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Tailless!

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by rgsrinivasan, Oct 26, 2012.

  1. rgsrinivasan

    rgsrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    I had mostly been lazier tilldate and sometimes I feel that I should make amends to it, alas, not doing them because of my damn laziness again. :)

    When I just recollect my days as a school boy, he comes first. Lets call him as 'B'. I did my KG and first class in a school where I first saw him. He was in the same class and was one of the shortest in the class. And I was not that friendly then. I was in fact jealous to see that his mom came to school daily, in the morning, during lunch and in the evening to pick him up. And she fed him during lunch. Then I moved to another part of the city and went to a different school for a few years. After that, I came back to the same place where I did my earliest schooling. This time I joined a different school and studied there for 7 long years [class 6 - 12]. And I was surprised to see B again there. B in fact was in the same section that I was. It was then that our friendship blossomed.

    His house was just opposite to the school and all you have to do is to cross the road. Thats it. His father was in a central government job and he had an elder brother who never seemed to care much about anything then [I was a bit angry to be ignored by him, then :) ]. Myself and few other friends visited B's home frequently and had coffee and sometimes if luckier, some sweets too. B's mom was always patient and had that smile that seemed to be frozen in her lips. It was an unexpected instant that I came to know that B had a congenital problem and was on a bunch of tablets, syrups etc., from day 1. He never told me about that and I dared not asking him in detail. In fact, B often was absent, as a result of his sickness. Nevertheless, when he was around, we all had a grand time, as he cracked a lot of good jokes then. In class 11, we chose different streams and hence were in different sections, yet, I met him almost daily then.

    He had a very good collection of stamps and was also a numismatist. I have never seen such rare stamps or coins anywhere tilldate. He sometimes spent a lot to get them and was a member in the Philately club, which even now operates on the first saturdays of the month in General Post Office in Chennai. One day, he talked a lot about a rare coin that he got after paying about Rs. 180-/- for it. And then he showed me that evening. It was a one rupee coin which just looked ordinary. When I raised my brow, he asked me to see the tail part of it. Yes. There was no tail. The coin only had a head and the tail part was blank. Just blank. He also showed me an exclusive bag that could hold coins and stamps in various sections. Made of a fine leather, it felt so soft to touch. "My birthday present!", he said.

    After school, we parted and I moved to a different part again, did my graduation in a different college. I came to know that he did his graduation too. After just finishing UG, I wanted to pay a visit to the school and to his house [hoping that he didn't vacate]. It was difficult for me to accept so many changes within 3 years in the school that I studied. I crossed the road, went to his home and knocked the door. His brother came out [he looked the same but] and immediately dragged me to the gate, saying that B passed away a month back [due to the same illness that he had for many years]. "Mom will break down seeing you. Go! Now!", he shouted. I was a bag of feelings then. Shock and anger were soon replaced by sorrow.

    I just felt like that coin then, alas! he was not around to buy.
     
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  2. mallikaah

    mallikaah Bronze IL'ite

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    u wrote beautifully..
     
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  3. rgsrinivasan

    rgsrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Wow! So fast! Thanks for your real quick feedback and appreciation, Mallikaah.
    And sorry, I just modified the last line of it just now. -rgs
     
  4. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Oh, that was really sad. It is very sad to lose a friend from childhood and that too at a young age. Loved the way you narrated the story.

    Very well expressed.
     
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  5. rheaa

    rheaa Silver IL'ite

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    awesome rgs! you have a wonderful way with words. i know, the situation you have experienced is very sad but the way you expressed it (especially the last sentence - your trademark) is just splendid.

    p.s. sorry about your loss.
     
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  6. rgsrinivasan

    rgsrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Call it fate or something else Satchi, I've lost 2 more even before my schooling ended. Fine. Thanks for your appreciation. Will post the second and third episodes of cricket sooner. -rgs
     
  7. rgsrinivasan

    rgsrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Thats fine Rheaa. Thanks a lot for your concern and feedback.Very happy to receive from you. -rgs
     
  8. Bpremalatha

    Bpremalatha Gold IL'ite

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    Oh goodness... I am sorry to hear that....
    Long live your friendship... Its great to hear,... you had great time with a precious person...
    Let the soul reside in peace...
     
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  9. rgsrinivasan

    rgsrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks BPremalatha. Happy to receive your words of solace and feedback. -rgs
     
  10. meenakshirajan

    meenakshirajan Silver IL'ite

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    Very well narrated. But i feel so bad to hear about your friend's demise.
     
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