In the hands of God

I was invited for an urgent meeting with the Managing Director of a fairly large (IT) multinational company, for preliminary discussions on providing training to their managerial staff, at 3-PM in the afternoon at Sector-16, Noida. Ms. Mini Varghese the Vice President (HR) advised me not to visit Noida by car and instead, she suggested,  I should take a Metro train from Gurgaon’s Huda City Centre  to reach her office at Noida-Sector-16 metro station; that would be convenient, easier, faster and safer mode of journey for me.

It was a very hot afternoon, temperature crossing 45 degree and I felt the effect of hot air when I came out of my AC car and walked towards the ticket counter at Huda City Centre Station-Gurgaon. The queue at Counter No. 2 was smaller so I joined the line; there were 15 odd people in front of me but I could see no movement at all, a group of female passengers were standing at the ticket counter and the counter-clerk was not issuing them the tickets (Metro-Token) he was repeatedly requesting them to come in one line because there were no separate queue facility for the female passengers and he refused to issue them the journey tickets.

It was already 1.20-PM and I was getting impatient. Moreover, my shirt was fully soaked/wet with my sweat due to the excessive heat and humidity. Slowly my line moved forward and within the next five minutes or so I came very close to the counter. The female passengers were still standing at the counter and not allowing counter-clerk to issue the tickets to the other passengers of our line. Finally, my turn came and I asked him for one ticket for Noida-Sector-16; I also requested the counter clerk to issue tickets to those ladies who were standing for a long time in the hot weather. He looked at me with a mischievous smile and nodded his head in acceptance of my suggestion.

After collecting my ticket I moved towards the security gate when someone called me from the back: “Sir, your money please” and I saw the same lady who was arguing with the counter-clerk for ticket, kept one Rupee coin on my palm and said: “The counter clerk has given this for you”. The token price was Rs. 29 and I paid Rs. 30; hence this refund. By the time, I could offer my thanks to her she moved ahead and within a fraction of a second vanished in the crowd.

Since this was the starting point/station, I got the sitting space very easily and after settling down on my seat I opened my briefcase, pulled out a book and started reading. After about 45 minutes or so I looked up from my book and enquired from the person sitting next to me about Rajiv Chowk station. He replied to me by saying: “Two more stations and the third one will be your station”. I decided to close my book and got mentally prepared to get down at Rajiv Chowk station so that I can change over the train for Noida. My coach was fully packed with passengers and the exit gate was over crowded. I got up from my seat but could not move further, finally the station came and within the next 30 seconds I was out of the coach along with other passengers, all without any effort on my part to reach the exit gate as people pushed me to come out of the coach.

Around three o’-clocks I reached Sector-16 and when I got down at the station, I saw one car-driver in company’s uniform waiting carrying a placard of my name in his right hand. He wished me with his folded hands and said: “Mini Varghese Madam has sent the car for you, Sir.” On arrival at the office, first Ms. Mini Varghese received me at the reception and straight away took me to Mr. Sujit Koushik’s (SK Sir) cabin who happened to be the Managing Director of this company. He greeted me so warmly as if he knew me since ages. I got my second surprise when he spoke to me in Bengali language. I never expected such a warm and personal welcome from a person whom I am meeting for the first time. It deeply touched my heart in the first meeting itself.

I asked one straight question to Mr. SK Sir: “Can you please tell me who gave you my reference?” He answered with a big smile: "Ms. Mini Varghese is your big fan as she reads all your blogs and articles and it was her idea to arrange a training workshop for our management team, hence this meeting." We discussed for two hours for the proposed workshop and at the end the question of my remuneration propped-up; I told them at the outset that I am basically a Marketing Professional and selling is my passion. Manpower training is my hobby but both are very close to my heart and I don’t charge anything for the training programmes.

SK sir very politely changed the topic and requested me to develop one more programme for his field Sales and Servicing team also. At the end, he offered me one envelops (Training Contract) which he told me to open only after reaching home. Therefore, without further arguments I accepted the said envelops and I left his chamber after wishing him goodbye.

Ms. Mini Varghese came out along with me and requested me to accompany her. Since her request was so humble and honest, I could not turn-down her invitation and followed her. Ms. Mini Varghese’s chamber was fully furnished and on her table one laptop was lying along with her mobile phone; on her side table a photograph of an old couple was kept who seemed to be her parents. She first told me to sit down and thereafter she took her mobile phone; she made a casual look on the missed calls and also browsed her in-book for any urgent mail, within few minutes she was done with her mobile and then she opened her laptop where there were more than 60 e-mails in the in-box and she immediately shut her laptop by saying: “I will look into it later”.

Meanwhile, I saw two office staff entered her cabin with two big trays carrying one chocolate cake and one plate each of sweets, snacks, biscuits, two glasses of water and tea cups. She came next to my chair and took my right hand into her hands and said: “Please pray for my father, you see that photograph, (By showing me the photograph of an old couple lying on her side table), they are Mr. and Mrs. Varghese, my parents staying in Kochi at Kerala state. Her father had retired from central Government job in Ranchi and now settled down in their native home town in Kerala. She has two brothers, both married and settled abroad. She stays in Noida along with her husband who is not from her community and presently working with a private organization at Ghaziabad.

Later she told me that today happen to be her father’s 62nd birthday and since he is not with her here, she wanted me to cut the cake on behalf of her father. I could see, she was trying her best to control her tears but somehow those emotions could not be stopped by any means and at the end she could not control herself any longer and busted out with her emotions, tears started flowing and an uncertain fear was very prominent on her face.

I was feeling myself totally in an awkward position and I was almost at a loss without knowing my next course of action. She later told me the reason of her sudden breakdown. She is the youngest member in the family and was highly pampered by her father and brothers. She was much close to her father who had recently been detected with lever disorder and the damage is so severe that the possibility of any cure is meagre. First, he was having fever later it was diagnosed as jaundice and after thorough investigation it was confirmed that the lever is 90% damaged. Now he is taking treatment under Ayurveda at Kerala and is responding to those treatments positively.      

I tried my best to console her but she was not in a position to accept the fact that patients with fully damaged lever can also survive for long. Her father was having severe lever problem which is in advanced stage and Doctor’s were also not ready to operate on him.

Since Ms. Mini Varghese had read my blogs and came to know about my father (Bapuji) but who had left me 12 years back and I am left with his old memories only but he is still in my heart and not a single day passes without remembering him. I missed him so much because I loved him from the bottom of my heart. Therefore, I could understand the feelings of Mini Madam. Now I have understood why I was called here today and invited to conduct training programme. It was her idea only. Indeed, she had done a lot of home work and made a very impressive power point presentation on my work and convinced the management to call me for a formal discussion and to my surprise today’s date was also chosen by her.   

