The learned one

First time I saw him, he was standing on the foot board of a still-moving train; sporting a light blue turban , and a gracious smile hidden beneath a large handlebar moustache, mostly white in colour with streaks of gold.A lanky frame , tall , regal and impatient. The door of the slowing train had been recklessly opened and he was plainly itching to land on  terra firma.
He waved at us and we waved back, besides ourselves with excitement.As soon as the the train whipped him past us;he nimbly disembarked and walked towards us, hands outstretched for a welcoming hug.
I had just met the 'learned one'; or' gianiji '(as he was popularly known);a.k.a my father-in-law.
Throughout his short visit, he never let me once feel like an outsider.That was his trump card, total and complete acceptance of all whom he met. His acquaintances were numerous, friends and family,of course swore by him. He left an indelible impression on whomever he came in contact with. Probably because he paid attention to and tried to fulfill all the needs of the person, before they were even felt.
'Sewa paramo dharma'( service is the greatest religion) was not just a saying for him; he lived and breathed the very words.His day would begin early,with a bath and a recitaton of the scriptures, after which his day would be dedicated to his family.From managing bank accounts of his sons, to chopping onions in the kitchen, attending condolence meetings, to changing the nappy pads of his grandchildren, booking gas cylinders, to dropping  kids to school ;there was not a single duty he shirked from.Like a superhuman, he was here, there, everywhere, for everyone.And this was his routine after his retirement.When a person begins taking things easy!!
He gave of himself with a capital' G'. I am yet to meet a more giving person.
When he was the principal of a steel city school; the school-bus driver fell ill and the information arrived a tad bit late. It was already time for school assembly. What happened next was beyond anyone's imagination. Yes, Gianiji drove the bus, collected the astonished kids,and shocked grumbling parents into revered silence. He became the talk of the town. He still is. A few years ago, we paid a visit to the self same school,the entire faculty and the administrative staff turned up to look at us; the offsprings of their"hero".
An old mali(gardener),turned up smiling at the porch, handing us a bunch of his carefully tended roses, tears coursing down his wrinkled cheeks, talking of how Gianiji was kind enough to take him (then a boyish lout)  under his wings.
For years, he would tend to his paralysed mother(biji), without a whimper. Day in and out, he would lift her , take her to the washroom, feed her, bathe her; till his own ageing heart gave way.
Even when having to reside in different abodes, his mother would look for him; as if under a spell, her breath rose and fell with the chant of 'Giani!Giani!'
When she was severely ill, it became essential to dress her bedsore wounds. I was a novice at bedside nursing, and I was being assisted by this great man and his brothers,all grey beards and turbans of pastel shade,  while all the daughters in law watched from the ringside.This totally threw askew all my bookish knowledge of nursing, wherein a female patient is to be accompanied by females only, respecting her privacy.
That is a poignant sight which I shall probably carry with me forever,of  a crowd of old sardars trying to help me dress the wounds of this bird like woman, lying half-dressed  on the bed, chanting' Giani!Giani'!
'Parmarath ke karne sadhun dhara shareer'(It is for the betterment of others' lives that the holy men are born).So said kabir.So he lived, and so he died.
'Khudi ko kar bulund itna ki khuda bande se khud poochche ; bata teri raza kya hai'
When he died, it was as if the Gods had  his express permission to take him away, doing what he loved doing all his life; caring for his loved ones.
At his funeral ceremony, it rained torrentially,as if The Powers that be, were weeping in sync with the surging crowds at the gurudwara.