Today makes it one year since my dear grandfather passed away. We, his grandchildren, called him Baba!
We miss him but we know his pain and suffering are over. Our love for him and the love he showed us is something we will never forget. He is gone but will never be forgotten.
Have a look at this video and listen to this bhajan by His Holiness Dr. Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji:
Here are two pictures I am happy to share:
I have been thinking of all the things I wanted to share with Baba in this past year- my graduation, my internship, our fishes, our plants etc! He has given us so much memories and now his pain and suffering are no more. That is our comfort and the fact that we have each other!
I called him as often as I could and before marriage he would ask about everyone at home and after marriage he would always ask, “How the boss?” referring to Shiva. I enjoyed those times when I was able to sing Happy Birthday to him and when I was able to talk to him and spend time with him.
I would always value the time I was able to spend with Baba in his last days at the hospital. Even then we were being taught valuable lessons-every single one of us who was there!
Knowing that when there is birth there is death is a reality we have always been taught but what matters is that we have made the most of the time we had Baba and all our other loved ones in our lives and we keep doing that for all those who are still with us.
We were fortunate to have Baba, our grandpa, around for the time he was here. He was able to see us all grow up- children and grandchildren. He was also able to see some of his great grandchildren and each of us has similar memories but also different memories. Either way there are lots of memories for each of us to remember!
This is a post I wrote last year to celebrate Baba’s life:
https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/celebrating-the-life-of-mr-ramlal-dookie/
This one captures our gratitude to Level 16 Ward 12 Suite 5 of the San Fernando Teaching Hospital for the high level of care and attention they gave to him.
Maybe you might also remember this next post! It captures the relationship my grandparents shared. On the day Baba passed away I had a presentation to do for one of my courses, Critical Analysis of Media and TV Coverage with Mr Roddy Batchasingh at COSTAATT. Baba had passed away in the morning and I had class in the evening. My presentation was dedicated to the bond my grandparents shared and my song of choice was “Thinking out Loud” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQLqu-ThMOY by Ed Sheeran.
Here is the link to that post:
https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/celebrating-my-grandparents-and-the-bond-they-share/
Gone but not forgotten: The late Ramlal Dookie: November 14, 1933- March 19, 2015
Father of seven (7) children born to Jassodra Celia Dookie- 6 girls and 1 boy- Doris, Dora, Dolcie, Devi, Jaggs, Bena and Rajdaye, my grandma is the mother-in-law of and my grandpa was the father-in-law of Ranjit, Winston, Fyzal, Sharaz, Hosein, Rosemary and Rajesh.
He was the Brother-in-law of Mynee, Bissondaye (Betty), Bharose, Doodnath, Sita,Vinda and the late Sookraj Ramlakhan (my grandma’s siblings). Grandfather of 15 (Rishi, Savita, me, Adesh, Ria, Ricky, Sarah, Imran, Candice, Premnauth, Susan, Joseph, Josiah, Vincent and Leah), he was also a great grandfather of 5, uncle of Dilip among many others and he was a friend of many.
Apart from loving his family, anyone could associate him with riding his bicycle which he did for many years and with fishing with his seine which he enjoyed a lot.
Celebrating Existence 