Día de los Muertos: Mi Abuelo
I created my skull and mask on as you may have read on my grandfather, Sardar Hardev Singh. He has, is, and will always be my first idol. The following paragraphs describe the reason of my skull and mask appearing the way it is, as well as his importance in my life. He is special and will always remain special in my heart.
ENGLISH
Sardar Hardev Singh, by relation by grandfather, my father’s father. Our strength, our weakness. He is my grandfather, but I never called him my grandfather, daddaji (grandfather in Punjabi), but father. I have only called him by dadaji (father in Punjabi). My first word was even “dadaji” because as a toddler I spent most of my time in his arms. As I lived in a joint family in Dubai, family members would call him “dadaji” causing me to catch on to dadaji faster than mamaji (mom in Punjabi) or papaji. He has always been my father, no matter what I am in relation to him. In my interpretation, Waheguru Ji, has given me two fathers and I am eternally grateful to Waheguru for giving me the love of two fathers.
Him not being present destroys me from the inside each day. Hearing or saying, “dadaji” brings tears in my eyes which flow in abundance or are forming inside me. The fact that I don’t receive calls from him each Saturday morning breaks my heart. The fact that he is not the first person who wishes me on my birthday awakens those birthdays I have spent with him. I haven’t heard, “Happy Birthday Makko” for the past five years, after his death, I have neither celebrated my birthday. I just really want to hear his voice, but I won’t ever be able to hear it. I regret being in the United States during his final days, I wish I was there to be with him, to create and preserve those memories.
The mask includes two flags, each displayed on the eyes. The flag on the left is the flag of India, his birthplace and his identification. The flag on the right is of the United Arab Emirates, the location he spent working. United Arab Emirates is also the country in which he passed away, however, in India he was cremated. There is a sticker placed above his eyes, a sticker of the globe with a plane across it. My grandfather loved traveling, though he didn’t himself. He had dreams to make his children visit those places as he couldn’t. The tongue of the mask is in blue because it represents honesty and respect. My father, or by relation by grandfather was a completely honest man. He did not appreciate being lied to, let alone lie. He respected everyone despite what others may be thinking of him, never missing his professional and personal life. The color red is also a major component, as the red represents love and caring. However it also represented his medical problem. He had high blood pressure for many years, so the color red also represented his high blood pressure issue. Henna like designs are drawn near the head as he was a great henna artist (at least the designs he drew when I was young). Sweet like food items are placed on the teeth as he had a sweet tooth, but had diabetes too. So, he wasn't allowed to consume sugar. Black construction paper is placed around the mouth area as he had a blackish-grayish beard.
The sugar skull was nerve-racking to make, because I felt like it was going to remind me of the way my grandfather looked. My grandfather followed Sikhism, he wore his turban which is one of the five required Khalsa’s to be followed. The turban was also his pride, he felt like a Sikh while wearing it. The turban was an integral part of his identity as a Sikh in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and so the skull has a parka placed on the head. A patka is the informal way of wearing a turban. The word “punjabi” is written in Punjabi because he had a lot of wise thoughts in Punjabi phrases. The word “family” is also written because he used to treasure his family and really did everything for us. The word “Singh” is written because each Sikh male last name, Singh adds greatly to their identity as Singh means lion. A necklace like object is placed around his “neck” with a Khanda. The Khanda is representing the religion he follows which is Sikhism. Again, as mentioned for the masks I painted India’s flag in the right eye, while United Arab Emirates flag is placed on the left. There are mini mango because mangoes was his favorite fruit. Twice a week he would bring either a case of mangoes as they were eaten in abundance by him and others. His face is covering in silver/white glitter as he was our shining star. If we were down he could always cheer or motivate us, he used to shine for us when we needed his shine the most.
Dia de los Muertos, is a highly celebrated occasion in the Spanish culture and I respect that. However, to be completely honest, I don’t like celebrating the death of someone. I don’t think I have that strong of a heart that I will be able to happily accept that my loved one, such as my dadaji isn't living anymore. Moreover, reliving those memories by sharing them with the families is difficult. I don’t think I can ever just think of him and be happy. I may be selfish, but I want him to still be around. I want to lay down on his lap to sleep while he caresses my hair, like the way I used to in Dubai, 7 years back. I want to be able to share all my feelings, which I only can with him. I want to be able to hug him when I come home from school and eat lunch in the same plate while watching television. Like I said, I may be selfish thinking about my needs or wants, but I don’t ever think it is possible for me to think about celebrating the passing of my dadaji or any other loved one. My heart isn’t that strong to have an outlook as that, but I have immense respect for the people who are able to do this because it requires a strong heart.
SPANISH:
Me nombre es Mallika Saini. Yo soy de Punjab. Yo soy la nieta de Sardar Hardev Singh.
Sardar Hardev Singh es de India. Él nació en la ciudad de Hoshiarpur en Punjab. Él mudarse a Dubai en United Arab Emirates. Él nació en la familia de Sikhs. Él fue cocinado como un Sardar, un identidad de respeto. Él trabajó en el compresa de andamiaje en Abu Dhabi. En el años de comienzo en Dubai, el luché. Pero el fue resuelto y motivado. Él fue nuestro héroe, apoyo moral y debilidad. Él fue muy informativo con sus palabras y éticas. Mi abuelo diferencie entre su familia y empleo. Yo amé su muchos. Sardar Hardev Singh es mi padre, su nombre es muy importante por mi.
Yo estoy en un sitio donde yo no puedo conocer mi abuelo. Pero, yo soy como yo soy porque de lo. Yo tengo algunas características de su. Yo soy motivada y trabajadora. Yo soy más emotiva después su muerte. Pero, yo estoy más confermo que antes. Yo estoy relajada.
Yo amo mi dadaji, muchas. Nadie más puede sustituir su en mi vida. Él fue, es y será mi padre. Yo tengo a agrandar su de dando mi memorias de muchas. Muchas gracias, dadaji. Te amo.
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