Monday, May 05, 2008

In memory of M

It is so hard to talk about people in past tense. I cannot bring myself to say M is no more without a quiver. A young boy, all of 23 is suddenly no more. He went on a trip to Coorg this last weekend and he never returned.

He was the sweetest of VM's friends. The one that stood the test of time for 20 years. I met him only a handful of times. But he was part of our lives. I knew what college he went to, what course he studied. What kind of friends he had. I knew it all. He came for my wedding and very thoughtfully gave me a rolling pin set. I met him 2 months ago at Amma's place. He was a part time professor, an insurance agent and a tax consultant of sorts. At close to 6 feet I told him he was growing too tall for me to look up. He promised he wouldn't grow any taller.

I always asked him if I couldn't find the right Kannada word for some English word. He never said a harsh word to any one. He once went to play cricket with VM and someone used a foul word and he said "nanagu intha maatu aaDodakke barutte soujanyakkoskara naan aaDolla. aadrinda dayaviTTu intha maatu aadbeDi" (Even I can use those words but I don't do it out of courtesy. So please refrain from using such language) That was M at 20. He was our reference point for goodness. So much so that VM and I worried how he'll survive in this harsh world.

He's on my Orkut list of friends. What do I do with it? His profile says "multi-oriented, multi-spaced, multi-tasked ,multi-chirpy, multi-faceted personalitied M. Ever welcoming multiple friends.........!"

How will his parents come to terms with their only son's death? If it hurts me so much. I can't even imagine how much pain is there in those two hearts.

He was going to take up research, do PhD, probably find a girl for himself....Death never comes at a comfortable age!