a guest departs

A year or so ago, one of my uncles (not much in touch with him, mother’s cousin) had expired. My mother and me visited his family – there were a lot more people than I expected standing both outside and inside the house. In a room inside, where the body was placed, some elderly gentleman was sitting on a chair next to it, dressed in a pure white shirt and dhoti.

I weaved through the crowd and stood behind the chair and silently prayed for the strength and well-being of the family. The gentleman sitting in front of me was sitting in silence, completely motionless. As he was turning away from me, I couldn’t see his face. Strangely his silent presence itself seemed to have some sort of strength and dignity. I felt that whoever this man sitting here, he’s not an ordinary man. Don’t know why I felt that way when I hadn’t even recognised him. Nobody was saying anything except for occasional whispers in the background – it was a very serene atmosphere inspite of the circumstances.

A few minutes passed.

He rose and did a namaskaara (salutation) to my late uncle’s wife, and everybody did a namaskaara to him as well which he humbly returned. As he turned around, my jaw dropped in amazement, it was Dr. Rajkumar. With tears welling in his eyes, he walked out wordlessly, with a namaskaara to everyone on the way, sat in his car and was driven away. What really impressed me was the sincerity of his namaskaara, he was one of those people who did not greet people as just a ritual but really meant it. His eyes unmistakably spoke of sincerity and innocence.

It turns out he was a very close friend of my uncle. That was my first and only personal encounter with him. Several times I’ve thought of going and visiting him esp since he lives only a few kms away from my house, but somehow it sounded so improbable that I never ended up acting upon it.

He was guest to Karnataka and India as well, and today that guest has departed. We’re all guests who come and go, but some guests make tremendous contributions while they stay.

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How fast the wiki page has been updated!

He was 77 years old when he died on April 12th 2006. April 24th 2006 would have been his 78th grand birthday. His last movie was “Shabdhavedi”. He was willing to act again as “Gautama Buddha”.