Page 33 - Seniorstoday July-2023 Issue
P. 33
Naresh and Sujaya had several common A few years later, Sujaya had a
interests like history, philosophy and devastating bereavement in her mother
spirituality, outside of their professional losing a long drawn out battle with the
pursuits in the field of finance and dreaded C. Soon after procuring her degree,
investments. They often got together for Sujaya had moved with her mother to
discussing their common areas of expertise Mumbai, to take up a job. Mumbai was
and learning from each other. The ultra- a vastly different city with its own ethos
conservative Sujaya was an apt counter to and milieu, much unlike Kanpur, and it
the high-risking Naresh, particularly in had taken a couple of years for Sujaya to
their approach to investments. Suffice it to settle down and feel comfortable, thanks to
say, each had a positive impact on the other her mother’s soothing presence. Now with
and got along like a house on fire. They her mother gone, Sujaya often felt bereft
were by and large at ease with their lives, and desolate and this led to her meeting
given their philosophical and spiritual Naresh more often than in the past. Naresh
orientation and involvement with myriad deeply felt her sense of loss, as he himself
classes and practices. had when he had lost his wife to a fatal
ailment a year earlier. Sujaya had then
been a tremendous source of comfort to
him, with her philosophical and spiritual
empathy. Gradually a strong filial bond
developed between Naresh and Sujaya.
For all practical purposes, Naresh gave
Sujaya the same attention and care that he
did for his own family and never let her
feel inadequate or lonely. Sujaya played the
perfect role of a daughter that Naresh never
had, but always longed for.
Naturally, given their close father-
More than discussing their respective daughter relationship, Naresh got anxious
professions, Sujaya always used these to see Sujaya settle down with a life
meetings to discuss something or the other companion. Sujaya, surprisingly and
on her personal front, having developed contrary to her usual candidness with
immense trust and faith in Naresh and his Naresh, never encouraged a discussion
ability to sift and solve difficult issues with about her marriage, except to say that
pragmatism. Naresh had become Sujaya’s she had been in a deep relationship with
go-to-person for anything and everything a batch mate in the past but it eventually
under the sun, the huge generational gap broke off due to divergence of outlook and
notwithstanding. Though she saw her views about life in general. Her batch mate
father in Naresh, Sujaya was impressed with whom she had been in a relationship
by how well he was attuned to her had since migrated abroad permanently.
generation’s ways of living and thinking Fortunately, there was no rancour at the
and could vibe with them with deep parting of ways and a polite and graceful
empathy and understanding. friendship continued, given that they had
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #49 | JULY 2023 33