I requested her to invite SK sir and other management staff also so that we all can pray together for the well being of her father. I persuaded her to cut the cake on behalf of her father as that would be really nice. But she did not accept my suggestion even after my repeated requests and almost forced me to cut the cake. Finally, she invited MD sir, all the management staff also and after a small ceremony everyone left the room except us.

Thereafter, she connected her father on internet and told him about today’s episode in details in her mother tongue. After formal introduction I noticed Mr. Varghese was really looking very pale and sick. I saw her mother standing next to him looking at us with a smile hiding her fear and sadness in it. She was rubbing her wet eyes with a hanker-chief after every few seconds but in-spite of her best efforts she could not hide her agony.    

I don’t exactly know when even Mini madam also started sobbing. I wanted to console her but failed miserably. We both sat quietly for a few minutes without uttering a single word. I started reciting sermons from Shri Guru Grant Sahib (The Holy Scriptures). She had also drifted silently into her own world and forgot that she was still sitting in her office. After half an hour or so, she stopped weeping and a soft smile came on her face. She slowly came towards me, bowed down and touched my feet by the time I could realize what was happening, then she came back to her seat and asked me in a very soft voice:  “Care for one more cup of tea, Sir” and before I could answer she picked up the phone and instructed the peon to serve two hot cups of tea.         

Within the next ten minutes, tea along with biscuits came. Over a cup of tea I explained to her about the next course of action. I promised her that I would pray to my father (Bapuji) and also visit Gurudwara Sahib to offer my prayers for the well being of her father and I assured her that with grace of God Almighty her father would definitely get well soon, very soon, trust me.

I left her office with a very heavy heart knowing full well that  I could do very little to save her father; to be honest it’s not at all in anybody's hands to give a new lease of life to any human being. I could neither   save my own life nor the lives of my family members, simply because life and death are "In the hands of God" only and no human being on this earth can do any miracles in such matters. But yes, one thing is for sure, prayers have lot of power and sometimes answered also; so, let’s all pray for Mr. Varghese so that he may be blessed with a happy, healthy, cheerful and peaceful life in the days ahead, Amen! 

With Prayers

Gurcharan

 

A man become senior by his Karma and not by age

  

More than two hours have passed but I am still waiting at the Pune airport to catch my flight to New Delhi. There was no further announcement for the delay also. The scheduled departure for Pune-Delhi flight was 17.30 hours. Initially the delay was by one hour only but later it crossed two and half hours but no announcement about the flight departure yet. This unexpected delay was due to late arrival of in-coming flight from Mumbai. There was cloud burst and heavy downpour in the city which upset the normal city life, all roads, railway tracks and even the airport runway was flooded with excessive rain water logging and the bustling city life of Mumbai had come to a standstill. Though I had since checked-in and was holding my boarding pass for a window seat standing at no-smoking zone and still anxiously waiting at the airport-lounge to board the flight.

Meantime, suddenly, I heard someone conversing behind me at my back seat over a cell phone in Bengali language and explaining about this unusual delay of Delhi flight. I could feel the nervousness in her voice who was communicating with her family members over the phone and when I walked towards her with a water bottle I could see her eyes over-flowing with tears. I first offered her the water bottle and paper napkin which she accepted without any hesitation and continued talking about the flight delay.  

I sat down on the vacant chair next to her and tried to console her but she was not yet ready to calm down. I asked her with lots of courage about her concern and she again broke down and started crying. I immediately withdrew my request and told her to calm down, control her emotions and keep quiet for some time; meanwhile, I requested her to wait so that I could collect the latest information of the Delhi flight from the enquiry counter.

The Delhi flight departure status had not changed and chances of more delay were evident. I was feeling quite hesitant to tell her about any further delay and with lots of courage I finally informed her about the actual flight status. She kept quiet for few seconds and did some calculation in her mind and suddenly she decided to cancel her Pune-Delhi ticket and proceed to Mumbai by taxi-car so that she can take a direct flight from Mumbai to Delhi.    

She told me to look after her soft luggage and rushed towards the enquiry counter. She slowly came back after ten minutes and sat down quietly on the chair without uttering a single word. I decided not to ask any probing question as such and tried to be silent. After five minutes or so she again spoke to me and said: “Chances of getting a flight from Mumbai will be very difficult because reaching Mumbai airport itself will be difficult task due to heavy water logging all over the city of Mumbai”.      

She started offering prayer with both her folded hands in which she requested her Lord to take care of her father in her absence. And her tears were also joining her prayers with equal dedication, devotion and trust. I could not control myself any-more and tried to console her by saying not to lose hope, pray and everything will be al-right. She looked at me with wet eyes and said: “Noting will be al-right, I am afraid, tonight, I may lose my father forever!” I tried to keep her calm and quiet but I miserably failed in my repeated attempts to make her normal.

She was Mrs. Sutopa Mukherjee, 35 years old, qualified engineer (M.Tech), working in an IT firm, married and settled in Pune with her husband, who was also working in the same company as a senior software engineer but at present had gone to the US on an official assignment. Her parents are living in Gurgaon with her elder brother who was working in a multinational co. as a Chief Finance Officer. Today afternoon she got a frantic call from her mother that her father had a massive heart attack and has been admitted in a private hospital in Gurgaon. He has been kept in Intensive Critical Care Unit and all the family members were waiting outside the ICCU to know his present health status but the Doctors have told them that his situation is very critical and they should wait for another 24 hours to know the further updates on the actual health status of the patient.  

I could easily understand how she must have been feeling at this very moment but I was not in a position to improvise her situation by all mean and I decided to offer my sincere prayers for the well-being of her father and submitted a few kind words to console her at this difficult moment of her life. It was over 9 'O-clock and there was no news of departure of our Delhi flight. I requested her to have some food but she declined my offer. I insisted her to take at-least one hot cup of coffee and sandwich which she finally took after lot of persuasions. Meanwhile, her cell phone was constantly busy with numerous in-coming calls mostly from her immediate family members, in-laws, relatives, colleagues and friends.       

On the other hand, I also conveyed my wife about the unexpected delay of my Delhi flight and she was equally worried to know when I would come back home? Suddenly Mrs. Sutopa realized something and straight-away asked me a blunt question: “How come you speak so fluent Bengali Mr. Singh?” First time in this difficult moment I could see her face brighten-up with mixed expressions of excitement and eagerness. I briefed her about my Kolkata background and also informed her that I came to Pune by today morning flight from Delhi on an official tour and now I am going back home to Gurgaon. I also told her that I have over-heard her talking to her family on cell-phone about illness of her father that’s why I came forward to offer my assistance and support to her at this most difficult moment of her life.      

