We are family

Last week at work my colleague Rehan asked me, “Is that Tarak Mehta of the ‘Tarak Mehta ka olta chashma’ fame your relative? As you are also a Mehta?” To his surprise I said yes. Tarak Mehta is indeed a relative of mine. He is my late grandfathers’ half brother. In my mother tongue Gujarati, he is my ‘dada-kaka’. He is a legendary writer of India as his column ‘Duniya ne Undha Chasma’ appearing in the magazine ‘Chitralekha’ has been made into a television sitcom which has garnered a lot of acclaim. Running successfully since 2008, it is now a household name in India. Taking it back to my conversation with Rehan, he was really surprised as he had asked me that question only because of my last name :P

Yes, we are family :)

He has been awarded the Padma Shri this year which is the fourth highest civilian award of India. Unlike some humorists’ who are not so funny unless they are performing (or in their write ups), Tarak kaka, as I fondly call him, has a great sense of humour.  He has a knack for coming up with hilarious answers to even the most serious questions. I am so proud of my lineage :)

Dadu and Tarak kaka 

           

Tarak kaka and his wife Indu kaki - when they came to see me first time after I was born

My late grandfather was also a writer. He is just my most favorite person in the whole world to this day. I called him dadu. He told me so many stories – which have made me who I am today. He told me mythological stories, explained to me our family tree and also told me of incidents when he and Tarak kaka were young. We spoke of everything under the sun and he used to always encourage me to express my opinion boldly. I would show him the essays I wrote at school and would regret it almost immediately; as he would criticize me mercilessly. However, there came a day when he started appreciating me and said I could be a writer. He passed away when I was 16 and I miss him so much. I wish he could have read this blog.

Dadu & I on uttarayan

Dadu, dadi and me

                                       

My favourite playmate

Love this pic

I had written a piece for my maternal grandfathers 75th birthday, which was published in a magazine he owned. I remember dadu and I had gone through it and he had edited it for me. He was so good with words and languages. Though he wrote in Gujarati, he spoke and wrote English very well. 

My maternal grandfather, nana is also a writer and a voracious reader. I have been lucky to have so many writers around me. 

Nana, nani and me

                                     

Nana and I

I used to love listening to stories from all of them and I thank them all for helping me think on different tangents. It has helped me not to be a psuedo–intellectual, which is the reason I can write. I find it funny when some people think their opinion is the ultimate one. I am fine if people agree/disagree with me. That's what keeps us communicating, isn't it? So why not take it in stride... ?