It was Sunday. I woke up later than the usual time and was sipping my morning coffee when my father –in-law called me to his room and said one of his old colleagues, Mr. Ali would be visiting us around lunch time. I enquired if he was staying over for lunch, but then Mr. Ali was busy and would just have tea. I had never heard of Mr. Ali and stood there as my father-in-law continued to mention that he had worked with Mr. Ali for many years and their relationship was more than just ex-colleagues. I could see the eagerness to meet in my father-in-law’s face.
It was around lunch time. My father-in-law put on his white shirt, white dhoti (he is always dressed in white!) and walked slowly into the living room. After a hip fracture, my father-in-law requires support of a walker while walking. He was expecting Mr. Ali in the next half an hour. Fifteen minutes prior to the appointed time, the door bell rang, I opened the door and it was Mr. Ali.
The first thing that Mr. Ali did as soon as he saw my father-in-law was bend down, touched my father-in-law’s feet , my FIL lifted him and they hugged each other, hugged for a long time, yes, more than 2 minutes. All they spoke was call out each other’s names and hugged tight, I noticed tears in both their eyes. I was touched. I have never seen two friends; colleagues greet each other this way! They looked at each other and agreed that both of them had not changed much (healthy and strong) since the last time they met, I later realized it was 10 years since they had met! My father-in-law introduced my hubby, brother-in-law and me with so much affection and an introduction of where we worked, etc. etc My mother-in-law, suffering from severe arthritis made her way slowly to the living room to greet Mr. Ali. They exchanged pleasantries and my MIL said she was eager to meet Mrs.Ali sometime.
My father-in-law started the conversation introducing Mr. Ali, as his very old friend, ex-colleague (they worked together some 30 years back!) and that Mr. Ali was also an urdu poet. We also learnt that Mr. Ali was busy with translating the ‘Vachanas’ to urdu off late. He had also translated many Urdu writings to English and Kannada. He is currently teaching at a college during his free time. We were impressed! Mr. Ali in all humbleness was continuously in praise of my father-in-law for his help, support and guidance without which he would not have followed his passion for writing!
This meeting was one of the rarest of meetings I have ever seen. They reminisced so many incidents. They worked in the postal dept together. They discussed how punctuality, discipline and honesty were the values those days. During difficult times (both were not very well to do, lower middle class families). They had stood by each other. They fondly remembered their parents, family, friends, ex-colleagues who were no more.
They spoke for an hour. It was music to ears! In the entire conversation, never once did they crib about the difficult times they thrived through, bosses, finance, parents, in-laws. Everyone they knew was remembered with the utmost affection.
Their meeting was an eye opener to us! It was so natural, it was so humbling. Religions did not matter. Today, what we hear over coffee conversations , on lunch tables with colleagues is about a new flat that one is buying, the stocks, cribbing about work, work life balance, how irritating in-laws /parents/brothers/sisters are as they do not seem to understand how busy we are?!!!! Where are we leading to????? Will our relationships with colleagues turn into ever lasting friendships? I doubt, we do not call them after office hours fearing they might get offended as we are interfering in their personal time? Today, ‘Privacy’ is the thing! People do not want to discuss or say mix family and work. They are treated separately! Very rarely do we see friendships blossoming between colleagues. It is all about competition! Win-Win is on the foils! Else it is survival of the fittest??????????
It seemed we could listen to their conversation forever. Mr. Ali had to take leave. We touched his feet to seek his blessings. He thanked us for the hospitality and the affection. We hardly did anything other than offering a cup of tea! He promised to make a leisurely visit sometime (after all his book publishing work was done with). They once again hugged each other (yes 2 minutes or more), tears in their eyes, my father in law and Mr. Ali bid good bye to each other. I look forward to Mr. Ali’s next visit………………
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