"What is your problem?" asked Gurumurthy.
"The problem I now have is accumulation of mucus in my chest" said Sitaraman.
"Why do you say now? Did you have some other problem earlier?"
Sitaraman smiled wryly.
"I keep facing some health issue almost on a continuous basis. So, I had been getting admitted to the hospital for treatment, every now and then."
Even before Sitaraman could complete the sentence, he began to cough. The cough lasted for several seconds.
"I am sorry. I have provoked your coughing, by engaging you in a conversation" said Gurumurthy, feeling guilty.
"No, no. It is not your fault. I can't be muting myself always, for the sake of preventing the cough from surfacing. If I were to do so, I won't have a life at all" said Sitaraman.
"Do you have this problem since long?"
"I have this problem from the time I was born. My parents were not well-to-do people. They got me treated at the government hospital in our place. I would get better after taking the medicine, but the problem would relapse. My parents were not tired of taking me to the hospital repeatedly. I was afflicted by various problems like cough, severe cold, fever etc, one taking over from other, like the runner of a relay race, passing the baton to another. Despite repeated treatments, the problems kept coming up again and again. The same story continues till now."
"Life would have been very difficult for you."
"Yes. Initially, my parents were not sure whether it was wise to send me to school. However, they did get me admitted to a school. In the school, I was seated a little away from other students, lest other students should contract the ailment from me. I had to miss school several days in a year, due to my ill health. But I worked hard and studied well.
"When I moved to the high school, the head master of the school took special interest in me and encouraged me in many ways. When I didn't have the minimum attendance required to qualify me for taking the SSLC examination, he gave me attendance for additional days and made me take the examination.
"Since I had secured high scores in the SSLC examination, I got a scholarship for my college studies. In the college, some students nicknamed me 'Sick Sitaraman.' Perhaps, they had the satisfaction of creating a rhyming phrase, apparently showing their proficiency in English! When I was studying in the college, my father passed away. Despite the financial problems faced by my family after my father's demise, I somehow managed to complete my college education and acquire a B.Com degree.
"Then began my employment phase. Since I had to take leave quite often due to my health problems, I could not continue in a job for a long time. I would lose one job and take up another. After losing my job three times, I joined a small firm as the Accountant. The proprietor of the firm empathized with me and supported me. He gave me paid leave for the days I couldn't attend office, due to my illness.
"Those days, only the wealthy people could afford to have a telephone in their homes. You may not believe this. My proprietor got me a phone connection at my house and facilitated my working from my home by talking to my subordinates over phone and directing them to do the tasks required to be done. I think I am the first person in the world to have worked for an office by sitting at home, long before the concept of 'work from home' came into vogue!"
Sitaraman laughed.
Gurumurthy looked at him with the apprehension that his laughter could provoke the cough again.
"How many people are there in your family?" asked Gurumurthy, reluctantly.
"I understand your question. You want to ask me whether I got married. I had decided that I won't get married, given my health condition. My mother was also reluctant to seek an alliance for me, after telling the parents of the prospective brides about my health condition. But, a girl belonging to a family known to us came forward to marry me. When she told me 'A person like you needs a companion,' I was in tears."
Sitaraman's voice was choked with emotion.
"What a noble heart she has! Is it not something you should feel happy about" said Gurumurthy, in an attempt to cheer Sitaraman and bring him out of his emotion, out of concern that becoming emotional would make him cough again.
"Yes, of course. But, alas! She is no more. She left me, after giving birth to a son. I used to think that she left after giving me a son, realizing that I needed someone to take care of me. My mother had left me even before my wife died. You can't imagine how much I struggled to bring up my son, with me being alone and sick!"
"What is your son doing?"
"He is well placed in a big company. He earns handsomely. From my childhood, I had been getting treatment only in government hospitals. But, after my son took up a job, I enjoy the luxury of getting treated in private hospitals" said Sitaraman and laughed.
"I am amazed to listen to your story. I am a person who gets upset even by small inconveniences. But you maintain a cheerful disposition, even after undergoing so many sufferings" said Gurumurthy, with genuine admiration.
"Whenever I face a problem in my life, I will think about the good fortunes I have had in my life and rejoice. The love and affection showered on me by my parents, my ability to do well in my studies despite my chronic ailments, my high school headmaster who encouraged and helped me, my proprietor who went to extraordinary lengths to help me perform my job, by devising ways to overcome my shortcomings, the fortune that shined on me in the form of my wife, my son who has so much concern and affection for me...When I have been blessed with so many good things in my life, why should I grieve over my sufferings?" said "Sick Sitaraman' with a smile that reflected his cheerful mind.
"No setback will affect you, sir. You will live long with good health and happiness. Meeting you in this hospital room is a blessing for me" said Gurumurthy, feeling overwhelmed.
Gurumurthy's son who stepped into the room told him, "Dad! A single bed room has fallen vacant. You can move over there."
"No. I am happy to be in this room, with my friend here!" said Gurumurthy, looking at Sitaraman, with a friendly smile.
Section 2
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble
adukki varinum azhivu ilAn uRRa
idukkaN idukkaN padum.
Verse 624
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