scribblings

As I drove into the campus this morning at 7:45 am, my eyes were looking for the tall man with a stubble and a stick in his hand. i would have loved to pick him up and drop him at his office. Well, i havent found him there for a while now..

Half an hour later, I had to console myself seeing 'The Hindu' that carried his photo in the Obituary column.

Yes, I can never see him again. After those few minutes I stood by his mortal remains yesterday morning, I have been telling myself, I cant see him again. Never at all.

Blankness and Darkness sets in every time I think of the fact that i can never go back to his room and find him, the ever charming self, who was everything to many of us over generations of IITM students.

A Walking Encyclopedia. A rare combination of a vaishnavite and a communist. A connoisseur of pristine classical music of the best quality. A perfect listener. A Practical person. An Optimist. An Agony Box. A Confession Counter. A perfect teacher. A very learned professor. the list goes on...

The very sight of seeing him off at Alwarpet Bus Stop, sometime in March 2008, keeps coming back to me. That was the last time, i took him to a concert with me. I never knew that day that i would never be doing it again.

In the past few weeks, it was rather disturbing to see him undergo all the pain in a fight for survival. That did not stop one from hoping, wishing and praying that someday he will come back and be his normal self, the same man, we knew for a long time.

I still cant believe I cant see him again...

Dilip, I know you will be at the highest heavens and would be The blessed one closest to God. I know you will constantly think of all of us whom you were associated with and help us in every way. Still, I'll miss you forever...