She thanked me many times in-between and also made a request to offer prayers for the well being of her father because she was highly religious person and she strongly believed in the power of prayers. Therefore, in front of her, I closed my eyes, folded both my hands and offered my prayers for her father in silence for his fast recovery. After finishing my prayers, when I opened my eyes I saw her two big eyes staring at me with deep intensity which were still not dried and she asked me a very innocent question: “What happened?” I answered her back: “I am sure my prayers will be answered and your father will get well soon.”  

She literally embraced me with both her hands and said: “Thank you sir, you being very kind, may God bless you!” and I could see her eyes started flowing with tears again but this time it were filled with gratitude. I tried to console her and make her calm and in the very next moment I heard an announcement about the departure of Delhi flight at 23.30 hours. That meant, we would be reaching Delhi airport around 2: AM at night and by the time I am home, it will be mid-night. I called my wife and told her about the departure of my flight and Mrs. Sutopa Mukherjee also conveyed the same news to her family.

By the time we reached Terminal-3 of the New Delhi airport it was 2.30: AM and I decided to take a pre-paid taxi for Gurgaon. I was wondering how she would go home alone at this hour of night, may be her brother would come to the airport to receive her, I didn't exactly know but I was feeling very hesitant to offer her a  lift in  the first place because in-spite of everything she was still a stranger, I hardly knew her and we had met only a couple of  hours before tonight for the first time; it’s also true that we had shared sandwich and coffee together at Pune airport that is it, nothing more and nothing less; but still, I did not exactly know her as a person, how could I offer her lift? Who knows, how would she react when I will offer her a lift in a private taxi that too in the city like Delhi; where trusting a stranger is a very difficult task. At the same time, I could see through her present family crises which seemed to me very genuine on the face of it but still I could not take any chance with a stranger who happens to be a female also.

We were approaching towards an exit gate together and we both kept quiet; maybe, she was also thinking in the same way as I was thinking. I saw her walking towards exit-gate very slowly and talking to someone over phone and suddenly she stopped in between, I wanted to say her goodbye before leaving but then I saw her raising her left hand and instructing me to wait. Therefore, I stopped and waited for her to join me. After disconnecting her cell phone she came running towards me and said: “Please don’t go, my brother is coming to pick me up and we will drop you at your place on our way home, al-right?”   

I was dumb-founded, stood still for few seconds in almost shocked condition; I could not believe what she said and I asked her to repeat her sentences again. She said the same thing twice and finally asked me abruptly: “Why, you don’t want to join us, any problem?” What I could say, I immediately responded by saying: “No problem at all, but I was wondering, why should I bother your brother at this hour of night?” She again repeated her request and said: “I and my elder brother will be truly very happy if you can accompany us!”

We were standing near the paid-taxi booth so that her brother could easily locate us. Her brother came within next ten minutes and one Audi black colour car stopped in front of us. The driver opened the car-door and Mr. Shubojit Mukherjee (Elder brother) came-out and first met his sister and briefed her about father’s present health status and later he came to me and thanked me several times for accompany his sister and offering moral support to her at this difficult hour. I was feeling so low, guilty and nervous with my own behaviour. I wondered, what I was thinking about her and what she and her family was doing for me, there was no comparison between us at all.

Her brother requested me to give the direction of my house to the driver so that he could straight-away drive and drop me home without any further delay. Due to less traffic at night, we reached my place within the next 30 minutes. On arrival at home, I invited them to have a cup of coffee with me but they very politely turned-down my request by saying family members must be impatiently waiting for them and they left immediately by saying good-bye.    

The next morning around 10: AM I visited private hospital to meet with Mrs. Sutopa Mukherjee’s ailing father. On arrival at the hospital reception, I was told that senior Mukherji sahib had died last night itself and his body has been taken away by his family members in the morning around 7: AM. 

I was standing there in totally shocked condition and was wondering how it was possible. When they came to drop me home, Mr. Mukherji’s father was already dead but still he had not talked about his deceased father and decided to drop me at my place first without uttering a single word. Although Mr. Shubhojit Mukherjee was much younger to me by age but I found him more matured, tall and senior in all respect. Suddenly, my eyes were filled with tears; both my hands rose in the air and I offered prayers to God Almighty: ‘Oh Lord, Senior Mukherjee sahib’s soul may rest in peace and his family get enough strength to bear this sudden loss, Amen!’  

With Prayers

Gurcharan

A Messenger of God

I was not feeling well for the last couple of days although physically fit and fine but still, inside something was constantly haunting me and all of a sudden I started crying without knowing the reason of my sudden break down. This sad mood continued for a week and I was not behaving normally. It so happened that I stopped reading and watching TV which never happened in my life before and the first person to notice this change in my daily routine was my beloved wife. While going to sleep last night, she asked me casually: “Not watching TV now a days, what happened ?” and before she could go any further on the subject, I replied “Nothing at all, please don’t bother” and I coolly went to sleep without giving any opportunity to discuss further. But sleep seemed miles away; I was constantly tossing on the bed. I could see my wife already gone to deep sleep but my eyes were still wide open and filled with tears which were flowing down my cheek wetting my pillow..

The very next day morning, I got up early from the bed and after completing my morning breakfast, left for my office rather late but instead of going to the  office,  I turned my car towards the opposite direction. After driving for twenty odd minutes, I stopped my car in front of a cemetery where dead bodies were being buried. I parked the car at one corner and went inside. There were few people standing at the centre of the cemetery and a priest was reading from the Holy book; after half an hour or so everyone left and no one was around. I was still standing alone for quite some time wondering what to do next. I saw an old man coming towards me, firstly speaking in loud voice but when he came nearer, he stopped talking and started staring at me with mixed feelings of shock and surprise; he wanted to say something but was found it difficult to speak out. I greeted him with both my folded hands and said: “I am here to pray for the departed souls, can I pray for them, please?”      

The old man turned back without answering my question and after few minutes, he returned again this time  along with the priest, who was wearing white rob, holding a book in one hand and an umbrella in the other. I greeted him with respect and told him the purpose of my visit. He first listened to me very tentatively but later posed a question: “But how come you are here?” I answered him in detail as to why I came here, what I wanted to do and how he could help me in solving my problem. He suggested me to accompany him to the church, which was approximately ten kilo-meters from there. I was left with no option but to follow him in my car.

We reached the church within the next 15 minutes. I stopped the car in front of the church. Instead of getting down from the car he requested me to proceed further towards his guest house which was behind the church, where he was residing at present. Therefore, I moved the car as directed by him and reached his guest house. I parked the car in front of a double storied building and walked inside along with the priest.

