Page 3 - Nov 2019
P. 3
From The Publisher
Only God Didn’t Show Up
It has taken me a lot of courage to write this. father-in-law requested that he be allowed to do
Vijay Taparia is very, very close friend. His late the kanyadaan.
wife Shashi and my wife Neelam were like soul I wondered whether it would be good to get
sisters. His daughter and son are as much a part Vijay to relive the past even as he was trying his
of my home as my own daughter and sons. best to move on. But his story is remarkable. His
So when his wife passed away we got an SMS parents-in-law were people of superior thought;
in the morning from Vijay saying “Shashi no faultless and exemplary behaviour set an
more”. My wife and I could not come to terms example for the rest of society to follow. It takes
with the news. My mother who was sitting there a lot to look beyond your own pain. I can’t find
was also feeling very sad and I was narrating to words to praise them. The entire family showed
her about who all were with Shashi in the US up for the wedding, fourteen people from all over
at the time of her demise. I told my mother that the world. It takes a lot of love and courage to go
almost all of Vijay’s family had reached, at which do what they did. Thanks to them, Vijay and the
she remarked “Sab pahunch gaye, ek rab hi nahi family are well settled once again.
pahuncha” – Everybody made it, except God. At Seniors Today, we were very keen to carry
It was difficult to see what Vijay, his kids and Vijay Taparia’s first-person account as it’s a
parents and his in-laws went through. It was predicament many of our readers face.
traumatic for them, and terrible times for Vijay’s It’s a story of supreme compassion that Shashi’s
friends and families. parents had for Vijay, and while I hope no one
But within months of her death, his late wife’s experiences the same circumstances as him, it’s a
parents, Mr & Mrs Bahety, insisted that he story that needs to be told and read.
remarries. Vijay was obviously heartbroken after
Shashi passed away, and found it tough to get
back to his life all over again. His father-in-law Best wishes,
and mother-in-law counselled Vijay, his children
and then spoke with me and some other friends to
get Vijay to change his mind. My wife was asked
to speak with his kids. Vickram Sethi
What happened after still brings tears to my eyes. Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
When Vijay did agree after much persuasion, and
since his present wife’s parents weren’t alive, his
SENIORS TODAY | Volume 1 | Issue 5
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