A Lady I Met

When you ask someone who would have just come out of a life changing experience about the biggest take away from the phase and invariably the reply would be about the kind of inspiring people and their stories (s) he came across hence giving a new reason to live life to the person in question. I could never co-relate the connectivity till I became one of them. The hard reality is that majority of us do not heed to the worries of others when the sailing is smooth, it is only when the weather gets rough that one truly acknowledges the meaning of pain in someone else’s life. Your mind opens up to the vastness that lies beyond the usual depictions and you start admiring things and respecting elements that were never a part of your agenda till recently.

There are certain people who elate your feeling much before you come in acquaintance with them. After having heard a lot of good things and her upbeat approach to life when I finally met Ms. Manju Bagha Singh, wife of Tata Power’s HR Head on 22nd December 2010; my last day as an in-patient at Tata Memorial Hospital I understood the reason behind the hype that surrounded her. She came across as a simple lady who was interested in finding life’s true meaning instead of investing time behind fancy obsessions, a common hobby of wives of corporate honchos. One look at her sparkling eyes communicated that she had a lot of life experiences and was open to share those expressions with anyone and everyone she came across or else why would have she come all the way from Colaba to Parel to visit me. Though her body had undergone a lot in the last two decades yet her biggest secret has been the power to be in control of her state of mind and drive her thoughts at every given moment and that makes her a winner for life.

Consciousness of one’s own self is the best remedy for the human mind and the finest tool to spread the spirit of joy and love is the message that came across from her stories. One could only admire her spirit and motivation because had it been a slightly fragile mind then the cookie would have crumbled much before the Sun set. No wonder God tests the tougher souls so that more and more examples sprout around us to live and let live. Ever since she regained her normalcy she has been looking for avenues to add value to life and has been deriving pleasure from her ability to enable open minds to release their energy into the Universe for aspirations to come true. Any other objective looks miniscule in front of such a genuine mission. Meeting such people not only strengthens your conviction to be in love with your present but also assures you of a future worth the wait.

It was quite apparent midway into our conversation that we had struck a mental chord and were in the same wavelength. Her positive and vibrant vibes rubbed off to me and presented me with a set of questions whose answer can only get better every time I make an attempt to discover them. Her act of gifting me two priceless books (The Secret and Power) signifies the definition of our relationship and it was accepted with an assurance that those stores of knowledge have reached the right person at the right time. Our maiden meeting has been the sole point of interaction and the second appointment is yet to be scheduled but with certain people in life the duration between visits is inconsequential because you are rest assured that whenever and wherever you come across next the threads will be picked up from where they were left the last time, such is the level of understanding between the minds.

Sidhanta Patnaik

4th February 2011 (Friday), 6.35pm

Marthahalli, Bangalore