Tryst with immortality

TRYST WITH IMMORTALITY

I must have been around 4 or five years old when I first noticed peoples’ fascination for immortality. My mother, amidst her kitchen chores wished me Good morning darling!” and thrust a steel tumbler full of milk at me and said “Hurry up!!! There’s a good boy!!”I was then just learning to read typical sentences with three letter words like “What is on the mat? The cat is on the mat” etc which I would join with great difficulty but finish reading with such pride!!! And my mother, she would beam at me for having accomplished such a big task. Now, coming to the steel tumbler, what fascinated me early that morning was ‘By “Vasantha Hari”. So far, I had seen words in my books only and started wondering why anyone would write in steel tumblers???.

I finished the milk soon (lest I might spill it and get scolded for it) and ran to my mother and asked her to join the letters for me. She read out the word, rather the name on it and said Oh! This is the steel tumbler gifted by Vasantha aunty when you were a small baby! And she offered an “explanation” for it, Darling! She wanted you to remember her even when you grow old!! Thus began my fascination with peoples’ fascination for their tryst with immortality. As I grew older, this fascination of mine grew proportionately. I would go to temples, community halls, churches, schools libraries just to read out the names of donors on the board. Some times the donors themselves would advertise “Donated by…”. Or It would be in the “loving memory of our beloved mother…” And the amounts would be anything around Rs.25,000 or above.
Here I must confess, this habit of mine caused quite an embarrassment to my wife , who would look at me pitifully and say “Oh God! Not again”!! And sometimes straightaway refuse to come with me to places where there was bound to be a big donors’ list.
All the time my mind would think what would anybody gain by advertising their good deeds, or is it to inspire other people to “give” as much as they can and as much as they should? Or is it the need to remain immortal by etching their names at every conceivable place ? Invariably my mind would turn to an old friend of mine who so strongly believes in “ a good word, a good thought and a good deed a day. There were many a days when he would give away his lunch to some hungry person, there were times when he quietly paid the fees of his servant maid’s children, donated blood whenever he knew someone was in need and the list goes on!!! No, he is by no means a rich man, just an ordinary common “middle class man” with a strong sense of values. Most of these, we would come to know much later, when the person whom he helped would gratefully acknowledge him.

Now I almost came to a conclusion that only rich people advertise their good deeds in their quest for immortality and what better way to show off to their peers “See if you could give this much, see how much I can give!!! While lost in contemplation of this trivia, and strongly deciding never to advertise if and when I do a good deed, my wife called out” My dear! The temple committee has come for collection for their social activities. Those who pay Rs.5000 and above get a mention in the souvenir .Shall I pay 5001 /=” ????

S Natrajan