A MEMORABLE INCIDENT

Somayaji with Sundaresan

It was those days....early 1980's...... when I was living and working in Yola, Nigeria..... Friends were only relations.... Mr Sundaresan family was close friend to us..... they had a son Sreenivasan (Cheeni) Grade X, who was studying in India and two daughters Priya & Usha, living with them......
Communication was poor..... no telephones, no computers, no mobile phones or SMS's..... mutual visits were only contacts.....
Sreenivasan, then must be 15 yrs old, was to come from India to join his parents for holidays. Mr Sunaresan traveled to Kano, International Airport, a distance of almost 800 kms from Yola, to receive his son.......
Bur due to some emmigration clearance  issues, he was held up at Chennai Airport. The information was not received by the parents. They didn't know what happened to him and whole family was so worried that Sunderesan's wife, Prema, stopped cooking and eating also. Few days passed without any information.

Nalini with Premakka

As I and my wife were regular visitors to their house, after a week, one morning went to their house, told them casually...... Today, Cheeni will come..... I will go to the airport and bring him and left......
When the plane landed in Yola Airport, to my surprise, the boy was getting down from the plane...... without notice, was received and taken to parent's home........
Imagine the ecstasy of Sundaresan's family...... Premakka absolutely could not believe cheeni has come..... She hugged him and confirmed that it was true......

Dr Sreenivan,  wife and son

Last week, we met now Dr. Sreenivasan, (now scientist at Atomic Energy Commission, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu) his wife and son in Chennai..... remembered the incidence and laughed out loudly..
Thursday, 21 March 2013