He Was (Kind of) A Friend of mine!

I met him in Delhi in a winter evening in 1992. I was trying to move to 281 BPC by October; but the place vacated by KK was already promised to him, and thus my moveing to 281 had to wait until MLK moved out in December.

He was doing a computer software course. A softspoken guy, he never took part in our interesting discussions that centered around women, sex, alcohol and other such issues. He instead wrote reports of drama and theatre for various newspapers published from my state. In other words, he was a bore, and he knew it. Or at least we thought so! Each time we invited him to join in our discussions, he avoided it by simply telling that he was anyhow a bore and he would only spoil our fun if he joined.

He was extremely opposed to a certain political party and he would support the Devil himself if that meant that he opposed that party. He had reasons to be so; back home, the local politicians implicated him in a false murder case, due to which he had to spend months in jail and lose an academic year. He was an atheist and ate beef, for example. He did not believe in any religion, and was very clear about it. He even argued with guys who insisted that he filled Hinduism as his religion in job application forms; he would rather not get the interview call than to identify his religion, something he said he did not have!

He was very stubborn. And for many of us who considered -- in their youthful stupidity -- themselves to be courageous and principled, it came almost as a shock when he was found to be courageous, and as someone who stood his ground when the real need for such an occasion arose!

By 1993, he got a job in Lucknow with FDC and we bade his farewell on a bitterly winter night of 1993 at the Nizamuddin Railway Station. He kept coming to Delhi every few months; each time he learnt something new and told us about it. He talked about the correct pronunciation of Hindi words, the sweetness and softness of the Urdu language, and the tehzeeb (etiquette) of Lucknow.

By the autumn of 1994, the news of his being dignosed with cancer arrived. As with all such news, his cancer was "at a very early stage and chemotherapy did always cure patients at that stage.". However, as reality usually implies, by the spring of 1995, everyone of us came to know that his cancer had spread and he was suffering from multiple cancer, including that of liver and blood.

People who went to visit him at the hospital (I did not dare to go face him!) was brought to tears by the nonchalance of someone waiting for his death, who played tragic songs and compared his life with the heroes of tragic movies, and then smiled to tell, "Come on, don't be so sad! I'm still alive."

Even while standing face to face with death, he never bowed down to God. He did not believe in religion or accepted any religious practices. He defied God till the very end, that is, 27th August, 1995, the day on which he died! He was 26 years old (or maybe a couple of months younger or older).

I have nothing against religious people; I know that I can never be an atheist, basically because I am a coward; but I will forever respect him for his courage and honesty. And if God exists, I believe that He would agree with me in this.

It's like what they say, "The good die first, and those, whose heart is as dry as summer's dust, burn to the socket."

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He Was A Friend Of Mine

(Lyrics: Bob Dylan; Performed by: Willie Nelson)

He was a friend of mine
He was a friend of mine
Every time I think about him now
Lord I just can't keep from cryin'
'Cause he was a friend of mine

He died on the road
He died on the road
He never had enough money
To pay his room or board
And he was a friend of mine

I stole away and cried
I stole away and cried
'Cause I never had too much money
And I never been quite satisfied
And he was a friend of mine

He never done no wrong
He never done no wrong
A thousand miles from home
And he never harmed no one
And he was a friend of mine

He was a friend of mine
He was a friend of mine
Every time I hear his name
Lord I just can't keep from cryin'
'Cause he was a friend of mine.