Shri Shiv Singh(--1917-4December 2007)
"My grandfather was a local wrestler. He started each morning by putting a handful of soil on his body to strengthen it a little before wrestling with at least ten other wrestlers from the neighbouring villages. He lived as the early humans did in the beginning of the river valley civilizations like the Nile, the Mesopotamia or the Indus."
These are the opening lines of my first book "River Valley to Silicon Valley" and that great man for whom these lines are written is no more. My dear paternal Grandpa died in a fire accident on Tuesday(December the 4th) night while he was sleeping and the house caught fire. Unfortunately he could not escape.He was a man whom I really admired for his courage, wisdom and his health consciousness. He was 90 years old but his grip was strong and he could walk for hours. He had never had the opportunity to have formal education but he was a wise man, he had learned so much from the Open University called Life.
Shri Shiv Singh was the second child of his parents and my great grandparents. His father Shri Bhattu Singh had moved from a nearby village to found a very small village 'Bhattu Bigha" (named after his name) on the banks of the River Paimar. My grandpa had grown up on the banks of the river Paimar grazing cows and buffaloes and had always been a "River Valley Man". Though he was illiterate he understood the value of education and he sent his children to school. His eldest son and my father Shri Rajendra Singh became a teacher loved and respected by a large number of villagers. Though my Grandpa never told me any stories as my grandma did, he taught me a number of excercises to keep myself healthy and strong. I really admired his strong appetite and strong eyesight. He never had any diseases, never went to a hospital in his life time and never wore glasses.He had a long life according to the modern world standards and if not for that unfortunate accident that happened I am sure he would have lived more than a hundred years.
I was looking forward to meet him along with my wife soon but I am so sad that I was deprived of this great occasion.
Grandpa,
You'll always be in my memories
till the last day of my life
though the waves
will try erase your footprints
from the sands of time!We pray for you dear Grandpa! May your soul rest in peace!
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