THE LAST PHONE CALL.

In the last winter vacations when I went home from the Himalayan kingdom i.e. Kathmandu where I am working for last four year’ thousands of miles away from home. As soon as I reached Allahabad my dear wife told me that Almost every day some one phones from Singapore and asks about me as to where I am and when I am expected back at Allahabad. I immediately said that it must be Ram Dular Tiwari. My wife told me that yes it is some Mr. Tiwari who seem know me as well and talks very politely on Phone and seems to be very nice
Next day right in morning the Phone came, it was indeed Mr. Tiwari my old friend from Faizabad. Long back in Sixties when my father was posted in Faizabad as Executive Engineer in PWD In our neighborhood one old gentleman who was my father’s friend was living. He was Mr. Ram Ratan Tiwari from Singapore. Mr. Tiwari was a retired Charter Accountant. Why was he in Faizabad I shall tell you little later? He was an orthodox Sarupari Brahman and he had eight children. As he was unable to find suitable Sarupari match for his children in Singapore. He used to visit India every few years with at least two of his children one son and one daughter of marriageable age to find suitable match for them and used to marry them and took Bahu back to Singapore and leave their daughter behind into the family they married them. That was the reason of Mr. Tiwari for his visit to India and why at Faizabad? Because he was belonging to Sultanpur – a close by small town, where it was not possible to find good company or suitable matches he settled for Faizabad- a bigger place with better prospects.
At that time I was probably in B.Sc. final or MBBS Ist year when Ram Dular Tewari came into my life. He was few years elder to me but we had the same bent of mind. We had a common hobby of Photography in us, besides we use to have long chats on various topics. He came to India along with his younger sister for the purpose of marriage in India like his other brothers and sisters. Elder Mr. Tiwari was my father’s friend. For the first time in our life we had Chinese food in his house. Charwomen was a new word
and taste for me.
I summer months we used to drink a cold drink of vinegar and Ice. We used to room about in my fathers car to Guptarghat and other ghats of river Saryu. Guptarghat incidentally was the same holy place where Lord Sri Ram committed suicide by walking into Saryu River and drowning himself at the end of Rama Avatar. Near by there was a cantonment club near the river a picture us place where we used to go together. I do have some old photographs of that period. After my father was transferred to Lucknow we, lost touch with each other. Tiwari’s continued to live in Faizabad and we moved to Lucknow.
I lost touch with Ram dular, and became a Doctor, married and soon after marriage, Ram Dular came to Allahabad where I was doing my post-graduate, for a short while, and friendship was renewed.
Later I again lost torch with him and life rolled on.
Now this phone call from Singapore, we again talked and described ourselves on Phone he e-mailed his recent photograph and that of his wife & one of his sons and sent e-mail address of his younger son. We compared notes, He had become a big man with two flats and several cars, but Ram Dular was a sick man with Diabetes and chronic renal failure, he wanted to have kidney transplanted for that he contacted me. I do not know where from he found my phone number after so many years. It was surprising for me.
Any way we talked for quite some time on long distance costly call paid very heavily by my friend Ram dular. I asked him to e-mail me his health file, when that came I found that he was seriously ill,
The phones continued, some times even twice a day, he invited me to Singapore and I promised to come. Some times they were irritating and boring to talk the same, but later I knew that every alternate days Ram dular used to have haemodialysis, which is a painful procedure, and to ward off pain he used to phone me, I was to come back to Kathmandu around 24th Dec. but suddenly after 20th Dec. Phones stopped. In the last call he told me that he shall be visiting India get himself operated for kidney transplant and when he shall recover, we shall visit all the religious places of India together, to which also I promised.
On 23rd night when I was screening my e-mails. There was a mail from Ramdular’s son ‘ Father passed away, at night peacefully detected on 21st morning’. That was the reason of no calls after 20th Dec. My eyes were filled with tears, and I am writing this story for my good friend of childhood days, with a heartfelt obituary with colorless ink of my tears.
May his departed soul rest in peace?
I wanted to go to Singapur, there was an open invitation from Ram Dular, Now with what face will I go there/ I do not know his son and his family , my friend has gone so far I can not meet him any more.