An Interview With Dev Uncle

This is continuation of an interview series, sixth in a series which I'd say had a serendipitous beginning. It started with an interview of my dad under trying circumstances, and then one of my mom, and a couple of others, and I realized that a structured conversation enables a host of memories and emotions worth revisiting. An opportunity to look within. 

This is an interview with one of my favorite uncles, my dads brother, who is close to turning eighty; an interesting and well experienced vantage for sure.

Me: Uncle, you're turning eighty this month, how does that feel

Uncle: Nothing

Me: You feel nothing? Like at forty and fifty and sixty, each of those seem like milestones that represent a deep shift, you don't think you feel anything at eighty?

Uncle: No. Only money becomes more scarce as you grow older

Me: Would you say your needs also go down as you grow older?

Uncle: Yes, needs also become lesser, but still there is a gap. 

Me: What are the most important facets of life today?

Uncle: Health.

Also, I feel the difficulty in doing anything I want to do. Something as simple as searching for anything, even if I want to search for a comic, it's physically difficult, so I give up. It stops me doing a lot of things.

Me: On what do you spend most of your time?

Uncle: Reading comics. I have always enjoyed reading comics, now I read even more...westerns, archies. Being able to buy or exchange online has made it easier.

I also read four newspapers everyday.

And sleeping. I sleep a lot, but night sleep is not so pleasant any more. It's disturbed.

Me: Moving into your past, what would you say are two of your biggest achievements?

Uncle: Nothing

Me: What about your workshop, wouldn't you say starting that was an achievement?

Uncle: No. That was work.

Me: Hmmm......I always thought it was so fascinating to see all those cars, tell us the story of how that started

Uncle: This was in 1966, soon after my Engineering. Raj and I started a workshop, Silver Streaks. We ran it for an year, but it didn't work out. I realized I was doing all the work, so I left and took up a job.

I took up a job in Mandya, but I quit it within a month. The routine and the place I didn't like at all.

I came back to Bangalore and got a job with Coco-Cola ( I recall an exciting and endless supply of Fanta and CocaCola at the house ).

During that time I continued to bring cars home and repair them in our compound. And after an year, I moved it into rented premises.

Me: I remember seeing you work on the cars yourself, you did right? (even now he can just listen to how my car sounds and tell me what needs checking)

Uncle: Yes, I knew everything about a car engine. I had mechanics also, but I also enjoyed working on the engines myself too. 

Me: You've always lived only in Bangalore. Do you ever wish you had lived elsewhere?

Uncle: No. I don't even know what it can be like, so how can I wish it.

Me: What would you say is the largest risk you took in life?

Uncle: Starting the workshop with Raj. It went wrong.

Me: Raj was (is) a good friend, did it impact your relationship with him?

Uncle: No. Not at all.

I was always a loner though, an introvert. I'm not really fond of socializing.

Me: Tell us a couple of your most cherished moments

Uncle: Best time was working in Coco-cola

Me: What makes you happy

Uncle: Reading comics

Me: Pick three words you would associate with yourself

Uncle: Hardworking, Friendly, Honest

Me: What do you appreciate most in people, in your friends?

Uncle: That they stay only as long as I want and then go away. I like quiet people.

Me: What makes you sad

Uncle: Losing Sheba was my saddest. ( his dog, a great dane)

Also not having provided for myself for retirement.

Me: Tell us two non known facts about yourself, something none of us know

Uncle: There's nothing

Me: I recall one of my most exciting school day birthday gifts, you gave me a huge stack of books, more than twenty books. 

(aunty added, "and he had topped it with as many cadbury slabs")

Uncle: Yes, I loved doing that. I would spend all my money as I got it. Never thought of the future.

Me: I also recall you watching a lot of car racing

Uncle: Not races, I enjoyed watching rallies. To me it was about endurance, not speed.

Me: What makes you angry

Uncle: Dishonesty, when someone lies to get their way through

One thing that has really upset me in life is losing my comic collection.

Me: Tell us about your collection, when did it start, what kind of comics....tell all

Uncle: I had about 4000 to 5000 comics. It's a sixty year old collection, started in 1954. I had comics of Tarzan, Indrajal, Flash Gordon, the entire Amar Chitra Katha, Superman, Archies, Mandrake. I had movie magazines from the 40's and 50's, especially westerns which are my favorites.

It started when I was in middle school. Every Saturday I used to walk down to MG Road and exchange comics for 2 annas. When I had more money I used to buy.

