SIDDHICHARAN SHREATHA

t was in the green hues of your lap

on the coolness of your breast

I passed my boyhood days,

O my beloved Okhaldhunga!

To everybody he was a poet - sensitive and heavy with emotion. But to me, he meant something more. He was the father to my mother and to me, my grandfather. Others knew him as the famous poet Yuga Kabi Siddhi Charan Shrestha, but for me, he was more human and, I shared with him some of my life's best and most precious moments.

Grandfather was a compassionate and kind person. He was aware of the hardships many Nepalese families lived in and, whenever he could, he looked forward to helping those in need. It gives me much joy to hear some of them recall how he illuminated their lives.

That is why, I am proud to be his granddaughter. Not only because I admire him as the poet Siddhi Charan Shrestha; it is also because I have begun to learn about the wisdom in his words. For me, they carry lessons valuable to life. My life.

"… Truth is something that a person must find in oneself first…

Utmost devotion to its quest can alone lead to the truth."

I remember a time when he helped me come through one of my worst experiences in life. I was seven years old and my father had passed away. I was in shock and accepting his death was something I wasn't willing to grasp and understand. I said to grandfather: "Everyone says that my father has died, but I don't believe them. You are an old man and you are still alive. What does this mean?" I can still remember his pain and his eyes swelling up in tears. He lifted me up onto his lap and started explaining to me about the realities of life. "Death is uncertain and it transcends all age bars. You should always be ready for it." Although I was too young to understand what grandfather was trying to tell me at the time, I think the way in which he said it made an impact on me. Today, as I live my life, I draw strength from his words whenever I know I need to accept the realities of life.