Reflections

Achan (which means "father" in my native language) has always had a deep love for dogs, and over the years, we had several dogs in our home. The first dog Achan brought to our house was Sanjayan, a German shepherd. Sanjayan arrived before I was born, so most of what I know about him comes from my mother. Sanjayan was a large dog who was very attached to Achan. Every evening, when Achan came home from the office, Sanjayan would run halfway to the stadium in front of our house to greet him. Achan would dismount his bicycle and walk the rest of the way home with Sanjayan. At home, he would play with Sanjayan, who sometimes even jumped on the bed, much to my grandfather's dismay. When my mother was pregnant with my sister, Sanjayan fell ill with rheumatic fever. Achan was deeply concerned for him, even more so than for my mother's health. He consulted numerous veterinarians and even telegraphed for medicines from Calcutta. Sadly, before the medicines arrived, Sanjayan pas...

We called him Achachan, the equivalent of grandpa in my native language, Malayalam. He was actually my grandpa's younger brother. I don't have clear memories of first meeting him. But I remember whenever we met him during some family gatherings; he used to be very affectionate to us. And my father was fond of him. Achachan was the youngest child in his family. As a kid, he was very good in his studies and did his course in Survey. Later he worked as a civil engineer in Singapore. He loved books and was a voracious reader. Not sure about the authenticity of this story, but it still makes rounds in the family. When Japan invaded Singapore during the Second World War, people started leaving their houses picking whatever valuables they could carry. One day, while the bombing was going on, Achachan ran out of his house and kept running for some time. Once the sound of bombing subsided, he walked into a nearby house. He couldn't find anyone inside and suddenly fire broke out. ...