He requested me to sit on the couch at the drawing room and went inside. He came back later wearing white shirt and trouser and sat down on a chair opposite me and said: “Its twelve noon now and the church is closed, I have decided to bring you here so that over lunch we can discuss in details about your problem". Then he asked me “Are you feeling comfortable now, tell me what you were saying at the cemetery?”

I told him about my present dilemma; by each passing day I was getting old and I didn't exactly know how long will I live. I have two grown up daughters who are yet to be married, old mother and an ailing wife to look after. I have lost my father long time back; neither I have an elder brother nor a son, in case of my sudden demise, who would take care of my family? I was feeling very low, disappointed and sad for the last one week. I was missing my father very much and I wanted to communicate with him who had left me over a decade back; but I didn't exactly know how to contact him. Today, I don’t exactly know what happened to me and I straight-away drove towards this cemetery. As a matter of fact, I wanted to communicate with those people buried there lying under the ground in their eternal sleep. Somehow I wanted to connect with them, so that they could answer my questions.

The priest listened to me very attentively in a deep silence mode. He then started narrating his side of the story; that he was born in Thrissur town of Kerala state, where his family members were still residing; he had lost his parents, they are seven brothers and sisters in the family; he is in the 4^th position, all are married except for him, only his elder brother is staying with his family in his home town rest of them have settled in different cities in India and abroad. It was his mother who wanted him to become the priest; therefore at the age of 14 after completing his matriculation, he joined the Church at Kochi town. He is around 60 years old, serving humanity and for the past two years he was stationed at a local Church here. 

The priest later told me that his entire property/wealth could be accommodated in a small suitcase filled with few sets of his clothing’s and books. He had got no bank account, no investments, no house of his own, nothing in his name which could be converted into cash. He had not bought any Life Insurance or health insurance policies. He neither felt insecure nor ever wanted to buy any property in his name or saving money for the future.

I asked him about his salary and perks which he gets from the church. He told me with a smile that he is not getting any salary or perks from the church. Yes, free accommodation is provided to him wherever he goes and he also gets necessary meal, clothing as per the necessity and requirements, nothing more, nothing less. And when he falls sick, all arrangements were made to provide best treatment to him. And last but not the least, all his requirements are closely looked after and fulfilled by the Lord himself simply because he was at the service of his beloved God Almighty round the clock on 24X7 basis.        

He also told me that he was the chosen one to be at the services of his Lord and his people. He came here with a definite objective/purpose of serving humanity. He was never scared of death and he was always ready to perform his duty in any given situation without any hitch or hesitation and that too without expecting any reward, recognition or remuneration in return. He never felt the need of a family of his own because he treats all the people in this world his family. He concluded his conversation by saying: “I am truly blessed that I have got an opportunity to serve my Lord and if given a choice, I would love to come back again in this world as a priest, Amen!”

I was totally confused listening to his tale and found it difficult to understand what he was saying though it was a plain, simple and straight forward reply to the questions awaiting for answers in my mind. Although he answered all my questions with full honesty but I continued to ask probing questions about his family, friends and relatives. He told me in a very simple language that all the living beings of this universe are his family and he loved them all, above all, he loved the Lord most.     

I was in two minds and not yet ready to accept his answers on face value, if I could say so, replies were actually corrects but I was not in a position to accept such simple and straight forward answers which were like pure gold. Since I was a family man married, having a wife and children have unnecessarily created so many anchors and emotional bonds of my own.

I started thinking about the life of this old priest who had no money, tension, worry and has left everything in the hands of God Almighty; whereas on the other hand, I needed a family to support for everything in life and I just could not think of living my life alone without my family, it’s just not possible. The sheer idea of living alone moved me very deeply and my whole body started shivering from top to bottom; the only thought that upset me so much, I wondered, how would  I survive even  for a day without seeing my angels and other members of my family, oh my God, it’s just not possible. At the same time, I was literally wondering about the priest who had spent his entire life alone serving the Lord and his people without expecting anything in return, no money, no family and no house; but how is it possible, I still wonder.

I sat down there for quite some time without any agenda or plan. I was feeling totally exhausted and blank. My eyes were still filled with tears, but this time it was out of happiness. I had gone to deep meditation while still sitting there in the presence of a holy man. Inside me, I felt total silence and suddenly I realized as if all my questions had been answered automatically which were puzzling me over the past couple of weeks driving me to the cemetery today. I was left with no more questions or queries and I started feeling a deep sense of satisfaction, peace of mind and my whole body started floating in the air as if I have become weight-less, almost zero without any desire of my own; finally I got solutions to all my problems through this priest. 

This eternal journey continued for quite some time and for me the whole experience was so new, strange and un-thoughtful that I can’t express it in words but one thing was crystal clear that this happened in the presence of an honest, pure and pious soul who was blessed and had direct connection with the God Almighty!

With Prayers

Gurcharan

Great Gift of God

I left Siriska Palace resort (Near Alwar Town - Rajasthan) around two o'clock in the afternoon; I was thoroughly enjoying my drive. I pulled down the glasses of the front side windows of my car and also switched-off the music system. I wanted to feel the fresh air filled with pure oxygen blowing with speed as if competing with the car speed emanating from the surrounding greenery. I covered the distance of 35-KM (between Siriska and Alwar) within an hour.

After reaching Alwar bye-pass I got free road ahead, the 90-KM plus road between Alwar and Bhiwadi bye-pass was clear, smooth and wide. It was Saturday’s winter afternoon in January and the flow of vehicles was less on the road and so was the human crowd. I saw an old person fully dressed up in white clothes walking very slowly on the left side of the state high-way alone; which seemed strange to me because nobody would walk alone on the lonely highway. My curiosity forced me to stop the car near him. I came out of the car and stood in front of him with folded hands in order to greet him. He was not at all disturbed to see a stranger greeting him on the road. I asked him: “Baba ji, can I drop you somewhere, I am going towards Gurgaon?” He looked at me with a smile and answered: “I am going to a nearby place, please don’t bother”. And he slowly started walking towards his destination. I again requested him to sit in my car. He looked at me with surprise but slowly walked towards my car. I opened the front left door of the car and helped him to settle down comfortably.

