Adbuus and Chimpayya

My dad's been running his garage for more than 30 years now. Its a huge part of his life. Ups and down have all come. Dad stuck to it. Worked so hard. Still does.

I visited him at his garage yesterday, and when I looked at that name board of his garage, it felt nostalgic. I remember seeing that same name board of his garage for as long as I can remember. Its probably as old as his garage itself. Simple looking board, but so nostalgic.

Also nostalgic in connection with his garage is Chimpayya. I recall seeing Chimpayya when I was a kid, taking a fancy to his name, calling it aloud and everybody nearby erupting in laughter. Growing up, I hadn't visited dad at his garage much, but still I've always heard his name from dad. He was a young man back then, now, he is with greying hair. Yesterday, when I went to dad's garage to pick dad up, he asked me to wait for a while as he was waiting for Chimpayya to come so that they could shut the shop. And suddenly, it occurred to me that 'Chimpayya' didn't make any sense as a name at all. What could that word even mean! So I asked dad, if his name  really was Chimpayya. Dad laughs and tells me that of course his name is not that! 'Chimpayya' evolved from the word 'Chinna Payya' which in Tamil translates to 'Small Boy'. He joined dad when he was a small boy, everybody started calling him 'Chinna Payya' which changed to 'Chimpayya', and that stuck. His name, was in fact Ravi.

God that was strange! It was so strange to know that there is this person who you've known for long, not very closely, but known, and you only discover now that u didn't even know his real name all this while. Also, I realised, Chimpayya was actually a small boy when he joined dad! That he's been associated with dad for almost 30years now! So many people have worked under dad. They came, they went. But only Chimpayya stayed. I don't know why, but he did. Dad and he have been part of each other's lives for 30years now. Which is longer than even I've known dad. What is even more interesting that I've hardly ever seen dad and him talking much, or sharing a joke. Its like they have some silent understanding between themselves which even they are not aware of.

Chimpayya, Respect.
And my dear Adbuus, I love you so very much.