Most interesting person

Sarup Phupharji was one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. Growing up I’d mostly heard about his life from others speaking about him, perhaps because he was too humble to talk about himself, or maybe because there was just too much to say. All I know is that he always struck me as this enigmatic and interesting person, and it seemed as though everybody had a special story to tell about him. My fondest memory of Sarup Phupharji is when he told me about those stories by himself. It was many years ago when my siblings and I were with him on a car trip and a Frank Sinatra song came on the radio. I think hearing that music struck a chord with him and made him feel nostalgic, and he began to tell us about his life. We heard about how he came to Nevada from India to study engineering, and about the struggles he endured and the lessons he learned. He told us about how he ended up in Vancouver and relived his memories of road trips and hikes and even ice skating. He spoke about his favourite songs, foods, cars and places to visit. It was as if we were getting to know him for the very first time! I’ll keep those details to myself but suffice to say, to call him “interesting” doesn’t scratch the surface of how amazing he really was. Although I doubt any amount of time with Sarup Phupharji would’ve been enough to truly get to know him and hear all his stories, I’ll always cherish that one day when he was no longer this mysterious person, but a loving uncle sharing treasured memories with his nephews and niece. - Prem Bhoey