The Power of 4:
Udayan, my therapist, taught me how to live life. How to talk to my children, how to understand myself and all around me. “Only if you are happy can you make others happy” he said. He made me feel comfortable in my own skin. Made me accept life for what it is, and gave me the power to mould my future to what I wanted it to be. He lit a fire in me, a fire for living life to its fullest, which has never gone out. Thank you Udayan, for making me whole again.
Ms. Patel, who taught me English when I was 37 years old. She was an 80 year old Parsi lady, way past her prime, but for me it was as though she walked into my head and turned all the lights on. She manifested in everything she said and did, such that literature, drama and poems were not a strange addition to life, but a part of it. And that is one of the great lessons of my life. She didn’t know she was doing this, but she gave me my life. She showed us a glimpse of her world…the queen’s English, the classics and the legends She took it seriously. Now, Shakespeare, Ovid, Homer mean so much more to me! She rekindled my love for the English language. And here we are, with our tiny book club, trying our best to keep her tradition alive. Thank you Ms. Patel, for turning my regret of not having pursued English as career, into a passion, which feeds every other aspect of my life.
Savio D’souza, whom I have written about so many times, but it never seems enough. He taught me how to give everything to a sport, to love it fully and completely. Running is now even more than a way of life, it is Life itself me. With him I learnt, Life rules apply to Running and Running rules apply to Life. Thank you Savio, for teaching me how to find joy and the feeling of liberation everyday.
It is my honour, now, to introduce Hyun Joon Yoo. He was someone I met through running 2 years ago. Although I did not get to spend much time with him, these last 3 months which we have spent, have been real quality time. Learning swimming has always been a priority for me, and I have spent the last 2 years trying to get it right. This year, to my good luck I found Hyun. He taught me the importance of technique and completely changed my stroke. More than that, his passion for swimming, eye for detail and dedication for teaching, his patience and perseverance while dealing with a duffer like me are exemplary. Hyun will leave for Korea in a week, but he has left me the gift of swimming. Thank you Hyun for giving my life a new direction.
These are people who have left parts of themselves with me. The voices I hear when I am in doubt. People who have given me courage and strength to be myself. I will be eternally grateful to them- and will miss them when they are not there…but I also know they will always be with me…
This quote is for the Immortals in my life…
Ravi Malhan
How is this possible ? How can a writer do this time and again ?
Your blogs totally envelop me with a rare kind of peace, calm and love.
I feel surrounded by goodness and submerged in happiness. This happiness is different . Not that loud and boisterous kind but something very deep , very fundamental and very profound. As if not only my physical form but my very soul has been embraced . Embraced by something higher , something very pure and this feeling leaves me full of gratitude and humility. And sometimes , a small tear drop appears in the corner of my eyes and stays there for a while before dropping.
Maya Angelou is so right !
I have been deeply influenced by Khalil Gibran and am reminded of something he said that I want to share with you :
” You may forget with whom you laughed, but you will never forget with whom you wept.”
“Hearts united in pain and sorrow will not be separated by joy and happiness. Bonds that are woven in sadness are stronger than the ties of joy and pleasure. Love that is washed by tears will remain eternally pure and faithful.”
Please keep writing . I receive each blog as a special gift . I am compiling all your blogs in a personal e-book , so that I can read these even when I am offline and out of network.
In gratitude
Ravi Malhan
Parul
wonderful words of Gibran…immortal…thank you Ravi for always encouraging me….so touched by your emotional writing! 🙂