one thing, he was a perfect gentleman!

All these memories come to me as I just lay down on my bed. It’s like those movie scenes that get over after their stories, but leave a deep mark within. Till date I have not been able to actually accept this particular nature’s rule or say “God made rule”! I have been told by my elders that this is the truth and I have to accept it. But deep within, I still question Him.! Why send a life into this world, give all the happiness in the world and take them away without even giving the slightest hint? If a life is born it is destined to leave one day or the other, then why give immense happiness? I know joy and melancholy come as a package in life from Him, but I would refuse to accept melancholy coming to me this way! But I would not let this thought of mine to come in the way of “MY THATHA’s memories” and would not let them just evaporate from my heart; he will live in my heart for eternity. That is why I call him an “IMMORTAL SOUL”…..!!!!!

[Wanted to start my blog by writing about this great person who has made a huge difference in my life]