Three Persons

Some things have happened over the past 3 days and they have taught me some very important lessons. I am writing about three wonderful people in my life. I am not going to identify them by their names. Their names and identities are not important. What is important is what I am writing about them. I am fairly sure they will read this at some point in time. They will know that I am writing about them. They may probably smile a bit. I think that little smile is worth it.


The first person is very complex. We became friends only several years after we knew each other. Initially, the relationship was professional. But circumstances had it that we were put together in the same office space for more than 10 days, with very little else to do. We spent several hours in intense conversation. I learned that this person is a lot like me. The person is what one would call an introvert. The person is not shy but is not very popular either. Not very polite, but not disturbingly rude either. Not too tough, but not very mushy either. Overall, the person is very complex. The person kept asking me some very challenging questions. Some of the questions would come right on my face and take me completely by surprise. Inside these questions, I saw the curiosity and the urge to understand things. This very curiosity and urge to understand was seen by everyone as prying and intrusive nature. The person had a very high level of sensitivity to what is good and bad. The person would tell both the good and the bad things on the face, without much polishing or sugar coating. This made the person sound rude and harsh. The more conversations we had, the more I started liking this person. This person went through a very tough patch of life, in which the person lost a few very important persons in their life. During those times I could dust, and see the actual, uncovered, raw and beautiful heart that was lying inside of this person. We bonded strongly after this. The person reminds me of myself when I was 20 years younger. I have a pact with this person. Whatever this person does, whatever this person does not do, I will always love this person unconditionally.


The second one is very simple. Inside this person’s brain, there is a brilliant and complex artistic system that churns out excellent pieces of art. Having been born and brought up in a very modest background, this person had a difficult early life and overcame a lot of odds to reach the current position in life. Artists are usually extremely sensitive and this person is also very sensitive. When everyone sees something in a certain way, this person sees it differently. When you show this person a nose, this person can imagine and portrait the rest of the face that would fit the nose. Such visualization skills are excellent. This person loves talking. I remember once I met this person in a restaurant over coffee. The person kept talking for nearly 3 hours and there was no sign of stopping. At last, I had to literally punch the talking out of this person’s face to leave the restaurant. This person likes to have a good time. Does not think too seriously about issues. Likes to take life as it comes. Lives life at the moment. When this person likes somebody, this person goes all out to make sure that the 'somebody' is happy. This person is again someone whom I knew for a long time before becoming friends. Initially, there was no deep friendship. But with time, the friendship grew and became a very close relationship. I remember one time this person made me realize that I see in two dimensions. The person helped me see three dimensions and layers in the most mundane things such as tapestry on a restaurant wall. My life is beautiful, colorful and joyous because of this person in it. This is another person, I will love always.


The third person is a grown-up child. Sometimes I wish this person would grow up fast. But on other days, I also hope this person stays a child a little longer. This person is authoritative, charming, persuasive, tenacious, hardworking, well-intentioned and adjusting. This person has all that it takes to become a leader. When this person says something, everyone feels like obeying or falling in line. Even when the person says something insensible, one would follow it and then slowly question it. Such is the persuasive power. This grown-up child has a short temper. What is most remarkable about this person is that the person has a heart of absolute pure gold. The person is a rare breed who has a vision. The person sees into the future, dreams of the future point of time when life is better than it is today, dreams of a better tomorrow for everyone include the person and all those related to the person. The person believes in strong and good ideas, the most important attribute for a leader. The person believes that it is ok for a few to struggle and suffer for the sake of many. Such an attitude is the most important characteristic of a good leader. This person taught me the importance of not having an ego, the importance of letting go of pride for the sake of greater good and the importance of sacrificing and giving of oneself for the sake of common benefit. I get irritated with this person a lot because the person is still a grown-up child. But despite the irritation, I have a deep and intense love for this child.


So, what is it that I am going to write about these three persons? Over the past three days, they all played different roles in my life and made me go through several emotions. Person 3 wields great power over my emotions. 3 has the capacity to irritate and make me intensely angry. Sometimes for the most trivial reasons, I get intensely angry with person 3. A few days ago, I was in one such fit of intense anger with person 3. Person 3 was supposed to help me accomplish an important task, but the person disappeared and was not there when I most needed person 3’s help. It is important to note that person 3 had a great visionary dream and I had worked with person 3, very closely, walking step by step, shoulder to shoulder, to help person 3 realize this vision. I am not taking away anything from the hard work that person 3 did for realizing this vision. But a few days ago when I most needed person 3, person 3 was not available. So I was terribly pissed off with person 3. It is the people whom we love the most and trust the most, who can break our hearts the worst. So I was heartbroken.


When I was feeling the lowest, person 2 breezed in and caught me from falling. Like how a mother plays with her baby, like how she cajoles the angry baby into a beautiful smile, person 2 supported me, nurtured me. When my morale was an all-time low, person 2 lifted up my spirits, told me fascinating stories about their own life and gently brought me back to my senses. Person two traveled a long distance just to see me and spend time with me, that itself makes me feel so special. It was like person 2 knew that I would be heartbroken with person 3 and so had booked the tickets and traveled to see me. Now person 2 has gone back to the distant place, but person 2’s fragrance of love still lingers.


And then there was person 1. Person 1 has the capacity to make me feel instantly better in worse situations. I did not even talk to Person 1. It was just a WhatsApp chat. Person 1 did not even give me any advice. Did not even say what I should do with person 3. Person 1 was just there and stood there like a rock. First I kicked the rock, then I rolled it over, then I sat on it. Then I lay down on it and finally, I just hugged it. The rock was just there, standing there supporting everything I was saying and not judging me, not reacting to me. I needed that very badly. The rock helped me really get out of the situation.


I am so grateful to all the three persons. My life is better off because of them.