some persons you miss in life!

Some call him Ramu and some PNR.  He was P N Ramachandran who worked forSandvik Asia Ltd; in Pune!  For me he was a dear chitappa and more than the relationship, both of us developed a chord of friendship and understanding!  It was in the year 1970 when I was invited to Pune where Ramachandrans stayed.  I was trying to book tickets from Mumbai where I had gone on a vacation.  Suddenly this gentleman, my chitappa(uncle) turned up at my another uncle's house and posed me a question if I was ready to go along with him to Pune as he was leaving within the next 1 hour.  The offer of travel by Taxi from Mumbai to Pune lured me and I readily agreed!  I found him very cordial and warm and spoke in a language and style that comforted me and reach nearer to him.  He enlightened me about the famous Batata-vada, Vada-pav and the famous Maharashtrian Poha that were available on our way to Pune and that we could try that.  As an youngster, my stomach was ever ready to welcome food at any time and more so because of the environment that we were passing through to reach our destination.  It was Kopoli where we halted to have the snacks and a nice hot cup of tea to push the items inside your stomach!  We reached home late in the evening after a journey of nearly 4 hours as it used to be a 2 way lane unlike what is present.

My chitti fondly called as Vijayam had prepared elaborate dinner and made me feel comfortable and at home.  Both my chitti(aunt) and chitappa(uncle) took so much care and made sure of my entertainment during my visit by taking me to Saras Bagh/Pune Cantt/ Parvati and other places of tourist interest.  My chitappa who used to work for Sandvik Asia Ltd, Pune organised a grand dinner in one of the best hotels Pune had during those times known as Hotel  love nest.  I was thrilled to enter a nice hotel which looked like a five star hotel to me at that time!  I enjoyed not only the company of my uncle and aunt but also the food served which was of high quality.

My uncle planned a trip to Mahabaleshwar which was about 70 kms from Pune and that was the first time I ever went to a hill station!  The experience was awesome and still green in my memory.  We went Boating in the lake where the famous song of Sangam featuring Raj Kapoor and Vyjantimala (bol Radha Bol sangam hoga ke nahi) was filmed!  My joy knew no bounds and I felt like a hero myself boating on the lake!! We had a wonderful Gujarati lunch at a hotel and that was the first time I ever had Gujarati food!  We drove down in the Fiat(1962) car which my uncle owned with pride!  To crown my visit and to give me the ultimate enjoyment, my dear uncle booked me an A/c chair car ticket by Deccan Queen to take me back to Mumbai.  He ensured that I carried sufficient money to eat whatever i wanted during my journey to Mumbai.  My uncle gave me the first hand experience in things like travel by a private taxi, eating exotic snacks in Kopoli, dining in a star hotel, driving down in your own car to a hill station, gifts galore and travel back by A/c chair car in deccan Queen!!

Subsequently, we met several times both in Delhi when he came for official purposes and in Pune where I preferred all my vacations and holidays and we carried a unique relationship and bond of affection for each other.  We could catch up any time and talk like friends with a sense of humour and joke!

We attended his Sadabhishekam in Mumbai conducted in 2009 with much gaiety and religious sentiments, attended by hundreds of friends and relatives.  My dear uncle passed away a few months later and I felt sad to have lost a good friend who was so full of happiness always and spread happiness all around with his witty talks and patience to hear people.  Heart of hearts, I always pray for the noble,departed soul to rest in peace and continue to guide his family.