We are a family of nine grandchildren to our paternal grand parents. One of our relatives nicknamed usas “navaratnalu”. Out of the nine, Caleb anna is the first grand child and I am the eighth one. Growing up, we used to meet at our grandma’s house during summer, may be once at the time of Christmas. I don’t have sufficient memory of him during my early childhood but I always remember that I used to get excited whenever I heard that Darshan chinnana was coming with his family as I lovedto meet caleb anna.

My first memory of him goes back to when I was 7-8 years. It was a Sunday, and I heard that his family came to Kakinada church. I remember trying to peek for him through the rows where young boys used to sit and saw him closing his eyes for prayer as he folded his legs backwards, sitting on them. As a teenager I developed a close relationship with Caleb anna whom later I used to call bujjanna. I used to talk to him every week on phone. Even though he was working at that time, he made  to talk to me and never ignored me.

He was the first one who helped me to make my resume and the first one who bought me a dress out of all my cousins. I was the first cousin who slept over at his house when he moved to Toli Chowki after his marriage, where they stayed for sometime. I still remember that day when he cooked chicken curry & rasam. .

I remember a time when I was returning home after visiting them, he came with me to the railway station all the way from Bandlaguda to Secunderabad, got me into the train, bought me snack, made sure I was comfortable and waited until the train took off. He showed the same care and concern even while he was lying on the hospital bed after his first surgery as he inquired, “Chellamma, did you eat?”

His little Janey was very dear and precious to him. He wanted her to grow up holy. He wanted to immigrate to Canada so that Jane could avoid reading Hindu Stories in Telugu textbooks at school (during our conversations in 2022).

I want to make a note of some of the interesting things about Caleb anna that I can’t forget :

• He learned to drive car all by himself as he watched the city bus drivers changing gears in city bus every time he travelled;
• He liked to cut his onions very small when making a curry which he loved to do by himself and very rarely entrusted it to others only if he knew that they’d do a similar job like him.
• He also loved to eat small red prawns (sea prawns).
• He was a match maker too (tried to find boys to my sister & me when it was time for us to get married)
• He loved bikes very much, if my memory is not wrong, he used to have Royal Enfield
• He loved cracking jokes sometimes (There was a time when we had conversation about tongues then he told me, “Chellamma, I only have two tongues, English & Telugu, don’t have other tongues”.)

During our last phone call in 2023, during which we spoke for an hour. His conversation went on like this, “Chellamma, you called me at the right time just before I sleep during the day as my nights are sleepless because of the pain. After Janey goes back to school, I try to pick up the toys from the floor slowly. I can’t look at screen for a long time, can’t sit for a long time, one of my eyes was closed due to the growth of the tumor in the head, can’t hear properly with one of the ears and the feet are swollen making it hard to walk. Your vadina told me to speak with faith, so I say, “God will heal me”. I can only listen to the bible and can’t read it any more. All my promises, I read them from a large print everyday.”

I praise God for everything He allowed in his life, especially the sickness because I believe that it gave him enough time to prepare to be transformed into the likeness of our saviour. As Hebrews 5:8 says about Jesus, “Though He were a son, yet learned He obedience by the things which he suffered”. So, I saw that obedience in anna. He loved the people that defamed him too which I personally know. He was tried and tested to be made into a perfect amalgam of love, forgiveness, forbearance, generosity. As I recollected my memory to write this story, tears trickled down my cheeks. I will not be able to meet him here, I can only wait to meet him yonder.

I thank the Father for He is the Omnipotent God and His will is the best. I’m also grateful to Him for giving him a loving wife, who remained faithful to her vows, “…in sickness and in health ‘till death do us part” and wonderful parents and brother who toiled day and night, taking good care of him. I conclude my story by committing Vadina, Janey, Chinnana, Aunty, Josh & family into His comforting arms.