Zaheer Uncle

Those dapper suits

That charming smile, naughty and warm at the same time

Those Fuzzy Sideburns, just starting to turn grey

Looked so smart and classy

In the lanes of Nawaabi Lucknow.

The "tehzeeb" of speaking, the baritone

The name to boot, reeked of Royalty

(aha... that's what you addressed my mother also as, with that smile)

Let's throw in some memories of a pipe.

Maybe. Maybe not.

That is how I saw you first, met you first

That's how you lie etched in my mind.

Even today 45 years later.

The sideburns grew whiter, we grew older.

But the charm was ageless.

The teacher describes Mr. Rochester of Jane Eyre, I saw you.

The man with the now Grey Sideburns.

Elegance defines you, be it suits or Indian wear.

No party was fun without you.

That wry sense of humor, with that charming smile.

With the "khitaab" of doctor,

Always wondered was the Gravitas your medical degree or the Deep Baritone

All in all, you are a cherished memory of childhood.

JC Bose Marg was because you are. It was your "illaka" and will always be.

Years flew by. We grew up and so did you.

When we met, nothing changed for me.

The charming smile, the warm hug, that wry half smile was in place

As were you, frailer maybe, but the persona stood out.

Then again we met, in your den - at your house.

It seemed like childhood was back in the verandah.

As we flitted around your house, you stood as always

Observing, watching, with that smile.

It took time back, as only you could.

I wish you could take it back again today.

You might have gone to a "better place", they say. They console themselves for sure.

But just take time back for us once, now you are an angel

That we always saw you as...

Let me be 6 and you ageless

Smile that smile once more

and Hug us as you did.

You are our childhood. That went away like you.

In a blink.

Like our childhood you leave behind a void

That will be never filled.

Alas no doctor can treat it too.

Coz the Gentleman doc has gone too far

Zaheer Uncle, RIP.