Yesterday was the day I had shared the news of home leaving to many.  Thara and Rishi had got a holiday due to a death of prominent politicians and Manu was at home for his vacation. My second son, Rishi suggested let us give a dinner at Paragon to Papa and we all ended up in Paragon @ Church Street for an early dinner.  He knew my favorite eating places in Blr are TRC and Paragon.

After placing order, as I was looking at Manu and Rishi’s face and listening to their discussion, what came to my mind was what Gibran wrote in The Prophet. I wonder, how many times I would have read that small book.  May be at least 100 times. Though I can type in most of the passages from my memory, let me quote from the text.

 On Children

And a woman who held a baby against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
     And he said:
     Your children are not your children.
     They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
     They come through you but not from you,
     And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

     You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
     For they have their own thoughts.
     You may house their bodies but not their souls,
     For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
     You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
     For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
     You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
     The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
     Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
     For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

From The Prophet (Knopf, 1923). This poem is in the public domain.

 A long time back when Thara’s grand uncle, who was a very wealthy coffee planter in Wynad, had visited us in Bangalore.  He then suggested us to send our children to Rishi Valley School. He himself had his school education at Rishi Valley before Second world war and then went to UCLA for his graduation. When Thara had mentioned that will be too expensive, he did very generously offer that he will pay their fees.  It so seems, even after Thara completed her Engineering , he did offer to fund her higher education in USA. But her conservative father could not even imagine his daughter studying is such a faraway place. visited us in Bangalore.  Maybe I was fortunate  , Or I would not have met her and married her…   

We both moved to Kanakapura Road from BTM Layout, so that our children go to a Krishnamurti school.  When we went for Manu’s interview, (the school interviews parents and not children to ascertain their fitment to school’s purpose and culture), Dr. Satish Inamdar, who was then the Director of the school, told us, you got to let go your child, as a mother bird let her younger one fly away.  Your son may end up as a great artist or ordinary painter. In a way, he was advising us not to project our own life aspirations to our children.  It was quite a sage like, and he said it like a prophet.

 Much later, as Manu was considering his post school options, as a matter of a fact, he told me and Thara, “while I appreciate what you both are, I really don’t want to be like you.  I want to be rich, and I want to be an investment banker.”.  HE wanted to further pursue his education in financial engineering and currently enrolled in a Applied economics degree at JGU.  Last week, he taught me about Options and futures in such simple terms, I was all ears, and my heart was swelling with pride and admiration for him.

 And Rish is just on the opposite end of the spectrum. He draws and paints well and I was suggesting him to take up Fine arts. But his mind is so focused in Sports management, he even spent a few weeks at Rahul Dravid academy. He is the one of the foremost fan of Manchester United, wants to be in Sports Management.  His craze for ManU might have been started, after I got to him a few original football jerseys , while I was working in Gulf.  The first one was a ManU jersey.  . I jokingly told him that I will work hard to finance his MBA in Sports Mgmt., he will work for Liverpool Football Club instead of his dream job at Man United.  I was asking hm, how can a Liverpool fan, finance a potential employee of our rival Manchester United!!   I was urging him to switch sides.   He with a brave face, told me, Papa I don’t need your money, I will apply for a sports loan. But I am going to work for Manchester United.

 Food came and discussions topics too changed.

 While we were waiting for the bill, Thara shared a recent news story of Anada Krishnan, the Malaysian Tycoon who passed away just a few days ago. It so seems, his son left a $ 5 Billion inheritance to be a Zen monk in a monastery at the age of 18. Now he is an Abbot in that monastery.  When Rishi asked me, “Papa, aren’t you too leaving a billion dollar each, pointing to Manu and himself. “,

 I could just respond with a wry smile.

 I thought as I was getting up after paying the bill with my credit card, but did not say, “there are things money can’t buy, like Manu, Rishi  Thara and Zen.  For rest of the things there is Mastercard.”