It was fairly a quiet day with nothing much happening. Around 7, in the morning, I'd made a dash to the nearby lab to collect Lekha's test results as she'd an appointment with her doctor later in the day. Eventhough, we'd fetched up at the hospital by a half past 3, we could return only by 8 thanks to the fairly long queue of patients before us. So my evening walk had gone for a toss and on returning home it was a quiet dinner, viewing of the TV for a few of our favourite programmes and as I was floating into sleep came a call from Thiruvananthapuram, informing me about the passing away of Mr. P Govinda Pillai, the veteran Marxist idealogue and one of the popular leaders of the CPM. He was 86.
I remembered the gentle, bespectacled elder with whom I'd the privilege to interact, a few years back when I'd fetched him from his house, for a programme on the occasion of my grandfather's remembrance day.
He and my grandfather were friends because they'd a common passion - books and the library! And it was only befitting that he graced the occasion. On introducing myself, he'd expressed his happiness at having met my grandfather's grandson and he was only too eager to pass on quite a few anecdotes that bound the two of them. For me it was interesting information and I lapped it all up, savouring each story. As we're about 20 minutes into our journey to the venue, I found him to be restless and going through a bit of discomfort. As I gave him a glass of water to drink, he said that he'd like to have a chocolate to tide over his discomfort which seemed to bother him - and weakly he conceded that he was badly diabetic.
I remember having pulled my car towards a shop by the roadside, literally grabbed a couple of Cadbury's chocolate bars from the shopkeeper, unwrapped one and handed it over to PG(he was popularly known by his initials) sir who'd started sweating by then. I waited awhile as he devoured the chocolates and slowly returned to his normal self - I must concede that they're agonising moments for me! And as we continued our journey towards the venue, he continued with his stock of anecdotes about my grandfather without giving an inkling of the acute discomfort that had engulfed him, only moments earlier.
As I drove in through the gates of the VJT Hall and dropped him at the venue, he tells the crowd that had gathered to receive him, "I owe my life to PN Panicker's grandson and had he not taken appropriate action you wouldn't have had me here this moment". And turning to me he said, "I owe you some money for those chocolates and I shall keep it that way just to ensure that you return to me and I shall tell you more about your grandfather and of course, give you the money!"
RIP PG sir. My humble prayers and I shall always remember the time spent with you and the enormous love that you'd showered upon me then.
Tailpiece.
In the eagerness of living my life, I have not had an opportunity to meet up with him subsequently and the loss is entirely mine..........no, not for the cost of the chocolates(it was a grandson's gift to his grandfather's friend) but for the immense fund of anecdotes concerning the two of them!
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