Tribute to Moorthy Mama

We received the sad news from India today that Bharathi's uncle, the youngest of 3 siblings, passed away. He was only 59 and died of complications due to diabetes which started with kidney failure a couple of months ago. He's been fighting in the hospital for a while and we all thought he'd pull through, but tragically he lost the battle. It hit me hard because he was far too young. His life was cut short and his children had just started families of their own.

Life will go on for everyone as it must, but I wanted to take the time to reflect on Moorthy Mama and the impressions he left with me during the two times that I met him.

The first time we met was about 10 years ago in 2003 during my first trip to India. He was full of energy, very funny, wearing a cool hat and sporting the traditional South Indian moustache.



He was eager to meet us and if my memory serves me correctly he was one of the first relatives that made a visit to Bharathi's childhood home to see us. I specifically remember the first instant we met face to face. He took a look at me and said something like "You're not as big as I thought you'd be". LOL. Until then he had only seen photos of the American daughter-in-law and Indians are not generally discreet about letting you know if you've got a few pounds to drop. Something that's basically taboo in America is commonplace in India. I'm not the type to be easily offended so I brushed it off. In fact, it brings a certain feeling of closeness when you can be that open with someone. I'm glad he was comfortable enough to say it.

Priya instantly fell in love with him and because Moorthy Mama was a mouthful to say, she found it easier to call him "Funny Uncle". It stuck and I'm pretty sure Moorthy Mama enjoyed the new nickname. Here they are enjoying a moment together.



During this visit we celebrated Diwali with the whole family and had a grand time.

The next time we went to India (Jan 2007) we had both children with us so Sanjay met "Funny Uncle" and like Priya was instantly smitten. The purpose of the second trip was for Moorthy Mama's daughter's wedding. It was my first time experiencing an Indian wedding and I'm glad it was with close family. He was so gracious to include me in as many and as much of the ceremony as possible. He really made an effort to make me feel like part of the family that day. He was so busy and had so many things to coordinate that he needn't have given me so much special attention, yet he did. I will never forget that.





Throughout the years since we met, Moorthy Mama kept in touch with us. Every once in a while I received an email from him about his latest business venture. He was such an entrepreneur. Most recently we connected through Viber where he sent photos of the family and even tried to make a voice call once when I was not on WIFI. The connection was very flaky but we managed a little back and forth banter before the call was dropped. I appreciated his effort to get to know me and stay in touch. I'm gonna miss Funny Uncle!

The most unfortunate thing is that Amma (my mother-in-law) is dealing with a double loss. She lost her mother about 6 months ago and now her youngest brother. I wish we were closer to offer support, but fortunately she has a boatload of friends and family that I know will take good care of her.

Bartee and Sanjay made a quick trip to India in Sept 2013 where he was able to see both his grandmother and his uncle for the last time.



RIP Funny Uncle - you will be missed.