Take a Minute…

Shravan was in the living room. Like Sheldon Cooper in the Big Bang Theory, he had his spot in the room. His spot gave him clear view of the kitchen and children’s bedrooms. The best part was that he could watch TV without the annoying glare from the balcony.

There was a wonderful aroma in the air. His wife Lakshmi was preparing his favorite stuffed bitter gourd curry. It was hard work. It usually took his wife around 2 hours to make that curry. He looked at her lovingly. She was a dutiful wife. He was lucky to marry well as he did. She was beautiful and also resourceful. Unlike the other “modern’ wife’s of today, she quit her high paying job on his bidding to take care of their home and two children. Was it a mistake…he wondered.

He looked at her closely; she seemed to have aged a lot in these two years. Is that a tear rolling down he wondered. He then convinced himself that it was the pungent onions that were responsible for the wet eyes.

He looked at his son Sridhar who was seated on the sofa with pride. He has become so responsible he thought. He was doing well in his studies too. Sridhar looked at him and commented… look here is your favorite player…Rohit Sharma. You were right dad, he commented just as Rohit hit a stylish shot that went scurrying to the boundary… Rohit has become the pillar of Indian cricket.

While he was still admiring the shot, his daughter Ria walked into the living room. She shouted hi and went into the kitchen. She commented to her mom that the smell was incredible and that dad would love it. She then proceeded to hug Lakshmi and both started crying. My son ran into the kitchen and joined them.

Shravan was wondering what went wrong. He stretched his neck as much as he could, but he could not see what the commotion was all about. Just as he was wondering if he should go there too, they walked into the living room, all three with arms around each other, looking at him with tears in their eyes and love in their hearts.

He was crying too, he wanted to hug them but he could not do a thing. Hanging as a portrait from the wall, there was nothing he could do. Today was his death anniversary.

He was a loving father and husband. He always put the interests of his family before his. However, everything came crashing down the fateful day when he met with an accident. In his hurry to reach home, he over sped and crashed into a median. His death was instantaneous, but his family was dying every day.

If only he had taken a minute, cleared his head, and decided that it was better late than never.

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This write-up is dedicated to my cousin Murali who expired in a freakish rail accident. Many of us take things and life for granted. We think we will be far from every harm. We tend to do small things which can be fatal. For example, driving without a helmet, speeding, drinking and driving, jumping signals, and not obeying traffic rules or any rule for that matter.

Life is a celebration which can end anytime. If it ends after living well, people will celebrate your life. If it ends abruptly, people can only pity. 

While you will make plans to live well, you never know when your life will get cut short. Plan for your absence too. Encourage your spouse to work, take adequate insurance, don’t forget to add nominees to your bank accounts, policies, PF etc.

Celebrate life responsibly. People are counting on you.