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A Tale of Three Friends

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Kamalji, Jul 14, 2010.

  1. Kamalji

    Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

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    A Tale of Three Friends<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />


    Today while cleaning the office of so many papers, which accumulate, and I just keep putting them in my drawers, today the devil got me, and I got to cleaning them, and out comes one of these old letters of 30 years back.


    Here is the scan .

    [​IMG]


    I had shifted to Jaipur in 1980 January, and this letter is April 1980. A very dear friend of mine, Ajit, of Mumbai, wrote this. He , me , and Ashok, the friend mentioned in the letter, were all great chums, and we used to stay quite far away , but meet once a week at least to play Billiards either at Radio Club, or NSCI, have a drink, dinner, and inshort a grat time. We loved English movies, and went to many a movies over the years, we saw together movies like “ Dirty Harry”, Where Eagles Dare”, and god knows how many more.


    Ashok got married in 76, me in 79, and now it was the turn of Ajit to marry. Well he saw quite a few, but when I came over to jaipur in Jan 80, he had not married yet. So in april I recd this letter from him, in case the scan is not clear, let me write it down for u


    Dear Kamal and Harsha 4/4/80


    Hope this finds u both in the best of health.


    Regarding my marriage, it will take place earliest in the first week of June as “ Namrata” has got exams starting from 12<SUP>th</SUP> May, and will end on after a fortnight or so.

    She is at present doing IInd year BA from Jaihind College with Commerce and Economics as her main subject.She is 10 years younger to me, and her height is 5 ft 3”.(Ajit was 6 and a half I think), Ashok and Heer ( my other friend and his wife) had the opportunity to meet her this Wednesday at the Radio Club.


    She comes from a not so rich family( Ajit was very very rich), and is used to living in a joint family atmosphere as this was the basic reason why my parents selected her for me for neither I nor the girl had any choice to say “ Yes” or No” that is the reason why I call it a family marriage rather than our marriage .

    I think I have <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1:pLACE w:st="on">witten</ST1:pLACE></ST1:CITY> enough, more in my next

    Loves

    Ajit


    Well dear friends, life is very unpredictable. I went to Mumbai after a year, and met the couple, I felt something amiss. They were uncomfortable with each other, but I did not get the time to ask anything much.


    In 82, Ajit developed a brain tumour, he went abroad for the operation and I went to Mumbai to see him off, he came back, he was all right, but a few months later, he expired.


    I came to know he was not happy in his marriage, whey did he marry in the first place, when as he wrote , this was a family marriage, why did he agree to it ? His wife was very pretty, and after that I have not seen her and lost touch with the family.


    Ajit was very fond of writing letters to me, and I have a big file of his still with me, this being one of them, roaming in my drawers.Sometimes when I am in that kind of a mood, I just go thru his letters, and I feel God was unfair to my friend. To be taken away at early thirties, is sad. But I guess only the lord knows what he has in store for all of us.that is one reason, I am grateful to the lord, that he has given me 57 years of good life, and not a tablet to take, touch wood.


    Ashok and me are still thick friends, and he is the one who keeps sending me those SMS jokes, the good ones and the naughty ones, his wife is a gem.Ashok has now taken to drinking just Black Label, and he has a hard time to arrange Royal Stag for me, when I visit him, I tell him don’t waste good whiskey on me, for I don’t know the taste of the good from the Bad, so give me the Indian one and save the good one for yourself.


    Ashok; both sons are married and with kids, so he is a grandfather, I am not still, and Ajit is not around.


    I guess that is life, kuch meetha kuch Kadwa.


    Ajit my friend, I hope u are happy wherever u are, I will always remember u.


    Kamal Mahtani



    A Couple with their newly born son, went the pandit, for his blessings.
    The pandit read the child’s horoscope and told the couple” Your child is very unlucky. The day he starts to speak, of the two of u, whose name he speaks first, will die.

    The couple live in fear, dreading the day, when their son would learn to say Papa or Mama,

    Well that day finally came after a year, when the son said “ Papa”
    Immediately there was a wailing in the neighbourhood, the neighbour had just expired !!!




