Today we celebrate our Papa Ji’s 84th birthday. For our mother, my wife, my sisters, me, our kids and our immediate families, we feel his strength, love, support and guidance all the time. Since we all seem to have fallen in love with him, I thought you might like to know a little more about the man I call Dad. Even though, many a times, it is said that there are no words of thanks possible between parents & children but I would take this opportunity to thank and wish a Blessed birthday to a wonderful Dad. The years are flying by and I can’t let today go by without talking about the man who has had the most impact on my life than just about anyone else (except my Mom!)……. Eighty-Four years ago today on July the 18th a little boy Balram, (Our Papa Ji) was born to his parents in a Village known as Pind Dadan Khan, now in Pakistan. I have the most wonderful parents in the world. Not perfect parents, but they certainly are close to it. We had an idyllic childhood growing up. We were rich with love from our parents and those were the memories that mean the most to us. Not what we had or didn’t have. I always thought we had just enough of everything. Dad was born in Pakistan and grew up on the rivers flowing through the then Punjab and lush green fields and mountains surrounded his village, as a young boy, with his large family. With 3 children in his family, and dozens others in his extended family, they were Landlords and lived in a Palace like Haveli. Life was beautiful till then. It was then, when the horrifying times of partition of India & Pakistan happened. His parents, younger brother & sister were killed while migrating to India from Pakistan in the first train which left Lahore, Pakistan for Amritsar. An orphan at the age of 17 years he started a journey full of pain, miseries and memories. The pain and suffering, he went through during those days are difficult to explain in few words here but can only be understood only by those, who have the family members, those have been through this journey. Alone, my Dad had to struggle and kept trying - courage, dedication and most importantly, belief in GOD, kept him going. Dad has told us various stories about this part of his life – we would listen and cry & become angry. What kind of a person does it take to continue alone, ignore the pain, and still be able to smile from his heart? My Dad never lost his faith in GOD. At that time, it would have been impossible to imagine that which we see around him today. Only his single-minded devotion to God kept him going, growing and setting an example of what is possible for all of us. With his zeal to survive, he graduated and joined Indian Army and then Indian Railways. Resting his past behind him, with the help of few strangers he slowly started building his future, he ever had dreamt of. That is, until he met my pretty Mom, also a refugee migrated from Abbottabad, now in Pakistan and then living in Kingsway Camp, New Delhi. My Mom was raised by her Dad, My Nana Jee Lt. Jaswant Rai Datta, elder brother Hukum Chand Datta and my Mossi BIMLA BALI, her surrogated Mom (My grandma had passed away when my Mom was only six months old) and got married at the age of 18 on June 2nd, 1955. They both made a handsome couple and Mom who is with him today, same as always, his strength in tough times. She is the constant companion and source of strength for my Dad. You will see in her eyes, the same determination, strength & indifference to the highs and lows of life that Dad has. Their love blossomed into four kids, two daughters and two sons, me being the second one. It was then when he was trying to leave the past behind and living a happy life, a tragedy struck again on January 11th, 1985, when I lost my younger brother at a young age of 25 years, close to when my eldest son Tushar was born. God was not done yet and wanted to test my Dad and his faith in him when again in April of 2012, when my elder sister lost her husband Pradeep Datta at a very young age. All these miseries of life have not disturbed him instead brought out the best in him. Dad retired in 1992 from Indian Railways as a Gazetted Officer and was also awarded a reward by the late President of India Giani Jail Singh for his meritorious services to Indian Railways. Dad was also recognized with a Senior Citizen award few years back by the Lions Club of Faridabad for his services to the community and always eager to help those, in need.. Dad is a great reader, writer and is keenly interested in astrology. With all his love and advice, not only I have become a better person but my kids too have learnt a lot from him and my wife his great admirer along with other family members, those feel proud to be part of his lineage. Every time I needed advise, he would anticipate and help. Dad is my biggest strength and GURU. His principle: “Diamond cannot be polished without friction; Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people who go through trials knowing this will see that life becomes BETTER not BITTER.” We are today, celebrating 84 years of a good life lived by this man we call Papa Jee, who stands tall and High. May GOD BLESS him with Long and Healthy Life. We love him because it is him, who raised us to be better persons in life..
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 04:09:46 +0000
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