Long Lost Friend

Long Lost Friend
​

Yesterday was a special day in my life.I met a dear friend after a gap of 10 years.We hugged each other,and covered up a lot of ground.


Lets Call him Pramod.i met Pramod 12 years back,when i was a big exporter,and he had come to me for some stitching work.He had 20 machines,and needed work,and i have plenty of work to give to him and many others.I took a liking to him,and soon we became friends.Most Fabricators(people who take our garments for stitching) are uneducated,and Pramod was an MBA, from a very good family.His work was good,rates reasonable.His ambition was to be an exporter,and he told me so.


I helped with whatever i could,guiding him with the export registrations,and advising him to attend Garment fairs,giving him my samples to display,and taking him around town,making him meet other suppliers,in short i was doing all i could.Lady luck smiled on him,and soon he was on his way.Good orders flowed in,and he got going from a rented place.


But soon money got to his head,as did Ego.He said something to me one day,which hurt me a lot,and I told him that from this day,I will not see you ever again and walked off, never to see and meet him for the next 10 years.In between i kept hearing about his progress from our common suppliers and businessmen,and he progressed very well.


Last year, my daughter got married,and I debated for many days,whether i should break the ice and go and invite him for the wedding,as these are such occassions,where i felt why keep an ego.But I felt he may misunderstand my intentions,thinking that now i have become a big person,and Kamal is now out to woo me.This thought kept me back,and I did not invite him.


Last Week,a common supplier of us,calls me and says pramodji wants yr number and wishes to speak to you,shall I give him your Telephone no.Thinking for a few seconds,I said yes,not a problem.After about 10 minutes Pramod calls me, and apologises profusely for the misunderstanding between us,and says it was his fault,and can we make up and meet.I told him,no probs, since you have said sorry,lets forget the matter and meet.


But his busy schdule did not permit him,as he was attending Garment Fairs all over the world,and yesterday we met at his office.We hugged each other,holding back our Tears.A lot of water had flown under the bridge,and we sat a few hours catching up on family and other matters.


I have more or less retired from business,while he has zoomed to be one of the top 5 Garment exporters of Jaipur(from a total of 2000 exporters),having astaff of 200 plus,his own 30,000 sq feet office building,and a fleet of cars,the top of the line.When God smiles,he literally rains money on you.


Im glad the past is behind us,and hope our friendship lasts for many many more years.

KAMAL MAHTANI

 

Padma,

Money does strange things to people.Gives them ego,and false pride,and one thinks no end of oneself.But alls well that ends well.Thanks for yr kind comments.Regards.kamal

 

Sri,

Thanks for yr good wishes.Yes ego is one thing that can destroy decades of friendship in one go.Regards.kamal

 

Latha,

Agreed.I dont brood over the past.And some things are best forgotton.Regards.kamal