40 Years of Employment -- Sadness to Deal with--Gratitude Series Part 6

 I will be failing if I cannot thank V Kumar (another Kumar indeed). Kumar was our senior at our audit firm. When I joined the audit firm, Kumar was in charge of all the article Interns. We were about seven of us who more or less joined in at the same time and Kumar was senior to us by at least three years in the firm.  Kumar had completed his intermediate exams and as he was preparing for his final exams, he continued with our Principal who was also happy to have him transition his experience to the new joiners. 

One would remember as I joined the firm,  ( Part 1 of this series ) I was surprised when my Principal immediately asked for the Registration forms to be signed. I was told to get the Forms  from the CA Institute which was around 4 KMS away. I was waiting in the reception area not knowing how to get there. I simply did not have any money to take a bus. Walking was not an option. Kumar saw me at the reception and knew my concern right away without talking to me. He went back to his desk and came back with the key of his bicycle. He told me to take the cycle, go to the institute and get the forms which was what I did. There began my bonding and  association with him. 

Kumar was very spiritual. Being closest to the office, he used to came in last ! But his work and understanding of the nuances of each of the clients was very thorough. As we prepared financials of different clients, he would answer questions without even looking at the files of the client. Such was his mastery over the information.  Kumar became a big “Go to Person” for any office work. Very patient , he would love to spend time with each of us. Before the statements went up to our Principal for review , Kumar had to take a look at it. Lot of us  settling down quickly at the firm was largely due to his efforts. He was able to embrace all of us.

As I moved on, to my Industrial training and to my first job, I kept in touch with him. This happened when I had just joined my first employer, maybe two or three weeks into my job, on a Saturday, I was notified that Kumar was admitted to a hospital. We all knew that Dec days were tough for him due to his wheezing problem.  Post my work that day, I visited him in the hospital. He was in a general ward with several others and looked to be recovering.  I did not meet him on Sunday. 

Post work on Monday, I visited the hospital – to my utter surprise his bed was empty. The next bed guy said in Tamil “ Veettukku kuttitu Poitanga” (They took him home ). I was happy and thinking he was fine and discharged , decided to get to his house to see him.  As I reached their home, I saw the entire house being watered out. That gave me an anxiety that I could not express. As I entered the house , Kumar’s brother broke the news that he was no more. I was  now able to realise what the next bed patient told me. I was stunned and could not respond. I just could not handle that. He was may be 26 or so.  Don't they say who "He who the gods love dies young" ☹ 

It took me some time to get over this.  Some of us who served at the firm continued to talk about his spiritual attachment and his easy going nature and willingness to share knowledge and help…… Gratitude to that wonderful soul…



Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh no. So sorry 😔
2:30 PM
Anonymous said…
Oh no. What was the cause of his demise? How did you get through that at such a young age?
7:29 PM
Anonymous said…
From V Radhakrishan ( colleague at Audit Firm with Sri 1984 -86 ) : Very moving . It took us all lot of time to come to terms with it. We both ( Kumar and Me ) went for Yoga classes in the mornings , as both were suffering breathing problems, that time. Vividly remember everything you have written
12:22 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

40 Years of Employment -- Gratitude Series 1

  I completed 40 years of being employed  continously recently - That was a long period of time and many others  like me would have crossed this milestone in their careers. I wanted to use this milestone to thank so many people who have helped, provided me with opportunities, supported me, trusted me and wholeheartedly wanted me to do well.  My first thanks of course goes to the Almighty for his abundant blessings. My first full time employment started in Aug 1984 enrolling myself as a Articled Assistant to pursue my Chartered Accountancy (CA). Before getting to this point, my whole career was shaped up by one of my mother’s cousins who I took as a role model  and got in to  Commerce Stream - V S Kumar or Kumar Anna to me was the guiding force for me to get into the commerce stream. He spoke to me a lot in my younger days, in deciding what one wants to be and what your liking was and was fierce in advising me to make decisions on my own. ...
Read more

40 Years of Employment -- Gratitude Series Part 5

  Well here is how I got my first job… Was it the one I dreamt off ? Not Really but it was good because I lasted in that Company for nearly 8 years.    Having cleared Chartered Accountancy in my first attempt and even before my tenure of articleship was completed , you could say I was over the moon (horns all over my head). People around me said you will be picked up in no time. Results came in July 1987 but till August end nothing happened. I was looking at the Institute’s job opportunities Board , the Saturday Hindu publication of opportunities and so on. No one wanted a Chartered Accountant. It was a stark reality that simply opportunities were not available or I was not looking at the right places.      My existing employer did have a conversation about taking me in but they offered me a Plant Accountant role in a God forsaken place ( Now God’s own Country 😊 – how times change ? ). I politely declined it. I completed my internship and from Aug...
Read more

40 Years of Employment -- Gratitude Series Part 2

    Post joining my articleship, the next 12-14 months passed quite fast. I continued to relish my day job and the evening college. Weekdays were action packed - Office from 10 AM to 5 PM and College from 5:30 till 8:30 PM .Saturday had only office (what a relief it was get home early rather than 10 PM daily) and Sunday was about all play and no work. I used to be an active cricketer and so there would a match for sure. As time passed like this so joyfully, it was time to face the intermediate exams of the Chartered Accountancy Course in Nov 1985 and that meant curtailment of all sorts. Once again, my Principal Mr. B Gopalakrishan granted me two months leave to prepare. However, I had to go to  college every day during the study leave. There were three of us who prepared for this exam, gratitude to K C Narasiman (Natchu) who took on the role of guiding us through the journey. Preparation was intense. My schedule was just crazy - get up at 4 AM , follow the ti...
Read more