This is a Tribute

Yesterday, I received a call that broke my heart: my grandfather had passed away. It was my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary.

My ajja, Umesh Sanadi, was essentially the patriarch of my mother's family. After his father died and two of his brothers joined the British forces in World War II, and his older brother moved to the States, he became the provider. He managed the family estate. And he treated his many nieces and nephews as though they were his own children.

As a banker, I know he bounced around a lot due to work transfers and was often separated from his young children. Maybe because of that, he was a very devoted grandfather. I recall bouncing on his feet as a toddler and the Konkani nursery rhymes he sang to my brother when he was a toddler. He and I would daily take long walks to the park. And he would spend hours on the ground playing Uncle Wiggily and Monopoly with the grand kids. He'd endure hours of Scooby Doo and the Flintstones. And when I got older, he taught me card games, like 5-3-2 and rummy. And then when I grew older still, he taught me naughty phrases in Konkani.

My ajja was not perfect. But he was a good man. He was responsible and a hard worker, but always game for enjoyment. From him, I inherited the not-so-sweet Sanadi temper, my stubbornness, love of dirty jokes, and passion for storytelling.

I will never be a daddy's girl, but I will always be a granddaddy's girl.