    Friend to another friend – After 70 years of marriage u still call yr wife, Honey , Darling, Love. Wow ! What is the secret to this wonderful marriage of yours ?

    Friend – 10 years ago I forgot her name, and I am scared to ask her name now, so I call her by all these names !!!!
     
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  2. Mindian

    Mindian IL Hall of Fame

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    hi kamalji,

    so you still keep letters and cards from friends??? i thought that was a very female thing?:)

    i feel really nice to go over old mails,cards it surely brings a smile and happy memories but your friends life was very sad indeed ...
    jokes were :thumbsup:biglaugh
     
  3. meenasankaran

    meenasankaran Platinum IL'ite

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    That was such a sombre post Kamalji. Reading about your unfortunate friend, I felt a tug at my heart. I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a close friend must have been very painful.

    I can actually 'see' you sitting in front of a desk, sorting the contents of the drawer and poring over a stack of old letters and thinking back fondly on your college days. Makes me want to go curl up on a chair with a cup of coffee and my stack of old letters from friends and family too.:coffee

    Great post Kamalji.
     
  4. Raba

    Raba Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Kamalji,

    I too have few letters saved in my file, written by my school friends. But Kamalji, its nice to know that you have saved the letters for about 25 years and from this I understood, how close your friend is to you. I felt heavy when I read that you lost him early.

    When I read "Ashok got married in 76", for a jiffy my poor brain interpreted
    76 as 'age':hide:

    By the way Kamalji , I am happy that you are blessed to live without tablets. I pray for you to live for hundred years hale and healthy:)
     
  5. Kamalji

    Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Mindi,

    Well i told u i am a female in a male's body. i love gossuip and do things that females do, like keeping letters , and i am pretty senti.:biglaugh

    Good u liked the jokes, there wwere not many veg jokes this time to post.

    Recd yr jokes, did not have time to go thru them today, will go thru tomm.The net is playing tricks too, pages not openeing, very frustrating really.

    Regards

    kamal
     
  6. Kamalji

    Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Meena,

    Yes it was painful to lose my friend, a good frind.Yes wheni clean, it takes me a long long time, for i come across something old, and then i go back decades, and a lot of time is lost in cleaning, so i dread it.But blogs come out of it eh !

    Thanks.

    kamal
     
  7. Kamalji

    Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Raba,

    Yes i have letters of more than 40 years old too, i will post them some day.
    My friend marrying at 76, HAHA, then how can he be my friend, iof he is older to me by 20 years ?:biglaugh

    You want me to be like Khuswant Singh eh , to be 90 plus, drinkign scotch and writing away merrily.HAHA

    Thanks.

    kamal
     
  8. Raba

    Raba Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Kamalji,

    I didnt doubt whether he can be your friend. because of your statement below
    "Ashok got married in 76, me in 79":biglaugh:biglaugh:biglaugh

     
  9. Kamalji

    Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Raba,

    :rotfl:drowning
     
  10. knot2share

    knot2share Gold IL'ite

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    Kamalji
    Is Ashok the source of all these signature jokes that you share with us?:)
    So nice to read the letter. It is quite a surprise to find some precious things hidden in amongst the garbage, sometimes. But then you seem to like keeping old letters safe. Oh so I should have addressed you Kamal(a)ji, since you told Mindi that you are a female in a male's body hehehe.

    I used to do that at one point in time. There is this penpal I used to correspond with regularly and I kept whatever that came from him safely. A very talented fellow who can sketch, write poems, sing well, good oratory skills, always a topper in college, very dearly soughted after by friends and college juniors for help and advice.........I was so surprised that he would even write to me, a person who did not share even one of the skills that he has. But I suppose that is why our friendship clicked. He shared all his personal problems with me and the last I heard was many many years ago after I moved to Melbourne, when there was a problem in his family because he was in love with his college junior and of course caste/religion and all that horrible things came in the way...I have totally lost touch with him and God knows where he is and what he is doing. But he has been on my mind always and like many things that happen in life, I have this faint hope inside me that I might bump into him sometime. I can only hope that he remembers me too.
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2010

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