Letter to My Dearest Friend

March 10, 2013


My dearest friend,
 
I hope you have reached safely as I did not find any breaking news in the television. I could not meet you during your visit here. Few minutes before you landed here I received a phone call that my friend’s father who was sick for months expired. I told you this when you received my call on your arrival. I had to go hundred and fifty kilometers to attend the funeral with others. So I had to rush. Otherwise you could have met me before I left. I told you if I came back on the same night, I would meet you. But once we reached there the funeral was postponed to the next day. Wish I could travel so many kilometers just to see you. I phoned you again to tell how I was forced to stay there.

The second day the funeral took place in the evening instead of morning because they were expecting some people from Bangalore. Anyway it ended at around six in the evening. Suddenly it started raining. They told us not to leave at night because during heavy rains it was not advisable to travel so far. Again I phoned you to tell about this. The next day we left anyway. We expected to reach by 3 p.m. I thought first I would check you out from your hotel room and take you home for dinner and then to the airport in my new car. But we reached late due to tire puncture. I informed you about it. By the time we reached you had already taken off. And mobile was switched off.

Its two weeks since you reached. But I did not receive any email from you. May be you are busy now. I did not want to disturb you. But I am forced to write this mail to you because I wanted to tell you something.
In between, I remember some past sweet memories. We were good friends. And still we are. You know when I had written you a mail five years ago that I was going through some cash problem, you wrote back that you did not receive that mail. But you knew the contents of my mail. You wrote “Dear friend, though I have not received your mail its’ difficult to arrange Rs. 30,000 which is a huge sum. My salary per month is only three lakhs and wife’s is two lakhs. We spend around 50,000 per month on food and accommodation. I have to pay so many loans which I have not availed yet. You are also aware that I am a big donor. Last time when I visited an old age home I donated Rs.200. And for Rs. 30,000 it’s very difficult for you to arrange a collateral security since we are miles apart. Sorry for not receiving your mail and sorry for not being of help to you. May be next time when you write well in advance and if the mail really reaches me I shall see. But always keep in mind. Nobody should ever face a financial problem. It’s punishment from God for your sins”. Does a human being get money according to his sins?
 
In India people are generous. My friend who drew a salary of Rs. 10,000 gave me Rs.30,000 just upon hearing about my problem from someone else. My financial problem ended. It was not a big problem as such but a cash crunch which even billionaires face. I came to Dubai the next year on some business. I informed you about it by mail. You did not receive the mail. I also sent you a fax. You later said you received so many faxes that day except mine. But when I phoned you and gave you the dates you happily agreed to be with me for five days.

When I landed in Dubai, you could not come to the Airport as suddenly you had to go to Abudhabi. I ended up going to another friend’s house, whom I had not even informed that I would come. He took me to Abudhabi when you left Abudhabi. When we came back to Dubai in the evening you had to go to Ajman. The next day you came back, but were very busy during day to meet your international clients. So you called me in the evening to cancel meeting me bacause your car broke down. So you did not meet. The next day when I told you that I was very busy with the business for which I had come, you said you had the time to meet me. But I could not. So we decided to meet the next evening. But the next evening, you had an emergency meeting from six in the evening to twelve midnight with all the board of directors, though all the directors did not attend that meeting except you. Again the next day you went to Al Ain, then to Sharjah, came back to Dubai when I was in a mall. But you had to go back to Ajman again. So when you made a call to meet me I was at the airport and had already checked in.

Things like this do happen my friend. We are all truthful respectful people. We do not lie. I would not have written this mail if some strange incident had not happened. They say truth will prevail. And it did. You know my friend’s father who had ‘expired’ when you came here for whose funeral I had to go losing a chance to meet you, really expired today. I mean to say he really died. So we are leaving for his funeral. His house is only 20 km away from Mangalore not 150 as said earlier. I will come back on the same day. Why I had to write this mail to you just now is to inform you that truth prevails. And one more thing - when you had come last time and when I had gone for funeral I did not see you at the main bus stand or at city centre mall or anywhere. And you did not come to my house to check if I was around. You did not ask my neighbours.


Faithfully yours

Truthful Friend

 

Richie Pais Archives:

 

By Richie John Pais
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Comment on this article

  • BSB, MUMBAI

    Sun, Apr 14 2013

    Beautiful. Wonderful. But, I feel, it should have been a relative, rather than a friend. For, in my experience, I came up in life due to good friends. And,all of my close relatives have denied me any help, including the one who had lakhs of turnover during 1965-66 even a rupee loan!. Unbelievable. But true. " YARIGE YARUNTU. YERAVINA SAMSARA. NEERA MELANA GULLE NIJAVALLA, HARIYE". In 1964, my maternal uncle promised me a loan of Rs.150/- for joining college after my SSLC and called home. But when I reached home, he had changed his mind due HOME MINISTER's advice. Every thing happens due to God's Will.It was a challenge to me, though I lost 2 precious years. Today, in my maternal family no-one is equivalent to me in position in any respect. And they are late to recongnise me. But, unfortunately, I am not Jesus to forgive!. I shall never fogive humans. It was a lesson to me to be disciplined. Whatever happened was for my good-ness. Thank God. You are showing the way.

  • clara helen, Mangalore, Oman

    Fri, Mar 15 2013

    Hats off to you John, u have a wonderful friend!

  • CGS, Mangalore

    Tue, Mar 12 2013

    RJP's satire seems to be based on
    facts of life.It happens in day today life of everyone!

  • Donald Roche, Mangalore/Ruzai

    Sun, Mar 10 2013

    :) Dear Richie John Pais, your dearest friend seems to be a follower of Shakespear's(Polonius)statement "Neither a borrower nor a lender be". Readers easily misinterpret by such writings. So a sideways smile, :), has become widely accepted on the net as an indication that "I am only kidding". If you submit a satire item without this symbol, no matter how obvious the satire is to you, do not be surprised if people take it seriously. Here your (photograph) smile does this job. Keep it up and keep on writing.

  • Shammy, M'lore/Kuwait

    Sun, Mar 10 2013

    Heart touching letter by you Mr. Pais. even I experienced the same thing in my life. though it was not the same but related to it...& when a close friend ignore us like this, it will effect a lot. i use to go to meet my friend leaving my hubby @ home for 2-3times & came back in a lost mood...very sad thing....the incident just came before my eyes as i was reading u r letter like a recorded clip....
    i feel very bad now.....


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