In case anyone finds any part of this post offensive in any way, please let me know. In delicate times like these, how you feel is my utmost concern.
There is a perpetual void in my heart today, left by a beloved friend of mine; of many.
This is a sorrow shared by many of us, and today I feel like sharing my thoughts, which I hope can be the feeblest of attempts to ease this harrowing time.
He goes by the name Harry.
I am known to be a very talkative person. Right from the report cards of class I, the teachers have thought so.
Harry knows that more than anyone else. He knew the best of me, and the worst of me. That's one thing he would be proud of. If I told him he wouldn't believe it, but I've talked to him more than with anyone else. Especially the embarrassing moments, you can't share with everyone.
He was a good prankster. Or maybe I am indeed that gullible. My favorite one is when he called me from Bangalore, talked in a fake voice (pretending to be someone from Deloitte), telling me that I have been transferred to Bangalore. I totally fell for it, until he couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing.
People come into our lives and touch them in such mysterious and beautiful ways. I knew him only for five years, but the memories are etched vividly, as if I've known him my whole life.
We used to talk about everything; from latest crushes to movies to songs to books. Sometimes we read lines from books on the phone. He has been bugging me to read Shantaram for a few months now, and I've been putting it off all this while. Flipkart will get to my desk in a few hours with it. He also used to call me a 'sucker' for falling for the same girl again and again.
FIFA. Man, I could write for hours about the times we played it. The same goes for carom. The mockery, the taunts, the laughs...more than I wanted to win, I wanted to play it with him. Because it was so much fun.
When I was saying my goodbyes on the last day of college, I wept like a baby when it was his turn. My parting words actually had the words Fifa and carom. He just smiled.
But then that's the thing about him. In every single memory I have of him, he is laughing or smiling. How many people does one get to know like that ? If living is an art, then his life is a masterpiece.
This is something I salute him for. I don't remember him cribbing about anything much. I just remember incessant laughter. Have you seen the smile on people's faces when they look at Mr Bean? That bubble of joy you feel inside? It's something like that.
There are so many things we over think about. We never seem to appreciate the time we have. Not him. There was an amazing simplicity to his life; never liked luxury of any sort. Sports meant the world to him, wherever he went; whether it was college, office, or a corporate trip to the United States.
Today happens to be my birthday. Initially I thought I'd better not make a big deal about it, since this is not the right spirit. But I ask you this: how can we claim to know the right and wrong time for anything, when we can't even tell how much time we have? Who knows, this might be the last birthday I'm having. Don't look at me like that. Who knows?
There is an element of sanctity to a birthday. Some people don't like celebrating it, but I think it deserves more than that. Anyway, right now I don't want to press on it, in case I hurt any sentiments.
So today I'm thankful. I'm thankful that I have had the gift of life for 23 years. I'm thankful to my office folk, who have been so incredibly accommodating and supportive of me during the last two days, without realizing it perhaps.
I'm thankful, that I've been fortunate enough to have known and met you, Harry. And I know exactly what you'd say to all this:
"Sucker."
I'm gonna smile at that word for the rest of my life. Be at peace, my brother.
There is a perpetual void in my heart today, left by a beloved friend of mine; of many.
This is a sorrow shared by many of us, and today I feel like sharing my thoughts, which I hope can be the feeblest of attempts to ease this harrowing time.
He goes by the name Harry.
I am known to be a very talkative person. Right from the report cards of class I, the teachers have thought so.
Harry knows that more than anyone else. He knew the best of me, and the worst of me. That's one thing he would be proud of. If I told him he wouldn't believe it, but I've talked to him more than with anyone else. Especially the embarrassing moments, you can't share with everyone.
He was a good prankster. Or maybe I am indeed that gullible. My favorite one is when he called me from Bangalore, talked in a fake voice (pretending to be someone from Deloitte), telling me that I have been transferred to Bangalore. I totally fell for it, until he couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing.
People come into our lives and touch them in such mysterious and beautiful ways. I knew him only for five years, but the memories are etched vividly, as if I've known him my whole life.
We used to talk about everything; from latest crushes to movies to songs to books. Sometimes we read lines from books on the phone. He has been bugging me to read Shantaram for a few months now, and I've been putting it off all this while. Flipkart will get to my desk in a few hours with it. He also used to call me a 'sucker' for falling for the same girl again and again.
FIFA. Man, I could write for hours about the times we played it. The same goes for carom. The mockery, the taunts, the laughs...more than I wanted to win, I wanted to play it with him. Because it was so much fun.
When I was saying my goodbyes on the last day of college, I wept like a baby when it was his turn. My parting words actually had the words Fifa and carom. He just smiled.
But then that's the thing about him. In every single memory I have of him, he is laughing or smiling. How many people does one get to know like that ? If living is an art, then his life is a masterpiece.
This is something I salute him for. I don't remember him cribbing about anything much. I just remember incessant laughter. Have you seen the smile on people's faces when they look at Mr Bean? That bubble of joy you feel inside? It's something like that.
There are so many things we over think about. We never seem to appreciate the time we have. Not him. There was an amazing simplicity to his life; never liked luxury of any sort. Sports meant the world to him, wherever he went; whether it was college, office, or a corporate trip to the United States.
Today happens to be my birthday. Initially I thought I'd better not make a big deal about it, since this is not the right spirit. But I ask you this: how can we claim to know the right and wrong time for anything, when we can't even tell how much time we have? Who knows, this might be the last birthday I'm having. Don't look at me like that. Who knows?
There is an element of sanctity to a birthday. Some people don't like celebrating it, but I think it deserves more than that. Anyway, right now I don't want to press on it, in case I hurt any sentiments.
So today I'm thankful. I'm thankful that I have had the gift of life for 23 years. I'm thankful to my office folk, who have been so incredibly accommodating and supportive of me during the last two days, without realizing it perhaps.
I'm thankful, that I've been fortunate enough to have known and met you, Harry. And I know exactly what you'd say to all this:
"Sucker."
I'm gonna smile at that word for the rest of my life. Be at peace, my brother.
