Glad to meet you, Mr. Young and Mr. Strong
| Date :10-Nov-2019 |
By Vijay Phanshikar:
MEETING those two men was an altogether different -- and new -- experience. They sat at a table sipping coffee whose aroma was filling the air in the small restaurant. They appeared different -- and of course young and energetic and very strong, with broad shoulders, drawn up chests, solid arms, broad smiles, as if their worlds had no problems, as if their lives were without challenges or as if they had mastered all the challenges. Drawn towards them by their personae, I approached them as I had enough time at hand to spend before my friends arrived for our coffee session that Sunday evening. “Hi”, I said. “Hi”, they said. “May I join you! You look different”, I said.
They were most willing. One of them was 24 years old, and working in some company. The other said, “And I am also young, just 61. We are friends. Each evening, we go to a gym, spend an hour there, and then get together for coffee. Since both of us are young, we enjoy life.” That response was stunning, to say the least. Of course, that response matched well with me as well, for at 70 running, I also feel quite energetic and young enough to laugh and joke and run and climb and swim and ...! Together, three of us (‘both of us three’, in Nagpuri English!!!) made a good group. We talked and exchanged ideas and promised to meet again. That was several Sundays ago, and we have not been able to meet, though we talk on phone, resolving to have another evening together soon.
However, by now, I have developed a problem of nomenclature for each of them. For the 24-year-old, I have the simple epithet -- Young Man. For the other one at 61, I have a problem. He insists upon being called ‘Young Man’. I demure somehow. So, now I am learning to call him ‘Mr. Strong’. So here are my two new friends -- Mr. Young and Mr. Strong. And at times, I reverse their epithets -- to please them. The 61-year-old friend prefers to be called Mr. Young, and the other one Mr. Strong. Both titles suit both of them. They call me Professor, a case of mistaken identity, I suppose. But by now, they also know I work in a newspaper. That is not the point.
The point is about how one can mend one’s own life with care and caution and concern. Both of them, Mr. Young and Mr. Strong, have built fine lives for themselves. Both are necessarily middle-class in their financial status. But both of them appear rich. They have their families, and their own worries, too, to tackle. They have their workplace worries as well. But they appear as if they have none. Attitude, you know! How do they make this possible? They don’t know the answer. Perhaps, I can claim to be able to assess: They live one moment at a time. And at times, that one moment runs for days. And they keep themselves physically fit and mentally young and strong. ‘Glad to meet you Mr. Young and Mr. Strong!’ ... But I must catch up with them, you know ...!