After my mother’s death a few years back, my father had a sudden heart attack in the early morning. He had celebrated his 50th birthday a few weeks back. I was 21, studying in my 3rd year of Engineering. I quickly called up Mamata Aunty, my Dad’s sister, who lives close to our house.

I took him to the hospital in our car with Mamata Aunt’s help, but he didn’t survive. He passed away before we reached the hospital. We cremated my dad in the evening and came back to the house, and it felt empty. I wondered what I was going to do without him.