Once he settled down, I came back to my seat and started the car. He must have been above 80 years in age, very tall, fair and well built; his face was covered with long white beard. He was wearing white cotton robe, full sleeve shirt, jacket, white turban which was not properly tied on head and black plastic shoes without socks. I was driving at a modest speed of 50 KM/hour. On the way, I offered him a bottle of water but he refused. Very hesitatingly I asked him about the purpose of his journey. He first kept quiet but after a long pause he answered “I stay in Alwar town; all the members of my family have already left for the condolence meeting being held at Choudhury sahib’s place which is only five miles away from our house. And I preferred taking a walk instead of travelling in bike or car".  After few minutes he asked me to take a left turn from the next crossing.  I obeyed his direction and three kilo-meters later we reached in front of a very big duplex Bungalow known as Choudhry Sahib’s Haveli.   

I parked the car at one corner near the Haveli where many expensive cars were already parked which included Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota and Volvo cars. First I came out of the car and later I helped Baba ji to step out. He slowly got down from the car and requested me to accompany him inside the house. I saw huge crowd of men and women dressed in white sitting on the floor covered with carpet. The young boys were serving tea to the people gathered there.

The moment they saw Baba ji walking in; everyone got up from their respective places and bowed their heads in respect. Baba ji was responding to each and everyone while slowly walking towards an old man who seemed to be Choudhury Sahib sitting at one corner of the house surrounded by his family members comprising of men, women and children.   

As soon as Choudhury sahib saw Baba ji, he came rushing towards him. He greeted him and thereafter took his right hand in his hands, first kissed it and later took the hand towards his eyes and touched both his eye-lids and started crying profusely. Baba ji first pulled him close and embraced him. Choudhury Sahib was crying like a child and Baba ji was still holding him in his hands patting slowly on his back with his right palm uttering words which seems to me in Arabic language. Actually he was reciting from the religious book and trying to console him. Baba ji also said: “its God Almighty’s decision and we will have to accept HIS verdict without any hitch or hesitation; be strong and obey Lord’s instructions; keep faith in him and he will never let you down”.   

I realized much later that Choudhury sahib was the richest farmer of his area. He lost his only son in a road accident a few days ago. He was blessed with one son and three daughters out of whom the son was the eldest and he was running the family business, he had left behind his widow and two grown-up children. Today all his relatives, friends and well wishers have come to attend the condolence meeting.

Lots of people were looking at me with curiosity and wondering what I was doing there. I was the only stranger among them but I could not leave the place without Baba ji’s consent, he has asked me to wait. As courtesy demanded, I thought to take his permission before leaving because I was also getting late. I was getting impatient sitting quietly at one corner of the house in very sad mood. After few minutes, one young girl came and told me: “Grandpa is calling you inside.” I was still sitting and wondering why I was being called? Little later one middle aged lady came to me and said: “Choudhury sahib has called you inside, please come with me” and she ushered me to a room which appeared to be the drawing room of Choudhury sahib.

Once I entered, I found a very large room, equipped with the entire latest gazettes of house-hold things comprising of designer sofa-set with centre table, 42” LED TV plugged on the side wall, multi-door fridge, very big chandelier hanging in the centre of the roof, at one corner, a big writing table along with sitting chairs and one wall fully equipped with wooden racks fitted with front glasses full of books. Nobody was present in the room, so I started looking at the books; there were Law books, English literature, Urdu literature and Hindi literature. On the writing table all the national daily newspapers and magazines in English, Hindi and Urdu languages were stacked properly.            

I was still standing in front of the table when I saw the side door being opened and Choudhury sahib and Baba ji entered the room, following them was a house maid, who was carrying a big tray filled with tea cups and biscuits. Choudhury sahib straight away came walking towards me and took my hands in his hands and said: “I am so grateful that you have brought Baba ji with you. Please sit down” And he very politely first allowed Baba ji to sit and after I took my chair he sat down. He enquired about me; I gave him brief introduction of myself and handed over my business card. He also pulled out his wallet and gave me his business card. He was Dr. Alaha Rakha Khan Choudhury; MA (History), LLB, PhD. (Mugal History), he had served as a Dean in State sponsored University; at present he is the chairman of many social and welfare organizations.    

His elder son Abdul Rehman Khan Choudhury was Commerce Graduate+MBA besides running his family business of construction, farming and wooden furniture; his wife was the TGT (Trained Graduate Teacher) of Social Studies of an English medium School at Alwar town which was managed by Chaudhury sahib’s family funded Trust. His grandson has celebrated fourteenth birthday on March-10. Last Friday night, his son was coming from Delhi after attending an exhibition of Building materials at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, when he met with an accident on National Highway No.-8 near Dharuhera town and by the time he was rushed to the nearby hospital, the doctors declared him: ‘Brought Dead’.  

I offered my condolences to Choudhury sahib and thereafter asked their permission to leave but Choudhury sahib told me to stay for some more time with them. He was looking very sad and his eyes were still filled with tears but I didn't realize how and when I also started crying and my eyes were wet with tears. Though I have no direct or indirect relationship with them but I don’t know why I also felt very deeply about the sad demise of Choudhury sahib’s only son.  Neither I met him before nor I ever saw him but yet I don’t know why I was feeling as if I have lost someone very close to my heart.

Meanwhile, I heard Baba ji was talking to Choudhury sahib: “Please stop crying, be brave and accept God Almighty’s verdict with open heart. I know it’s very difficult to bear this loss but never mind; he has taken away your son and he will bridge the gap by deputing a messiah in your life soon, because in his wisdom, nothing is impossible, you simply wait and watch”.

I was shocked and so was Choudhury sahib, I don’t know why Baba ji has made the above statement, maybe he wanted to console Choudhury Sahib because he seemed to be very upset with the sudden demise of his only son which has further pushed him into this void. The impact of his son’s death was so strong and severe that he could not accept the present situation and come to terms with it so easily.   

I was still in a dilemma and was not in a position to think further. I looked upon Baba ji but he seemed to be in a silence mode both his eyes closed but I could see his lips, which were continuously murmuring religious hymns.  After ten odd minutes, he opened his eyes and got up from his seat and sat down next to Choudhury sahib’s chair; simultaneously he pulled Choudhury sahib’s hands in his hands and started reciting the holy hymns again. He continued to do the same for another five minutes; finally he spoke to him with a broad smile: “Choudhury sahib, the God Almighty is very kind to you, he has given you everything, therefore, treat all persons at par as if they are part of your family and you will see the reflection of your son in every young man’s face, trust me, you will from this very moment”. 

Choudhury sahib was looking confused but he follows Baba ji’s instructions because he was not in a position to disobey or deny them, therefore, he came straight towards me and pulled me up from my seat, holding me from my arms and said: “I am sure, you will give me the honour and privilege of calling you my son” and simultaneously he embraced me and started uttering: “I am truly blessed to have you as my son, thank you”.

