Memorial Service

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The other evening, Ilaben took us to a memorial service for a much-loved and respected man who died last year. The son and his wife and their daughter and son were joined on the stage by the muscicians. The son read from prepared comments between each musical piece. Ilaben translated for us.

The audience was well-versed with the music, whether contemprorary, Bollywood, or classical and were quite responsive which added to our enjoyment. Both Bill and I appreciate tabla and this young man was superb. In fact, he was so good, that after one piece, an elderly woman left her seat and walked up to the stage to shake his hand.

The 8-year old grandson sang a lively song that he used to sing with his grandfather. At one point, the daughter-in-law was joined by her son and daughter for a special song. The son of the deceased explained how happy his father had been that his daughter-in-law was skilled in singing classical Gujarati.

And skilled she was. Just as an incredible soprano can bring tears to your eyes, that is what this woman did...and we didn't even know that we could appreciate classical Gujarati.

What a special way to remember a loved one.

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