I used to get 3 Rupees a month of pocket money which was meant to go to school and also food. I used to save money from that and buy comics.

Once I started earning, I bought regularly. All my life I have bought comics.

Losing it was my most traumatic experience, I think it is what put me into a depression (the entire collection was lost during house shifting)

Me: Even talking about it is giving me goose bumps. I loved the collection too, it was my best friend during my summer vacations here. 

What's interesting is that I still see a lot of comics in your room

Uncle: I have now started collecting again. When I can sell some and buy others, but now with GST, I'm not able to sell anymore.

I recently saw a notice for an Indrajal comic for $10,000 (or was it Rs.10,00,000), their first edition, and I had that in the collection I lost. ( we were all wowed)

I also cut comic strips from newspapers and bind them into books. I've got eleven bound books now.

Me: Can I see ( his wardrobe was stacked with comics, 80% comics and maybe 20% clothes)

His bed looks like this....at any point

Me: I recall you using a TVS to go to the workshop even when you were much older, tell us about that

Uncle: I loved my fiat (it was a buck fiat). My best were Sheba, and then the fiat, but I used it only once in a way. To the workshop I used to go by TVS, right until I quit, until I was 74. And I used to carry lunch in the TVS. My mechanics used to laugh at me, in a friendly way...I was very close to them.

I kept my fiat till two years back, it was almost sixty years old. It was sold as a vintage car.

(aunty came in with the story of how it was sold and how there was almost a poetic and providential angle to it. And it makes a lovely story, so here it is)

Swaroop put it up on OLX and Vivek Goenka owner of Indian Express responded. He has a vintage car collection, owns 250 vintage cars. The deal was made over one phone call to uncle, and money transferred right away. He sent a special truck to pick up the car, which has a base that can level to the road, a custom made truck to pick up vintage cars, and it was a touching and ceremonious send off to the car.

And why this is special is because the family connection with Indian Express and Goenkas goes back eighty five years. Uncles grandfather Varadarajulu Naidu, way back in 1932, founded the Indian Express and sold to the Goenkas.

This is the Indian Express 75th anniversary edition. The column on the right 'How it all began' talks of their buying it from Varadarajulu Naidu, uncles grandfather (and my great grandfather, can't not say it :)

Me: You must feel nice knowing the car is part of a vintage collection. What a lovely story. Moving on, what about you do you think annoys others.

Uncle: My stubbornness. Even the fiat, I held onto it even though we had no parking space and nobody was using it.

Me: What is your greatest fear

Uncle: Illhealth. Being dependent on others.

Me: Uncle, I'm moving into slightly abstract space. What do you think of death? 

Uncle: What? What do you mean?

Me: What does death bring up for you. Like even as I ask you this question, what is it doing to you.

Uncle: I dread it

Me: Given a chance, would you want to be born again?

Uncle: YES

Me: As what? Any choice of place?

Uncle: What and where doesn't matter. I just want to be born with more money.

Me: What would your advise to us be, to your children, me, my children ?

Uncle: Earn enough to stay comfortable. Save money for emergencies. Provide for yourselves and not become dependent on  your children.

Me: What would you like to take with you when you die and go to heaven?

Uncle: What?

Me: Fully hypothetical uncle, if you could take anything or anybody with you, what would you take.

Uncle: Vijji and Sheba

Me:When you're entering heaven, who would be the first person you'd like to meet?

Uncle: My father. 

Me: You still miss him somewhere?

Uncle: Hmmm...not miss him. But he died when I was in my final year of Engineering, and he was a really considerate man, and I feel my life would have been different had he been alive longer. Yes, I'd like to meet him.

Me: Uncle, I recall, when Dhruva and Diksha were still little, you'd once said "don't go back to work, the children's growing up years will never come back, stay with them". That was advice that mattered and stayed with me. I'm again saying thanks.

Uncle: You asked about my most cherished moments, it was also that, when the children, when Swaroop and Amit were between 5 and 10, I enjoyed that phase.

Also, my summer vacations in Salem at thatha's house. It was huge and all our cousins would come and it was some of my best times too.

Me: That is a good note to end the interview on uncle. 

Soon after we were done, uncle took everyone by surprise with "let's have a drink". Thinking stretching to recall...... a kaleidoscope of long felt emotions that surfaced as joy, regret, tears, embarrassment, smiles, want, love and others, not just for him, but for all of us present. Guess that allows for exception. Middle of the afternoon, totally off the norm, didn't stop us......Cheers to you uncle !!