I stayed there for another hour; Choudhury sahib called all his family members in his room and introduced me with each and every member of his family. At the end, Choudhury Sahib’s three young daughters came and greeted me with so much compassion and love as if I was their real brother. Finally I saw one old lady coming towards us while sitting on the wheelchair, she seemed to me, Mrs. Choudhury; I slowly walked towards her and greeted her by saying: “Mrs. Choudhury” but she interrupted me in-between by saying: “No-no, call me mother, my son” and she embraced me in both her hands and started crying loudly. Mr. Choudhury came running towards her and said: “Mrs. Choudhury, please don’t cry, God is very kind to us, you see, he has returned our son in the form of this angel, now stop crying please.”   

While driving home I was thinking about today’s incident; I could not rationalize the whole episode and was wondering about the wisdom of my beloved Lord.  I am a very small creature in this earth full of sins without having any skill, standard and strength; I have repeatedly committed blunders and today, the Lord has given me the great gift of my life by introducing me to such a wonderful family which is highly blessed on this universe. May the Lord give strength to respected Choudhury Sahib and all his family members to bear the loss and peace to the departed soul, Amen!  

With Prayers

Gurcharan

Miracles do happen!

I was stepping down from the staircase of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, New Delhi, when someone called me from the back “Charan-Charan” I immediately stopped and looked back to find an old Sikh couple standing along with one young Sikh boy. They were looking at me with eager eyes and a very soft smile was on their faces. I instantly recognised them as Mrs. and Mr. Surjit Singh Gill. They used to live in Kolkata near our house and their younger son Manjit Singh Gill was my classmate in school. I first tried to touch their feet but they stopped me in-between and grabbed me with both their hands and embraced me one by one. Behind me, my wife and daughters were staring at me with curious eyes full of unanswered questions? I immediately called them and formally introduced them to Mr. Gill’s family. Mrs. Gill first met my wife and later with my daughters. I gave them a brief introduction about Mr. Gill’s family.

Mrs. Gill advised me to walk towards one corner of the Gurudwara sahib near the sarover (water-pond) where we could sit and talk. Therefore, we all started walking towards the sarover side in silence and after settling down at one vacant corner, I asked my first question, “How come you were here Gill sahib?” He wanted to speak but before he could utter a word his wife Mrs. Surinder Kaur Gill said, “We are going to Jalandhar city to drop our grandson Sardar Manpreet Singh Gill in the Engineering College. We came to Delhi today morning by Rajdhani express train and thought of visiting Gurudwars sahib to take blessings from Baba ji and then proceed to Jalandhar City by Shatabdi express train in the evening because tomorrow will be his first day in the College”.  

I was still confused, who this boy Manpreet was? His face looked familiar to me but his eyes were different that’s why I could not recognize him. Before I could ask any further questions, Mr. Gill answered with great excitement: “Charan, did you not recognize Manpreet Singh? Oh my God, he is the son of your childhood friend Manjit.  Have you forgotten him? He is the one whom your father had located first when we all had lost hope of his survival, remember? And within a flash the whole episode came alive in my mind. Oh yes, how I could forget about that incident which brought lots of sweet and sad memories from our past making my eyes wet with tears.  

I had shifted from Kolkata to Jamshedpur with my family due to job transfer in the year 1984 but my parents and brothers were still staying in Kolkata and so were Mr. Gill’s family. I still remember, it was 26^th January, 1985 and due to the Republic Day, it was a National Holiday. I was at home when I got a call from my mother on the landline phone about Mr. Manjit’s missing news. Mr. Manjit Singh had studied with me till Higher Secondary. He was a good athlete, 6 feet 3 inches in height, big black eyes with very fair skin. He was the most smart and good looking Jat Punjabi boy with long list of crazy fan following of beautiful girls.

After graduation, I joined a private firm in Kolkata and he opted for his father’s transport business. During his College days he was involved with one local girl who belonged to a different community; he wanted to marry her but his family was dead against his choice of this girl for marriage. He was very adamant and rigid about his decision and due to this reason he had delayed his marriage plans. I also came to know from his elder brother that he had stopped communicating with his father and his marriage was a big issue in his family.

During the Ganga Sagar Mela,  my dear friend Manjit along with his few close friends went to have a holy dip at the  Ganga Sagar [This Island is known as Ganga Sagar or Sagardwip, 105 KM from Kolkata by road] is a place of Hindu Pilgrimage. Every year on the day of Makar Sankranti (14^th January) hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a holy dip at the pious river Ganga in the Bay of Bengal and offer prayers at the Kapil Muni Temple.

After having a holy dip at river Ganges everyone came out of the river but there was no trace of Manjit. His friends first informed the local authorities to locate Manjit but when he was not found, they informed his family. By late evening, Manjit’s family arrived with lots of well wishers and searched for Manjit the whole night and the next full day but he or his body was not found. After the search the family came back empty handed. Meanwhile, his family members started contacting all his relatives and friends; they also published “missing person report” in the local news papers. Days passed into weeks but there was no news of Manjit.

One evening, Manjit’s elder brother Ranjit came to our Kolkata house and met with my father and told him about Manjit’s missing episode. He then requested my father to give some idea about his whereabouts.   In our community my father was known as a very spiritual person and lots of people used to visit him with their family problems to which my father used to give some solutions due to which he was much revered in the locality and was known as Bapuji. Therefore, Manjit’s mother had requested Ranjit to enquire from my father about Manjit’s present status.

First Bapuji kept quiet and later he told Ranjit to come the next day with Manjit’s photograph and his used/unwashed clothes. On the second day, Ranjit came again with Manjit’s photograph but he was unable to bring any of his unwashed clothes because all his dresses were already washed. Bapuji kept the photograph and requested him to come the next day. Ranjit again came with his mother the second day and she requested my father to pray for her son and give some positive reports about his presence. Bapuji kept quiet for some time and after a long pause said in a very heavy voice, “I couldn’t feel anything about Manjit and I have no answers to offer at this moment” and he had shown his helplessness in giving any positive answer. Manjit’s mother again requested my father with both her folded hands to do something about Manjit. My mother also requested Bapuji to again offer prayer at the Gurudwara sahib for the well being of Manjit.

In the late evening, Bapuji wanted to visit Manjit’s house and requested my younger brother to drop him at his place. Everyone at Manjit’s house were first very surprised to see Bapuji and later felt very happy. They thought that Bapuji must have come with some good news but when Bapuji nodded his head in the negative, everyone felt very sad. He later wanted to go inside Manjit’s room so that he could have the feel of Manjit.

