Part 2: Challenged the unchallengeable person!

The train which they were expecting has arrived…just few minutes….thereafter it starts its journey towards the next destination…

And I am just looking at the moving train. And along with the train my mind is also starting to move back to the situation before 6 years…Memories which were in my mind start to come up one by one.

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Mangalore Railway Station
05.40 A.M December 09, 1999.

The Chennai West Coast train is just arriving to the station. My best friend Dinesh who is my college mate as well too) and I were waiting for the train. Dinesh’s parents were coming from Kerala in that train. And the next day Dinesh was supposed to go to Anjanapur ***(name of a famous temple at Mangalore) as they normally visit the temple once in two months. Dinesh’s parents were staying in Kerala while Dinesh was staying at his aunt’s home at Mangalore. Though Dinesh is far relative for me without any doubt we were very close to each other by hearts, as friends. There may not be anything, which he does not share with me. We did not know how that day passed. That night before leaving, Dinesh had requested me to accompany him to the temple. Even his parents forced me to join with them as I rarely go out with anyone.

Dinesh believes in astrology. Normally for every 2 months they visit Anjanapur (A place which is almost 25-30KMs away from Mangalore city) to check the horoscope and to know other details with the Sadhu named Dattatreya (the people believes him as the other form of lord Dattatreya*** .So this time I had accompanied Dinesh, as their request. I do believe in astrology but I don’t believe astrologers. Dinesh’s parents were together with us. I was simply sitting over there when Sadhu Dattatreya was telling Dinesh’s future according to his horoscope.

Anjanapur is a very famous place in Mangalore. I had heard about that Sadhu Datttreya but had never seen him face to face. This was our first time meet. But as a person I had heard only good things about that Sadhu. He is helpful to the society, so simple, provides food to the needy people, whatever he says becomes true etc. Actually he is graduate and when he wanted to go for higher studies the incident, which happened in his life, changed him as a great spiritual person it seems. That’s absolutely true as well...You must see him on every thursday night when he just changes as Devine form of Hanuman .No it’s not split personality of a same person. You must see the way he hangs in just one small stick of bamboo on the tree. Just a monkey can do that! Very lately I realised it as I never believed in all these things. But there is something, which is beyond our limit in this world. When I saw Sadhu Dattatreya for the first time, I noticed that he is not like others but still, I was not interested to talk to him, as I don’t interfere in other's matter.

But when Sadhu was telling many things to Dinesh about his future days, I was laughing in my sleeves. I just whispered in Dinesh’s ears, ‘Your future is in your hand, not in your horoscope. If some one can take somewhere in your life is none other yourself!’

Dinesh knows me very well that what a straight forward person I am. He doesn’t utter a word if I say something because he knows that I don’t talk anything useless. We both discuss about a lot of things. We share all our thoughts, opinions, and likes-sometimes more than 6 to 7 hours about different topics. When we are together time flies.

That day suddenly Dinesh insisted me to ask something with that Sadhu. Even Sadhu Dattatreya looked at me with a different view. I really got embarrassed. I don’t why-suddenly I thought, “Let me check this person. Let me check this person for fun or pull his legs for a while. I should ask something for which he should not be able to answer. But really that day I did not want to challenge him. Just for fun I wanted to pull his leg. That’s it. I was just curious. But then suddenly I thought something else.

I just moved towards him and said, ‘Yes, I want to ask something. Can you help me in this?’

He replied, ‘Yes, tell me’.

I looked into his eyes and said, ‘So far I have only one friend and that’s Dinesh. I need more friends who are true friends. Don’t think that I am joking. I don’t believe in human relationships. That is the reason I am asking. Can you help in this? Will you be my friend?’

Even though I had told I was serious, actually I was not. It was just for fun. But he was calm. He simply looked at me, smiled. I think he understood that I am kidding. He once again questioned, ‘Do you really in search of a true friend?’

This time I was in a surprise. I really did not expect such a question from him.

His simple question made me to think again. This time I really thought seriously and took few minutes to think.

At last I decided something and said, ‘Yes. I’m sure. I am really in search of a true friend with whom I can share all my thoughts, feelings, ideas. Such a friend in whose company I can kick of my shows unconcerned about my hair, such a friend who should not change with his success, a friend who does not have any pride, any ego! A friend who really values relationships, a friend who pushes me when I stop, a friend who is a touch when I am quiet, a friend who encourages me when I feel depress, a friend who can walk in my life when I need him the most! Such a friend I need. Can you help me in this?’

This time I was really serious. Sadhu was calm again and looked at me. He asked few questions, which were related to my star signs. Then he did something with shells and pearls. And at last he asked, ‘You were searching for a friend, right?’

I replied, ‘Yes, Have you got anyone?’. And even before his reply, I stopped him for a while and said, ‘One thing I am reminding you, I don’t get involve with anyone. I don’t believe in human relationships, as I don’t trust anyone. It’s difficult for any one to enter inside my heart, which is surrounded by the strong invisible walls, which I have built to keep myself away by this mean world. Do you think someone can enter so easily? Do you have anyone who can do so?’

He stopped his words for a while. There was a deep silence! Everyone who was present there, were got total surprised. They did not expect this scene.

