Simple pleasures of life

One of the long lasting impressions that I have of my grandfather who passed away recently is how simple and uncomplicated he led his life till the end. As one amongst the very many grandchildren of his, my interactions with him were few and sometimes far between, especially in the recent past. I admit that I was not the 'ideal' grandson for him.... but as a kid growing up, when we used to visit his place, it was always special. My fond memories growing up, when we used to visit the 'Aynavaram' house experience was always complete only when we (me and my sisters) got a story from him. We used to wait at the porch at the evenings and even if we had school the next day, would stay back atleast till 8 PM for him to return from his work.
He had a wonderful routine that he almost never used to miss - go to his business by 7.30-8 from home, catch a bus to Parrys, be at work till closure, usually around 7, and return home in bus usually by 8 in the evening. Once there, if we were visiting, usually once a month on a weekend, he used to go to his room, put down the important documents in his locker, then have a bath, and after that would call us out to the porch outside (he never liked indoors when he wanted to sit and talk) and would then start a story on ramayana, mahabharatha, or sometimes jakarta tales... it always used to be a short tale, as he was aware that our parents wanted us to return home in time to sleep and be ready for the next day at school, yet he also knew that if we were pulled home without a complete story we wouldn't let it rest and throw tantrums all night long on our way back home. It's these kind of qualities that I still carry with me as memory of my granddad. I'm sure there is the stressful, angry, stubborn, etc. side to him that I've not come across at all. I've heard of some thru my mom, granny, other uncles and aunts, but then he's never been any of that to me. I always did and will admire him for being the silent karta, the kind of person who is distinctly 'uncurious' in any affairs that did not affect him or his family, an uncontroversial person, who loved talking to people about things that he wanted to share, the good things in life. In this ever changing world that we are all living, if there's only one insecurity that he felt and sometimes expressed to me, was that sometimes he expressed concerns about lack of reciprocating love to parents and grandparents. Ofcourse we never felt this way about him at all, and I was too young then to understand where he came from in terms of me or any of my sisters feeling this way about him, but over the last few years growing up with less of him in the family's thick of things, I am beginning to get an idea of what transpired early on with my parents life and how he felt probably that he might have not done the best that he could do during those times. He might have assumed that my parents might have shared some of their experiences with us, but they were respectful of all my grandparents in spite of the very many events that transpired much before my time. I thank my parents for that, as I had an opportunity to grow up without any clouded opinions. A distinction between my paternal grandparents and maternal grandparents in my eyes was that my dad's parents always felt respect and pride about the family, and my mother's parents were always more loving, 'reachable' and caring. My mother's dad was all this.
I miss my granddad, miss him for not being there, and will always cherish the memories and his way of enjoying simple pleasures of life.