UKADICHE MODAK
“Being
challenged in life is inevitable;
being
defeated is optional.”
Roger
Crawford
This
evening, on my way home, I met a woman. During the peak of second wave of Covid,
she had lost her brother and his wife both (who were in their mid-forties) after
battling the dreaded disease. The deaths
had taken place within a matter of two-three days… Their only son, aged 20, was
studying abroad, and was unable to attend his parents’ funeral. I knew the
family quite well, and this thought was always passing through my mind: “What
must be the young man’s state of mind?” … “How must he be dealing with this
trauma and life-challenge?”
So, when I met the woman,
today, for a moment, I didn’t know what to say… I hadn’t met this woman after
the unfortunate incident; and, suddenly, when I faced her, I felt it was inappropriate
to revive those painful memories. In the meantime, she asked me, “How’s
everybody at home? Your in-laws are keeping good health? Are you still working
from home?” And so on…
I was relieved of the pressure.
After answering all the questions asked by this woman, I found enough courage
to ask her, “How’s is your brother’s son? Is he still abroad?”
“Yes, he is still studying
abroad,” the woman told me, “He was here for some days, last month.”
“How’s he taken it? Has he
been strong enough?” I asked.
“Has there been any option?” the woman calmly asked me, “He cannot continue to live defeated, you see.”
Life is
not a theory class, Sir… It’s a long, never-ending practical session!
I ‘write’, every day, about
living with zest and grace. But, by all probability, that 20-year-old has been ‘living’
a life of zest and grace. There is no substitute for living such life; there is
no option, Sir!
Today
is also my friend Ravi’s 50th birthday. Two days ago, his wife,
Kiran, had asked me to send a video message to him, so that she could spring a
surprise today, during the late-evening celebrations. I did what I was good at:
I wrote a beautiful piece for Ravi, pouring all my heart. Ravi has been my dear
friend for several years. But, he is so quiet and unassuming, that we hardly find
the need to call each other or text to each other, leave alone socialize
together. In the long letter, I wrote, how, without his knowledge, Ravi’s friendship
has been enriching my life… I meant
every word in that letter. Hope he likes it, when Kiran reads it out to him,
tonight…
I arranged to send, to Ravi’s
residence, a box of traditional Ukadiche Modak… soft, juicy and delicious,
prepared by another friend of mine, Kashish (under her brand name ‘Belinca’)…
“Received it Sir… Full of love,”
Kiran wrote, “Lekhin, Bhog Ravi ne nahi, mere Ganpati Bappa Tejbir ne
lagaya!”
Every time I see this teenaged
son of Ravi and Kiran – Tejbir, I am reminded of adorable Ganapati Bappa!
I was happy, that the Bhog
was done with the right hands!
I had concluded the letter to my
friend, Ravi, with Emerson’s wise words: “What lies behind us and what lies
before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
I truly believe, that they aptly apply to those who are
lucky to have lived long enough to celebrate
their golden birthdays and to those who are not lucky enough… What really matters
is ‘what lies within us’ - that attitude of never feeling defeated in life!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic’s: pixabay
Video: Sarod Records
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