Breaking the silence between us, he replied with his confident voice, ‘Yes. What did you say? The person who can enter your heart, crossing the invisible wall around your heart, right??? He will! You don’t even come to know when he entered. He will enter in an invisible form but will be visible for you!’

I got confused.’ Sorry! I didn’t get you. You’ve got anyone who can become my friend?’, I asked again.

‘Yes, not one. I have got two people who will enter your life sometimes later as friends. At this moment they are not connected to each other but later all of you will meet each other’.

‘I did not get’. I was in fix, ‘When we will meet each other?’

‘Exactly or almost six years from now!’ He said in his calm tone.

‘WHAT????? SIX YEARS!!!!Then I have to wait for them- Anyhow I can wait. After all I have the patience, which anybody else may not have. Dinesh knows it very well. Am I right, Dinesh?’, I looked at Dinesh’s face.

Dinesh nodded his head, ‘Yes. I have not seen person with such patience in my life like Hari!’

I gave a smile with a pride.

‘Patience? Do you think you have much more patience than anyone else?’, Sadhu requisitioned.

‘Yes. I think so, what’s in it?’, I said.

He simply smiled and said, ‘Your friend will show what does patience mean! Then you will realise!’

I was dumbstruck. ‘What??He is going to test my patience?’, I thought of myself. But still I replied, ‘Anyhow I will find out who’s that? I’ll commit myself and Dinesh knows how committed I am to my work. I’ll never step back in any case.’

‘Commitment?? Your friend will show you what does it mean!’, Sadhu was confident .

‘Oh!’. I decided that Sadhu is trying to become smart. I did not stop. ‘You mean to say we both are going to challenge each other?’

‘I did not mean that. You’ll realise it’.

‘Okay! Then tell me who is he, who’s going to challenge my patience and my commitment. What’s his profession, where he belongs to?’

‘He will be from show life. His nick name will be the alternative name for the word “Friend”!’

This time I really laughed a lot. ‘Is it Sachin (Tendulkar)? Because ‘Sachin’ means “Friend”. Oh my god!!!’

I struggled a lot to control my laughter at that moment. ‘Oh my god. The best joke I’ve ever heard. Sachin & I. He is world famous. Why he may accept me as his friend?’

‘Listen to me. I can say that the letter ‘S’ plays a major role in your life. One of your friend’s name will starts with the letter ‘S’. One more thing. The age difference between you and your friend will be your friend's birth date. And his birth month is 4’.

‘Ufff!! Then it’s not Sachin because our age difference is not 24. His birth date is 24. But his month of birth is April that means 4! Then who’s that? Tell me .Is he a Hindu?”

‘His wife will be a Hindu and he doe's not give importance to religion. He believes only in humanity than a religion!’

‘Oh my god! Then it must be Sharukh Khan!’, I was really struggling to control my laughter. But still I continued my questions. ‘Whether he is from my state?’

‘No! He’s not from your state. You will come to know about him in another state. That too is not even his state!’

Now I got confused. Then I understood. That means if I am from Karnataka, my friend is from Maharashtra and I will come to know about him in Andhra Pradesh. I was surprised.

‘Oh my god. You mean to say I have to travel to another state to meet him. Uff! It’s rubbish! I will not go to another state from my state to see him’.

‘Right now you may say so. But one day you have to and you will!’

‘Okay! Let me see, what about the other one? Whether I have to travel abroad to see him or what ?’. That time it was like a joke for me.

‘It’s not he. It’s she.’

‘Mmm’, I got excited. ‘Who’s that? Any details?’

‘Don’t worry. Your first friend will show your other best friend to you’.

‘But how? It’s like a puzzle’. I said.

‘It looks like a puzzle. But it is not.’

‘But how can I recognise them?’

‘In your life something will happen, which will be related to your friends. You can find more than 40 similarities between you and your friend.”

‘What?’ , I was shocked.

‘Yes you have to recognise the first one. You will automatically get connected to your one more best friend.”

‘Are..Wah! It’s like take one get one offer!’. I was struggling to control my laughter but acted like I am serious. ‘At least tell me their names’.

He did not say anything. He showed the middle 3 fingers of his hand to me. But he did not say who or they. I was really thrilled after listening to his words and then said, ‘I really don’t know whether it’s going to become true or not. But let me see….’

‘One more thing. Your friend is going through the worst pace of his life now. He’s struggling very badly. He is facing the worst days right now’.

‘Oh my!’ My heart beat stopped for a while.

Within the next fifteen minutes we left the place. But Sadhu’s last words completely moved me. ‘One more thing. Your friend is going through the worst pace of his life now. Struggling very badly. He is facing the worst days right now’.

I thought, ‘My friend! I really don't know who you are and where you are. I don't know whether we meet each other at least once in this life or not. But I heard that you are under going the worst pace of your life. Please forgive me that I am not in a situation to help you. But trust me. The one and only one thing I can do is, I can pray for you and I will surely pray for you, my friend! Pray for you by my pure heart. Pray for your future! Will pray for your health!

I wrote those lines in my dairy that night before going to bed and prayed for that unknown friend of mine. Everybody says that a prayer of a pure heart never goes unheard! I don’t know how far it’s true. I didn’t know at what time I fell asleep thinking about that unknown friend of mine. Before closing my eyes, I looked at the date in the dairy once again.

December 10th, 1999!!!

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(*** Names have been changed)