Life Is Beautiful (A Tribute to Khushwant Singh)

I completed my schooling in a residential school from 6th to 12th(You can call it PUC or +2). I had bought a new slam book so that I could have the memories of my seniors who were leaving the institution after 12th. "Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh" was repeating as "My Favorite Book" in many pages. 

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Our first chapter in 11th Grade (CBSE) English was "Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh". I was awed by the way Khushwant Singh explained his Grandmother and his relationship with her.  

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I read the Kannada translation of "The Coincidence Of The Mumbai Meeting" by Vishweshar Bhat and was forced to read it in English. The author was again Khushwant Singh.

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All the write-ups,articles and short-stories I have read and heard made me feel happy and inspired me to write something.
I am not a great critic to review Khuswanth Singh but here is a tribute to him. 

Warning: This is a rubbish piece which i had no idea of publishing. As soon as my eyes read "Khushwanth Singh Passes away at 99", my heart wished to publish this. So if you find it boring or unable to understand, just stop reading and drop a comment. But if you enjoy this please drop a comment and share this article. Thank you!

Life Is Beautiful

Let me tell you few of my real life incidents and make you realize one of the most overwhelming, wonderful truths of life.

Incident 1
After his marriage, my father started his career at JNV Balehonnur (Chikmagalur) as a SUPW teacher in 1990. ( Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya is a Central government, affiliated to CBSE, residential school which is located in every district of the country. Every year 80 students are selected from each district through an entrance exam and given quality education for free.) My parents couldn’t tolerate the heavy rains and abnormal weather. People from dry zones find it difficult in a place where it rains heavily for more than 4 months in a year. So my father completed his 1 year of service and returned back to our native.

In 2001, I wrote the entrance exam for JNV. And miraculously I was selected. The notice board in the Taluk BEO office had the first name as “ HARISH.G.P.   A0402”. I was selected from the taluk having the highest number of aspirants in my district. How often does this happen??? My father worked for one of the most reputed educational institute in the country and left the place just because of the extreme weather. Surprisingly, I was selected to the same institute which has the toughest entrance exam and where luck plays a vital role.

PS1:I completed my 7 years of education in JNV, Balehonnur.

Incident 2
I had been to my uncle’s place for summer holidays. It was evening coffee time. "Which is supreme, Chikmagalur or Hassan??" was the debate going on between me and my cousins. Later my uncle joined us. I was the lone supporter for Chikmagalur. But I was going well.
At some point, my uncle said, ”Whatever it may be you’ll come to Hassan to do your engineering. Wait and watch.”  My cousins all supported him.
“No way. I am not gonna come to Hassan at any cost. I would better opt for another college or may be another course”, I replied. That was the first time I had discussed anything about my career so publicly. 

And I completed my engineering at MCE, Hassan. My uncle and cousins still remind me the incident. How often does this happen??? Out of innumerable career options, I chose B.E. and out of 160+ colleges in Karnataka, I chose the college which we had discussed well before I knew much about my future.

PS2: MCE gave my life a new turn. Hassan is a city of bliss. My best friendships have happened at this place.

Incident 3
Me and my friends had been to  The Regional Cultural Meet at Vishakapatnam. After performing the act , we were returning back. As per the reservations, except 3 seats , all the others were in the same compartment. Our teacher sent me and two other friends, to occupy those 3 seats as we were considered to be the most responsible in the group. We were having a great time being secluded from the rest. A girl was sitting in front of us with her parents. To kill the time we started observing the acts of the family and that girl in particular. We had been blessed to get out of the train at each stop,a nice girl sitting infront,3 friends and all the nonsense and nobody to disturb us. By the time our lecturer shifted us we had scanned a picture of her in my mind.

During the 5th semester of my engineering I had gone to Wonderla, Bangalore with my friends. After a daylong of ultimate joy, we were planning to leave. At last, my friends headed towards the giant wheel and I did not join them in spite of all the requests. I’m afraid of heights. I was having coffee alone in the coffee bar and I saw this girl i had met in Vizag. I checked to verify whether it was the same girl. Yes!!! She was the same girl. Well, I wasn't that brave to clarify and confirm with her. How often does this happen???

PS3: Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. 

Life offers infinite number of things to relish, most of which we discard. It’s all magical. Everything is beautiful, interesting and divine in itself. What it needs is to catch these moments is an open mind and a humble heart. Stop complaining that it’s boring and nothing is new. Enjoy every single second of your life. The above set of incidents just shows the unexpected coincidences, and ultimate miracles of life. Few may discard it, few say “just an accident”, few say “it’s destiny”, few say “whatever!!!”.  But I say it to myself that ,“LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!”

PS: RIP Khuswant Singh.

Inspired from an article by Khushwant Singh "The Coincidence Of The Mumbai Meeting"

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