My cousin Late Sri CB Upadhyaya (1947 - 2017)

Since Chandra Bhal bhaiya was the eldest amongst all the brothers / cousins, we used to call him Badke Bhaiya.  I will use the abbreviation BB to refer to him.

BB did his Masters in Maths from Allahabad University and was married off at a rather early age.  He served as a teacher for a short while before joining the Central Bank of India as a clerk.  He rose to the rank of a DGM by the dint of hard work and he richly deserved the position.  Though he worked in operations most of the time, he did two stints in the training division.  In the second of these, he headed the Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala Bankers Training College at Mumbai.  I think that given the opportunity, we Upadhyayas are hardly able to resist the urge to take up our hereditary profession of teaching!  Now that BB is no more, many of his colleagues from the Bank recall how knowledgeable, reliable, upright and incorruptible an officer he had been all along.

BB played the role of an elder to all of us with great love and affection.  Whenever the family had to congregate, be it a joyous occasion or otherwise, BB would invariably show up with his family in tow, and take charge as an elder.  Often he had to travel long distances to do so.  And he did that despite his younger daughter being a spastic child.  His presence was always so reassuring! He never demanded any special arrangements for himself and was ever so composed, calm and serene.  None of us have ever heard him raise his voice and his office colleagues too agree on this.  He was the binding force that kept the extended family together.  The mantle has now fallen on the next sibling whom we affectionately call Majhle Bhaiya.

He was an ardent devotee of Hanumanji, our family deity.  With advancing age some of us started going easy on traditions and religious matters.  But BB stuck to the faith and traditions and kept the family from drifting too far away from these anchors.

BB was fond of reading fiction and a great connoisseur of music and had a huge collection of albums.  He especially loved ghazals and bhajans and enjoyed listening to radio broadcasts too.  His elder daughter works with Aakaashvaani and often brought him rare gems from their archives, much to his delight.

He was very attached to his younger daughter and because of her disability he himself had developed a sedentary lifestyle.  He had had Diabetes and high BP for a long time. Despite these he lead a healthy life till and a few years past his retirement.  He was 65 when he was diagnosed with renal cancer.  The tumor was removed and subsequent periodical checks showed him to be free from cancer.  It was five years later that the dreaded disease made a reappearance.

It all started with a problem that was first diagnosed as vertigo but later discovered to be a tumor in the brain.  Investigations showed that the renal cancer had metastasized to brain and lung.  Radiations and medicines didn't help and he lasted less than 3 months after the diagnosis.

The whole family sorely misses and fondly remembers him.  May his soul find salvation that he richly deserves.