Gestures of a life-time

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Just the other day, I was reflecting upon some of the most precious possessions of mine, given by my friends, mostly inadvertently.

I know I have been very fortunate to be blessed with some very good friends- friends who are very good at heart, and who have stood by me in trying times, and to whom I have tried to reciprocate as much as I can. However, I would want to mention three instances that have left indelible impressions on me.

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FIRST- This happened during the second year of my Engineering course in Guindy. A batch-mate of mine, Ajay Kumar Negi, who happens to hail from a non-descript village in the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh near Spiti , walked up to me one fine morning on a lazy Sunday, right after we had finished our customary raid of the hostel mess. He was a bit circumspect, to start with, seemingly unsure of what my reaction would be to his gesture (as I could surmise later). He flashed out a photo -in Kodak colour, which, in the mid 80s, was still finding it's feet. He pushed it into my hands and said " I took this snap at my village temple just for you, and thought you may like it. Keep it!" And rushed out, without looking back. And sure enough, I was left speechless.

Of course, I thanked him heartily after that, and made sure that during my next visit to Madurai, where my parents lived, I picked up a photo of Meenakshi Amman, as a sort of "return gift". I remember having paid a princely Rs.10 for that.

Little did I realize then that this beautiful photo would keep me company for the rest of my life thus far. This photo adorns our Pooja even today. Thanks Ajay Negi! I do not know where you are today, but with this single gesture, you have taken a permanent place in my heart, my dear friend!!

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SECOND - after my graduation as a Mechanical Engineer, I was working in Thermax, Mumbai.  I used to be on the road 20 days in the month those days, as a Project Engineer, traversing the topology of the country, on work. The year was 1991. A couple of my college-mates , Sivaramakrishnan and Murali, were staying very close to where I did. We used to have a great time, whenever I was in town, during the weekends. 

Siva and Murali were the aspirational green-card seekers, and sure enough, both made it to the USA shortly thereafter. Murali left first, and Siva followed suit. While packing up his belongings, Siva thought it fit, and perhaps without thinking too much, " இத வெசுக்கோடா, இனிமே எனக்கு தேவை இல்லை" ( I don't think I need this any more, keep this, you may find it useful), he handed over his nail clipper. 

Believe it or not, till date, I use that nail clipper, and every time I take it out, Siva, now happily settled in Long island, comes to my mind.  Siva has, inadvertently, left an indelible memory. I am very much in touch with him, and quite often we do exchange the sweet nothings of college.

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THIRD - I can't share of picture of this  here, simply because I had lost that possession forever, and all I am left of it is the memory.

I consider myself a classical music buff. I especially love the old masters. I used to play the Veena, but had given it up- short-sightedly so- on the pretext of studies. Chittibabu and S Balachander are two of my most favourite Veena maestros, and I consider each a genius in his own right.

The mid 80s saw the emergence of National Radio on FM ( beamed from Nagpur and a few other places). It was new to Chennai at that time, and every Sunday, in the evenings , at 7.45 p.m. they used to air either live or recorded versions of the various music maestros. In 1988, on one such evening, I had the privilege  of listening to Chittibabu play the rare 72nd Melakartha Rasikapriya raagam, in a full, unbridled, one-hour Raagam Thaanam Pallavi format. It was sheer music deluge (प्रवाहम), for lack of a better word, to describe the experience. 

Sure enough, Bala, who was also a classical music buff, was there with me. Not just him, but a 2-in-1 of his, a rarity in the college hostel, which could record a live program on an audio cassette  We not only enjoyed the program thoroughly ( at the cost of one of my Sunday evening Kutcheris in one of the Sabhas in Chennai, which I was a regular, for four long years), but also got it recorded. I then took that cassette to my uncle, who lived in Adyar. He had a copying machine, and I was able to have the cassette copied comfortably.

I had this beautiful piece of Veena recital for a long number of years, but then the tape had come to the end of it's life, before I could have it digitized to MP3 format. And so, here I am, left only with memories of Bala, my dear friend, who now lives in Zurich happily, and the pulsating Rasikapriya that flowed from the hands of Chittibabu, reverberating in my memory . Bala has made sure that I do not forget this for the rest of my life. Thanks Bala!

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I am sure I can come up a quite few more of such gestures from friends which have withstood the test of time. In the instances above, with the possible exception of the Ajay Negi, my friends, I suspect, had extended this gesture rather inadvertently, . But then, all three have left something to remember, in the best possible sense of it, for the rest of my life. I am thankful to God Almighty for having given me such wonderful friends.

It makes me wonder how such seemingly worthless tinsel ( to borrow Rajaji's words) can have a profound impact in one's life.

This also underscores something that our spiritual masters have , for long, emphasized - it is NOT the price or economic value of the gift or possession that matters. What matter are - a big heart to give, and the very gesture. After all, Lord Krishna's love for Kuchela was fortified by the latter's offering of a  morsel of puffed rice ( அவல்/ पोहा) , but with full of love and affection for his friend.

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This makes me take it to the next level of pondering - well, only my friends can answer to this. Have I ever, inadvertently or deliberately, given or left anything of value( hopefully in a good sense) to my friends? Have I provided an opportunity for my friends to think about something that I may have parted with them,  in the same way I have been privileged to think about their gesture, after all these years? You bet!

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