Manikantan Pillai, with the white cane, is an extraordinary gentleman and I'd the privilege of befriending him today.
I'd often wondered as to what he did within the confines of the naval base but it had defied an answer for quite a while. But the opportunity to know him better came my way today as I was returning home from work. He was standing by the wayside for a lift and soon after he'd settled down in the Gypsy, our conversation had begun because we'd very little time to interact - he needed a drop at the main gate so that he could avoid the monotonous trudge of around two kilometers, in the heat!
He wasn't born without sight, in fact after his education, he was working as a technical assistant in the University of Gujarat at Ahmedabad and had begun to enjoy his work when disaster struck. About four years into his stay there, an ulcer in his eyes began to cause him utter discomfort and during one of his breaks when he'd come down to his home, he'd gone to the famous eye hospital, at Angamali, for treatment. His sight had improved after a surgery and he'd assumed that the problem was a thing of the past and things were okay for the next couple of years. But the ulcer reappeared yet again and despite a second surgery, he'd lost his sight forever.
While narrating his life's story, what was striking was that he neither heaped blame on the others nor did he wallow in self pity about his fate.
He'd to give up his job and he returned to his hometown at Kochi. It was then that he applied for the job of a telephone operator and has been working, as one, in one of the naval establishments, out here, for the last 27 yrs. His family consists of his wife, a son studying in class VI and his aged mother - he's the sole bread winner of the house. As we dropped him and my 'saarthi', Sebastian, had walked him to the safe confines of his bus stop, I couldn't help but say a small prayer for him for his continued well being.
To be snatched the gift of sight at the prime of one's life is devastating if not catastrophic! He seems to have forgiven his God long ago. But surely, he's a braveheart!!
Tailpiece.
My tryst with Manikandan Pillai reminded me of an old saying and I quote, "I cried because I'd no shoes till I saw somebody who'd no feet".
PS.
And news has just come about the sad passing away of Malayalam cine actress, Sukumari, a cousin of the famous Travancore sisters - Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini - after a month's stay at a hospital in Madras, due to a massive cardiac arrest. Her internal organs had failed thanks to burns suffered while lighting the traditional lamp in the puja room of her house. An actress par excellence on whom any role was suitable because of her versatility. She was 73.
The Malayalam film industry can never recover from this irreparable loss. RIP Sukumari amma. My humble prayers to a powerhouse of talent.
I'd often wondered as to what he did within the confines of the naval base but it had defied an answer for quite a while. But the opportunity to know him better came my way today as I was returning home from work. He was standing by the wayside for a lift and soon after he'd settled down in the Gypsy, our conversation had begun because we'd very little time to interact - he needed a drop at the main gate so that he could avoid the monotonous trudge of around two kilometers, in the heat!
He wasn't born without sight, in fact after his education, he was working as a technical assistant in the University of Gujarat at Ahmedabad and had begun to enjoy his work when disaster struck. About four years into his stay there, an ulcer in his eyes began to cause him utter discomfort and during one of his breaks when he'd come down to his home, he'd gone to the famous eye hospital, at Angamali, for treatment. His sight had improved after a surgery and he'd assumed that the problem was a thing of the past and things were okay for the next couple of years. But the ulcer reappeared yet again and despite a second surgery, he'd lost his sight forever.
While narrating his life's story, what was striking was that he neither heaped blame on the others nor did he wallow in self pity about his fate.
He'd to give up his job and he returned to his hometown at Kochi. It was then that he applied for the job of a telephone operator and has been working, as one, in one of the naval establishments, out here, for the last 27 yrs. His family consists of his wife, a son studying in class VI and his aged mother - he's the sole bread winner of the house. As we dropped him and my 'saarthi', Sebastian, had walked him to the safe confines of his bus stop, I couldn't help but say a small prayer for him for his continued well being.
To be snatched the gift of sight at the prime of one's life is devastating if not catastrophic! He seems to have forgiven his God long ago. But surely, he's a braveheart!!
Tailpiece.
My tryst with Manikandan Pillai reminded me of an old saying and I quote, "I cried because I'd no shoes till I saw somebody who'd no feet".
PS.
And news has just come about the sad passing away of Malayalam cine actress, Sukumari, a cousin of the famous Travancore sisters - Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini - after a month's stay at a hospital in Madras, due to a massive cardiac arrest. Her internal organs had failed thanks to burns suffered while lighting the traditional lamp in the puja room of her house. An actress par excellence on whom any role was suitable because of her versatility. She was 73.
The Malayalam film industry can never recover from this irreparable loss. RIP Sukumari amma. My humble prayers to a powerhouse of talent.
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