Eulogy to my uncle

How do you capture the ocean in a bottle? How can you describe a phenomenon

in a sentence? My uncle, KLN, was a giant among men. He was the epitome

of selflessness. He was someone that others can only aspire to emulate. He was a

genius at everything he did.- a true all rounder. I cherish fond childhood memories

of the uncle who got me my first Enid Blyton from the library and introduced me

to the fascinating world of books. He would quiz me at the end of a book to make

sure I understood what I read. Till the end of my education, I knew that if I had a

mathematical problem, there would be one person who could solve it – my uncle. I

would leave the problem beside his bed and wait till he got home from a busy day at

the hospital. By morning, the servant would deliver my solution along with the milk.

We shared a common love for books, cross word puzzles and quizzes – probably

the genes had something to do with it .He was a whiz at chess, caroms, card games

– anything you did, he could do one better. He remains the only doctor I know with

beautiful handwriting. The beauty of his entire personality was his understated,

unassuming profile. He never craved for the limelight. Although he was a wonderful

writer and orator, he let other people do the talking whilst for him – his actions spoke

louder than words.

He was a self made man who lived and died by his ideals. Never did I see him wallow

in self pity even in the face of insurmountable personal losses like the death of his

babies. He took everything that life threw at him as a challenge and moved on without

complaining.

If he had so wished, he could have made a fortune in his career by moving

to the west. However, he chose to stay and work for the poor and mentally

challenged of Kolkata till destiny played a cruel hand in snatching him away.

Those whom the Gods love die young. However someone who lives in the memories

of so many never really dies – he just moves on to a different world. I just feel blessed

that I had the good fortune of having him for an uncle. If I go through life being a

fraction of the person he was I would have led a meaningful life.