Ranjit took him to Manjit’s room; there was one double bed in the centre, writing table and a chair at one corner, tape recorder, audio cassettes and a few Punjabi books and magazines kept on the table. One very big black and white photo-frame of Manjit was hanging on the wall. Later Bapuji told Ranjit to come in the morning and he closed the door.

Bapuji first sat down on the chair and started touching all the books and magazines lying on the table, then he started listing to audio cassettes, few were Gurbani shabads and some of them were Punjabi pop songs. Later he sat down on the bed and started reciting Gurbani. The whole night he could not sleep and repeated the above exercise.

In the morning Ranjit came with a hot cup of tea and saw my father fully awake and reciting Gurbani. After offering his morning prayers, my father told Ranjit to call all the elder members of the family in the room. Within few minutes all the members of his family were present in the room. Manjit’s mother's eyes were filled with tears and rest of the members were having pale faces and looking very quiet; but his father seemed much disturbed and was not very optimistic about the whole incident.

Bapuji started speaking in a very low and soft voice and said,”Manjit is very much alive” later he said “I have felt him in my lap wrapped in white woollen shawl playing with both his little hands”. I could not communicate with him but he has long non verbal conversation with Manjit. He seems to be very happy, healthy and well settled.

There was pin drop silence in the room and after few second Manjit’s father first spoke and said my son was very tall, healthy and smart how could he come in his lap that too wrapped in a white shawl? And everyone started making comments, some of the young members made funny statements also. Except his mother everyone refused to accept Bapuji’s verdict and one by one everyone left the room. Bapuji felt very sad and he left Ranjit’s house with a very heavy heart.

The very next week Ranjit came rushing to our house and requested my father to come along with him immediately, because it’s an emergency. Bapuji was not very keen to go but when my mother again requested him to go by saying Manjit was Charan’s childhood friend and he must go with Ranjit. Within half an hour, they reached Ranjit’s house. Ranjit’s father came rushing at the main door to receive Bapuji as soon as he entered the drawing room along with all members of their family joined together and paid their respect to him. Once Bapuji settled down on the couch, Ranjit’s father narrated the whole story.

One very young, fair and good looking woman came to their house along with one baby boy of a month old claiming to be Manjit’s wife, who had given birth to Manjit’s son. She had also shown the marriage certificate and photographs of their marriage. She was living in Siliguri with her parents. She met Manjit when she was studying in Calcutta Women's College. First they fell in love and later got married last year. Since Manjit’s parents were not ready to accept her as their daughter-in law she was staying in a separate flat at south Kolkata. She heard about Manjit’s missing report when she was in her eighth month of Pregnancy and MTP was not possible at that point of time hence she decided to give birth to his child. She wanted to first handover the baby to them and if they didn’t want his child then she would have no option but to drop him in any orphanage in Kolkata.           

They immediately remembered Bapuji’s last verdict about Manjit; hence they immediately summoned him.  Now they wanted to know whether this new born baby is actually Manjit’s son. Bapuji asked for the baby boy and took him into his lap. He was actually wrapped in a small white shawl and after coming in his lap he started playing with Bapuji’s long-beard. After playing with the little child Bapuji confirmed with a big smile, “Yes yes, this is Manjit’s son and that night I have felt about the same child in my lap in this house. He will look like Manjit except his eyes that he has borrowed from his mother”.

After listening to Bapuji everyone kept quiet for some time and later Manjit’s mother smiled and wished my father with folded hands and asked for forgiveness for that day’s behaviour. Thereafter everyone came and touched Bapuji’s feet and took his blessings. Finally Manjit’s father requested Bapuji to bless Manjit’s son and gives him a name. After reciting Gurbani for half an hour Bapuji announce the new name of the baby boy, “Manpreet Singh Gill”.     

Today the same little Manpreet was sitting in front of me who did look like Manjit excep for his eyes which were different. I was not in a position to stop looking at him therefore I grabbed him towards me and embraced him as if I was actually meeting my very dear friend Manjit after a very long time. I was looking at him with lots of love and affection and at the same time I was also remembering my father, my Bapuji, with lots of love and respect who is no more with us but I am continuously getting his blessings in different ways and means and hence believe firmly that “ Miracles do Happen!” 

With Prayers

Gurcharan

Inner strength & will-power of an honest man makes him a perfect Gentleman

Our appointment with Dr. Jain (Head of Hematologist Department) was at 10.30-AM and by the time we reached Hospital it was over 10.45-AM. I requested my wife to sit at the waiting lounge and rushed towards the OPD Reception Counter. I placed my wife’s medical file before the Lady at the Reception and requested her to issue me the OPD folder and receipt of consultancy fee so that I could consult the Doctor; but without looking at me she inquired whether I have an appointment with the Dr. Jain. I immediately replied: “Yes madam” and also showed her the last week’s prescription of Dr. Jain wherein the Doctor had advised for the next week’s visit. Without looking at my file, she asked for the visiting charges. After making necessary payment I collected the new folder wherein she had attached Hospital’s printed Form duly filled in with all the desired information of the patient and the Doctor’s name, room number and the appointed time was mentioned: 11.30-AM.

I informed the lady at the reception that we were having an appointment for 10.30-AM; she replied me, since the Doctor had not yet arrived hence she has given me the appointment time of 11.30-AM; as she believed by then the doctor would definitely arrive. I returned to the waiting lounge and sat beside my wife. Before she could ask any question I told her about the reason of the delay and started looking at my mobile phone which was in silence mode. I saw eight missed calls, I checked all the call details and found two unknown numbers, one was mobile number and another was the land-line number from Ahmadabad. 

Without wasting any time I moved out of the waiting lounge and walked towards the parking ground. I first called the mobile number but got no reply. Thereafter I dialed the land-line number and after few rings I heard a Lady's voice answering in Gujarati language: “City Nursing Home-Namaste!” I gave my name and informed her about the missed call received from that number. She replied again in Gujarati language and told me that it was a private Nursing Home and she didn't exactly know who might have called me and before I could inquire further she coolly hung the phone. I was getting worried, who could have called me from this number. Before I could dial the mobile number again my wife came out looking for me and informed me that the Doctor Jain had arrived and the Nurse had called her name twice.

I dropped the idea of calling back the missed call numbers and walked towards Dr. Jain’s cabin along with my wife. After thorough check-up of all the test reports of my wife Dr. Jain informed us that my wife should be admitted in the Emergency Ward immediately because she is having very low hemoglobin due to low iron and blood transfusion needed today itself; he also suggested a dose of iron boost. I informed Dr. Jain that I would like to discuss with the family doctor before going ahead with his prescription. Then, I excused myself and left the cabin along with my wife.

