AJ. The man that I’ve known.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.They will rest from their labour for their deeds will follow them.
Revelation chapter 14;13
A quick glimpse of the man that I have known in AJ –for it can only be a glimpse- his depth cannot be fathomed and described as it really should be. When we at the ELTC decided to express our deep sorrow over the demise of our dear friend ,guru and an honorable human, the verse that came to my mind was D.H.Lawrence’s What is he ?
‘What is he? A man of course!
But what does he do?
He lives and is a man’.
This is a comprehensive description of the man I have known .My perspective and my acquaintance with the man assure me that this is how AJ saw ‘man’. From the early encounters with this AJ has driven home the fact that man is and he lives – not a ‘tagged’ mortal. To be precise AJ treated all alike from the top rank to the bottom line, as each and everyone were a ‘man’ in his sight.
His academic excellence could not be contained in a mere special degree with a class. It is told that he missed a class as he invariably missed classes at lecture hall. He preferred a game of cards, to sitting through the boredom of a lecture. He has proved to the world that academic excellence is not attained through confirmed degrees, but through the academic pursuits of the individual. None could dare challenge the academic that AJ was though a ‘non- conformist’.
Despite the wealth of knowledge that was part of the man, his intellectual modesty elevated the image that he well deserved. There have been occasions when my sheer laziness prompted me to ask AJ for any clarification instead of checking up a dictionary. The older and the wiser of the two of us would walk up to the cupboard where the dictionary was and refer up the word for me, putting me to shame- one could not but be sure that AJ knew the word well already. One could easily trigger off a conversation on any topic with AJ- from politics to pizza –his contribution would be of immense value. In spite of the genius in the man he lived a humble, simple life so that anyone as simple as a babe could claim to have had acquaintance with the man.
My family had the great opportunity of hosting AJ for three months during the 1987 war. He was part of the family and there was not a single moment when we felt that there was an outsider at home. Our children loved him and he was an asset as he always was especially in looking after the children during our absence.
I have had the privilege of studying under AJ. I can never claim to be a bright student particularly in literature, but AJ encouraged me so much that it would be a surprise to find through the comments that he made on my assignments, that I myself had been capable of such writing. Such was the personality of the man who saw far beyond the writer.
His sense of humour is unbeatable. Some flippant comment would slip out of his tongue at the most appropriate moment ,in the most appropriate manner. He was broadly human enough to accept any practical jokes played on him. A classic example is the appearance of a big earthen pot set on a ‘thiruhani’ one fine morning, as a warning for the man not to mess around with his cigarette ashes at the ELTC. The better part of the whole episode is that the man accepted it as an ashtray without the slightest inhibition! No elderly spinster would have missed the matrimonial column at the ELTC for AJ. His simple ‘Go to hell’ would set us back on our seats.
My fear for AJ’s old age had always been that his strong conviction of remaining a bachelor life long would end up in misery and loneliness. God had been good even in this context to AJ. People who dearly loved him did look after him till the end and was always a much wanted person wherever he was. Now when I think back, I would gladly admit that the stubborn AJ who never wanted to get married had been wise in his unshakable decision. There could never have been a true replica of the man that AJ was. A unique creature!
The last time I called him was on his seventy second b’day-26.08.2006-when he told me clearly that he would not live to see another year. His only request was to pray for him which I had been doing for years.I know God answers prayers. His pure heart that enabled him to see God ,I am sure has taken him to be in His presence forever.
As I come to the end of this very inadequate appreciation, the stark naked truth dawns on me –the haunting memories of AJ can never fade away- for my immediate instinct was to show this to AJ for his invaluable comments!
HE LIVES AND IS A MAN
Shanthi
