Our home had eight occupants, six human and two canine. However, on many occasions there would be eight to ten people living in the house. My grandfather, who had lived in England over six decades ago, would play host to his friends who would visit Chennai for their vacations. We would learn about their culture and gain knowledge from their vast experience.
Among our guests, the Newmans', from a town named Redditch visited us every alternate year and each time they came, they spent two months with us. Eileen Aunty and Derek Uncle were almost family to us. They used to tell us stories, eat with us and took us to a fantasy world in England, a world we had never seen, yet seemed so familiar. While Eileen Aunty was a kind grand motherly person, Derek Uncle was a youthful person who could regale anyone be it a little kid or someone his age with his humor. Derek Uncles speech was accented and only a half of what he said could usually be understood, yet he would laugh at his own jokes and make the other person laugh in the process. We loved the Newmans' and every time they left, we felt a lacuna in the house and eagerly awaited their next trip.
The best thing about them, and Derek Uncle in particular was his love for life. He loved people and loved life. He always did things that made him and the other people around him happy. He was a plump man who was excessively overweight. He emphasized the fact that he would rather be overweight and happy rather than live a sad and thin life. Once when he walking on the street a fitness trainer approached him and told him "Want to be thin? Ask me how! " and he replied "Want to be happy? I will tell you how!". The fitness trainer was taken aback and walked away.
In another instance he walked into the marriage hall across the road. He wanted to see an Indian wedding and felt that as long as his presence did not cause any disruption, it would be alright. The wedding party were more than happy to have him and offered him a meal. He returned a few hours later after having had a full filling meal.
He had a mug of beer before dinner, one during dinner and a couple of mugs after dinner and had the perfect beer belly. He never cared for what others thought of him and enjoyed himself to the maximum. He had fun and ensured that it never compromised or affected others life.
Obviously he suffered from hypertension issues and other conditions associated with obesity, but he lived to the ripe old age of eighty two. He never let hypertension and stress rule over his Eutopia of happiness. When he left this mortal world to become a part of eternity, he did not leave it as a sick and stressed man but a happy man drinking beer, with a pot belly doing the things he loved most.
He did not leave behind a huge estate or a millions of dollars stashed in the bank.
He left us with hundreds if not thousands of good memories.
He left the world with a legacy - The Secret to Happiness!
