~ A Golden Handshake…. ~

What happens when you strike a chord with a friend you had played with as a teenager and had a gala time doing all sorts of stupid things for which you were severely reprimanded. You were always partner’s in crime and used to loiter in the streets for hours!

Time stands still to a point where the memories of your last meeting to say a final goodbye flashes on your mind. It just happened the other day when I met my old pal ‘Sobi’ as we had nicknamed him. He was an exceptional cricket player and every captain’s choice – though he

I met Sobi after almost two odd decades as he had moved out of our neighborhood to Gurgoan, a choice his parents made – call it clairvoyance or just an instinctive decision, he did his schooling and went to the prestigious  institute - BITS Pilani for his engineering degree. I had lost count of the numerous letters he used to write to me from there – the only mode of communication till mid 1990’s!

Today I just bumped into him, though on face of it he had changed a lot, but his clarion call of my name made me turn heads and recognize him instantaneously! We exchanged initial pleasantries and asked for each other’s wellbeing and that of the family to which he said that “Papa and Mom are no more and rest all is Ok!”

As I asked him as to what he does for a living- I guess his chest swelled to certain inches as his proud moment had come - his quick reply was that he was working as a director with one of the top IT firms in NCR and was quite handsomely paid – a stark revelation to what I always thought he would be a good cricketer as he had a massive support from his parents!

But as they say, life is full of serendipity and what you think or decide can be turned around any moment, this happened with my friend as well and he became a technocrat.

As our conversation progressed, we talked about our family – wife and kids and that was a point at which suddenly his face went bust! – I was perplexed on the sudden change of his mood as it had turned somber on my asking him about his wife and kids – presuming him to be married and nicely settled at this age of his life!

He tried to avoid the topic and reciprocated my question and started to ask about my parents and wife and kids – I took this as an exception and told him about my life, kids and family!

His poignant looks made me believe that he surely had a story to tell, though his reluctance was quite evident – but suddenly, he started to speak in a low tone about his family – he had lost both of his parents and he was married and had two kids – a son aged 15 and a daughter aged 12 and studying in a prestigious school in Gurgoan but he was now separated from his family, though not divorced!!!

This stark expose kept me mum and I was not in a position to ask him the all important question “Why and how did this happen?” but he sensed my next obvious question and said that it is the peril of the profile and the position I carried !!! I was always engrossed in my office – working 14-18 hours a day just to prove my competency and move up the corporate ladder!   

Now that he had made the choice, he had to forgo some ‘Goodies’ of life which he started to miss – a sentiment he shared with me in equal measure. He told me that he was on the brink of early retirement and was trying to mend his ways and make pact with his estranged wife, but the effort was not successful till date. I advised him to carry on and keep on trying till the last day of your life!

A lesson learnt though this short meeting was that When Serendipity strikes make the most of it – Your parents, wife and kids are part of this design and all of you met under no normal circumstances or a matter of coincidence – but a part of a mega design – make the most of it as you will not be in control of your life long after they are gone!

I wished my friend all the best and shared my phone # or any assistance of help that I might provide – to which he expressed his heartfelt obligation and said “ Sanjeev – our young days were so beautiful – no tension and no responsibilities, and I promise to be in touch from now on!” – a stark fact in times which we  now live!