Baba and Abhi had such a bond that if there is a heaven, they’re right now probably sitting on some cloud swigging beer, with Abhi narrating some tall tale to Baba (using his palms with the thumb and little finger outstretched to denote aircraft), ‘I was here, and the boss was at 5 o’clock, and I thought to myself…’, while Baba is cracking some punny dad joke and they are both giggling away like schoolchildren with a secret!
Oh, how I miss them both!
The point, you see, is that back in the days, this was a photograph we considered ‘spoiled’ because Abhi moved. We’d have thrown it away. Or at least thought that if anyone in the future were to sort through these, they’d throw this one out first.
Turns out that person from the future is me. And I realise this is the more precious of the photos from all that we snapped that day of Baba and Abhi in their respective uniforms, including the final version in which they are standing seriously next to each other with forced smiles, just to get that ‘perfect’ shot. Guess which shot was perfect, in hindsight, eh?
How time changes one’s perception of what indeed is worth remembering!
Such is life. It is always the things you think are insignificant that turn out to be important when seen in hindsight. One lives, and one learns. Unfortunately, Abhi cheated me of ever seeing him age. And Baba, what can I say? I miss him more than I thought I would. I love you two.
