As convoluted as it might sound , the beginning of the end is here for fall 2010 semester. I write this after a short visit to India where I went to perform the final rites of my uncle "Murali mama" as I call him. He was a nice man , a simple one at that. I want to write down the memories I have of him before they fade away . I did not spend a lot of time with him , although he was close to me. He helped my mom a lot in her work and actually he was the man of our big joint family. The youngest of my uncles , he always was there for any kind of help we might need. He used to enjoy watching cricket and I used to love discussing the game with him. The few times I watched cricket was usually with him. We both shared the same passion for A R Rehman songs and Tamil comedy. I will miss you Murali mama , I hope you have gone to a better place , coz if you haven't then its just not fair to anyone. I wanted to spend time writing this blog entry , thinking about the little time I had with him. I hope jaya amai has the strength to move on and salvage of what is left. I hope you meet up with Amamma and vignesh up there in the heavens. I wish I could see you holding Vignesh one more time . Murali mama and Amamma (Malayalam for Grandma) you people will always hold a special place in my life and I am sure I will never forget your contribution in my life. I am probably still not over this, its not sunk in that you are gone. Difficult to digest I guess , but the trip to India probably helped in the process. Holding that urn, was when it hit me that you are now reduced to just ashes and dust. All the moments I may have been rude or indifferent , I hope I am forgiven. I miss you and I miss amamma. 2010 will always be a sad year for me even though my own career kind of had a lift off and was quite eventful. I hope 2011 has better things stored for my family.

I will always remember you and will miss you Murali mama.

-love from your nephew Gokul