Sydney, my brother in law, left all of us on 1st
September this year. It was too sudden and
shocking for all near and dear ones. Death lays his icy hands on kings,
what else to say. Here he was smiling
and laughing in the morning, and it was
all silence in the evening. Yes, mortals have no choice but to accept since we
have no armour against fate and destiny.
Sydney was just 52, my wife’s younger brother, married to Deanne and having
two beautiful children – Roxanne and Sasha. He suffered a massive heart attack
and disappeared into oblivion. A happy
go lucky guy whose mission in life was to bring smile in everyone’s face. He
was full of pranks and was liked by one and all. Whether it was young children
or old men and women, he had his way of endearing to them and finding his way
to their hearts.
Sydney was a family man and loved his wife and children
dearly. He worked in the ship and hence used to come on long vacations after
being out for a year. But there was never a day when being in some other part of the
world that he failed to ring up and talk
to his family. He was a globe trotter and was supposed to be the best in his
work. When back at home, he used to drop his wife to office every day, and
without fail would sit with his children to take up their lessons. He was a
passionate footballer and spent several hours at the football field. He was
full of life and energy that his presence created an infectious enthusiasm in
others. He had a lot of friends and if one walked with him, there would be many
stops in between. He was so full of pranks that he would catch people unawares
and frighten them by barking like a dog. He was always up to pulling
everyone’s legs and everyone took it in the right spirit. This was because
‘pranks’ were synonymous to ‘Sydney’, and everyone knew he had no malice in his
heart. Children loved him and it was not very surprising there were a lot of children at his funeral.
The funeral was attended by more than a thousand people,
both young and old. I heard several old men and women weeping loudly and saying
’Sydney, now who will fool around with us and make us happy’. Such was his
personal mark on people. A lot of people had
several stories to narrate about his loving nature, his magnanimity, his
pranks, his jokes and his light hearted nature. But above all what stood apart was his help and support to one
and all, and to all important causes.
Sydney was laid to rest but he is not the one to rest. Tears
flowed down the cheeks of all those
present at the funeral, but knowing Sydney he definitely must be regaling
and delighting the angels up there and giving them a wonderful time.
We love you Sydney and will miss you.