We came out of the Hospital compound totally disturbed, disappointed and disheartened and proceeded towards the parking ground. My wife had gone back to a silence mode and I could clearly see her eyes filled with tears. I wanted to console her but then I decided to keep quiet for the time being and left her alone for few minutes so that she could settle down and adjust with her present situation and in this uncertainty we left the Hospital.       

  

I hardly had gone a kilometer or so, when I got a call again on my mobile phone and I stopped the car at the road side and answered the phone. It was the same mobile number again and at the outset the caller said: “Jai Shri Krishna” I immediately understood it was the voice of my very dear friend from Ahmadabad. I also responded in same tone and wished him by saying: “Jai Shri Krishna Jayant Bhai”. Before I could speak further, he interrupted me and said: “Were where you, I was trying to contact you since morning?  I briefed him about my today’s hospital visit and the whole episode including my wife’s present problem.     

He listens to me very tentatively and after a deep breath he replied: “I am very sorry to hear about your wife’s problem, please take good care of her. I interrupted him in between and inquired about the reason of his sudden and frequent calls in the morning. He kept quiet for few more seconds and then spoke to me with a very low voice: “Nothing urgent, I just wanted to ask you about your next blog, when you will publish it?” I was not convinced with his answer but I did not probe him further and replied to him that due to family problems and present medical crises I was not in a position to concentrate on my writing. However, I would try to publish my new blog next month. And after some more conversation he disconnected the phone.

I started my car again but I was not in a position to forget about Jayesh bhai and I was seriously thinking about the whole conversation and was trying to connect the dots of our last telecom but somehow I could not come out with a positive conclusion of his repeated calls and later I shifted my thought on my present crises.

It’s more than ten months now, my wife was not well and suffering from multiple symptoms and various problems which started cropping up one after the other. Initially it was her chest pain and she was admitted to the hospital; after the angiography test she came home; afterwards she was having high fever and in-between her sciatica problem aggravated thereafter her cervical problem cropped-up and now it’s her hemoglobin which was not keeping her in good health. And for every problem we have to consult a new doctor and with every new doctor she has to undergo various tests which includes: Blood test for Malaria Parasite EDTA Whole Blood/Smear, Alanine Aminotransferase, Rapid Typhi IGM, Dengue, Typhoid, Blood Cultural-Bactec Plus, Iron Cultural, Lipid Profile, Diabetic Profile, Ultrasound (whole abdomen), X-ray for Chest, Kidney function Profile, Lever function profile, Ferritin Serum, Irun Serum, Urine Culture, Glycosylated Hemoglobin, EDTA Whole Body, Vitamin B12 Level Serum and many more tests, there was no end to it. It’s not for one time, but every 15 days she had to undergo one test after another and I was feeling so helpless, frustrated and disappointed that I could do anything concrete to mitigate her pain. And I wondered why should she has to suffer so much of pain; Oh Lord, have mercy on her! 

I had never felt so helpless in my life before; I have read that after 50 years of age one had to be very careful with his health, one must control his diet, regularly do the physical exercise and every six month must go for routine body check-up. I have seen my wife following all the above mentioned advises religiously but still she was facing so many problems. I didn’t know what to do next except to listen to the doctors' advises. After all, I can’t take chances with my better half’s health.  

In the evening we went to our family doctor and briefed him about today’s episode. He first studied all her reports and after thorough physical check-up he told us not to worry at all and said: All her reports are okay except deficiency of Iron that’s why her hemoglobin is on a lower side. He prescribed medicines and gave her diet-chart which she has to strictly follow. He suggested only one blood test for hemoglobin to be conducted after 20 days, that’s it. Thereafter, he will decide the next course of action.

We came home in much better condition and relieved. My wife was feeling somewhat at ease and for the first time since morning I saw a little smile on her face but I could see her eyes still filled with tears and I could not make out whether it was of joy or sorrow!  

Days passed into weeks and weeks into months. I also forgot about Jayesh Bhai’s that particular mobile call and got involved with my day to day affairs. The other day I went for my car service and decided to wait for some more time to take back the car after the service was over instead of coming again. I was waiting at the service centre when I got an e-mail on my mobile phone from Jayesh Bhai which was so personal that I could not control my emotions and after reading it twice I started crying profusely.

After few minutes, I controlled myself. I thought of calling him over the phone first but could not muster enough strength to speak with him at that point in time. Now I understood the reason for his that day's call from his wife's mobile and later he called me from the Nursing home land-line phone number also because that very day his wife was operated.

He only wanted me to pray for his wife’s well being who was diagnosed with Colon Cancer, and was operated for seven long hours; the doctors had removed 14 inches of large intestine which had a tumor of about three inches in diameter. She was undergoing Chemo therapy every fortnight, total twelve sittings were required and till now only six had been completed, another six had to be carried out in the next three months.

I can pretty well understand how helpless he might have been feeling that day. He desperately wanted to share his concern with someone whom he trusted the most. But after realizing that my wife was also not keeping well, he kept quiet and withheld all his agony, pain and sorrow to himself. He never wanted me to get disturbed and upset with his personal problems, that was why he changed the topic and had not disclosed anything further.

I came back home, sat down in my study room and started thinking about Jayesh Bhai and his wife, respected Bhavna ji. First, I offered my prayers for the well being of Bhavana ji and then I told my wife about the whole incident. And instantly she advised me to rush to Ahmadabad and be with Jayesh Bhai saying that I must offer my unconditional assistance, help and support to Jayesh Bhai, because on such occasions in life a man must stand tall and fulfill all his duties without any hitch or hesitation. Because this is the most crucial time which can come in any body’s life, therefore one must not avoid and run away from such situations and responsibilities instead face them with brave heart, open mind and without being biased.

I wanted to call him back but I could not manage enough courage, confidence and inner-strength to talk to him one on one. Therefore I wrote him back and offered all my help and assistance. He immediately responded saying that he wanted only my prayers and well wishes, nothing else. I was feeling so low and sad, how a person could be so selfish, I should have called him back that very day and I should have inquired about the reason of his frantic calls, why I kept quiet for so long? Everyone has problems in life that does not mean one can avoid facing the world and stop meeting with his own family-members, friends and relatives.

Today when I look back and see, I find my problem too small as compared to my friend’s problem. I was making it so big and on the other side my very dear friend who was going through such a tough time in his life but still he had not only faced the situation so bravely but had also handled his social responsibilities with full maturity, sensibly and sincerely. It’s the inner strength and strong will-power of an honest man which ultimately makes him a perfect Friend and a Gentleman.      

I pray to God Almighty for speedy recovery of respected Bhavna ji,

With Prayers

Gurcharan