An uncle who is more than a father to this gardener

By Siddharth Pandey

To Ajit, who works as a gardener in Noida, there is only one person who matters. And that is his uncle, Parameshawar Verma.

Ajit is certain that if it was not for his Babuji (as Ajit affectionately calls his uncle) he and his siblings would have been nowhere.

The reason Parameshawar evokes such reverence in his nephew is because of the way he took care of his brother’s family.

“Babuji had a very turbulent early life,” recalls Ajit.  His parents and his wife died in quick succession.

As if these shocks were not enough, his brother, who was Ajit’s father, passed away, leaving behind a wife and four children.

“Any other person would have been completely gutted.  But not Babuji,” says Ajit.  “He braved through his grief and sought to support us – my mother, two brothers and a sister.”

Since his earnings as a casual worker in the forest department were meagre, Parameshawar left his job and took to farming.

Even then it was not easy going. Ajit was two years old at the time. He had two elder siblings and a younger sister. “Babuji took on the additional burden with a smile. He never spoke to us about his financial difficulties or as to how difficult it was to support a family of five.”

“He wanted to give us a future, and insisted that we complete our studies,” recollects Ajit, “I was young, but I slowly understood how difficult it must be for him to take care of the five of us.”

To ease his uncle’s burden, Ajit ran away from home and became a truck driver. He also started sending money home to make it easier for his Uncle. “But Babuji was not very happy. He wanted me to return home and continue my studies.”

Ajit did not go back. But Parameshawar ensured that Ajit’s three siblings finished their schooling. In fact, Ajit’s sister, who was the youngest of the four children, went on to attend college – a matter of great pride for the entire family. Parameshawar also saw to it that all the four siblings got married and settled down.

Even today, though he is in his 80s, Parameshawar continues to take great interest in his brother’s family. “He is the world to us,” says Ajit, who left truck driving and took up the job of a gardener in Noida.

Ajit realizes that his Babuji does not have much time left. Every time he visits his village, Kataiya Bahuchara in Pratapgarh, Ajit notices that his Babuji has become frailer. He has difficulty getting up or walking as his knees don’t support him the way they did when he was younger. His struggles with breathing are getting worse. And as his friends pass away, the shadow of loneliness grows longer.

And yet, Ajit’s Babuji does not want to burden his nephews with his health woes.  Ajit can make out from his labored breathing and coughing on phone that everything is not fine. He wishes he could help his Babuji more.

But Ajit’s Uncle will not hear of it.  Even today, he spends more time on Ajit and his siblings than on himself.

No wonder, the gardener reveres his uncle. “Babuji has shown us what selflessness is. The least we can do is to live up to his ideals.”

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