Memoirs      
Love That Changed His Life

"You've got mail" - the little pop up box came up. I was too busy doing nothing so I decided to check out who on earth thought of me at this unearthly hour. It was Adri. How many years is it since I heard from him? May be five may be ten. I was happy that he had written to me. From reading Adri's mail all I could gather was that he was happily married and had changed quite a bit.

Adri was my classmate and my best chum in school. But like all parents do, my parents were not happy that I got such a "bad guy" as a friend. I was strictly told not to talk to him! Adri sat next to me in class and I could not avoid talking to him. He was a very rough guy and was generally a loner. Everybody kept away from him and he kept away from everyone. He was very intelligent and would score good marks but he used very bad language and did not have any great habits to speak of.

Adri came from a good family. His sisters also studied in the same school as us and they were also brilliant in school but they did not behave like him. He was the odd one out in both school and home. He was a rebel. His Dad was proud of him and his Mom feared him. I liked him for some reason. No, don't mistake me I did not love him, I could never fall in love with such a character but I liked him. There was something in him that made me talk to him against my parent's wishes.

It was not his brilliance in studies, not his sense of humor, not his looks but something incomprehensible. He was a very friendly guy though he could never talk in a gentle manner. He was always there to help everyone as long as they did not hurt him in anyway. But still something kept him aloof from the rest of the crowd. 

As years went by we moved to different colleges but still we hadn't stopped communicating with each other. All my female friends wondered how I could be friendly with a guy like him. They all felt sorry for the girl who would get married to him. At some stage I myself had given up hope that he would change for the better. He had finished his post graduation; found himself a great job but hadn't changed a bit. If anything he was drinking more and smoking more. 

The only person who touched his heart at that time was his little niece. She was always with him whenever he was at home. He would take her out all the time. That is when I thought that he would change for the better someday soon. And that is exactly when I lost touch with him.

And now after years I had got a mail from him. When I read the mail I knew that he had changed and he had changed for the better. I called him up immediately and he told me how he was sure that I would notice the number in the signature and call him back. According to him I had not changed a single bit.

After talking to him and his wife I realised what was the reason for the change. It was his loving wife Nisha. She seemed to be a real patient woman. She had been very loving and understanding and patient with him that made him slowly decide that he did not need any nasha other than Nisha anymore. He had even stopped drinking and smoking, though he accepted that it was very difficult initially but Nisha was very supportive all along.

How did none of us think that all this guy needed was love? Instead of showering him with love all of kept away and felt sorry, irritated and what not. Today he stands as an excellent example of what wonders love can do. I've read many stories like this, but none touched my heart so much, probably because Adri himself was so close to my heart. We read stories, sometimes shed tears, but how many times have we put it into practice? Adri's case taught me that stories do have a base in them somewhere. From now on I've promised get out the best in whatever I read and put them into practice whenever I can.  

– Shyamala Sathiaseelan
October 21, 2001

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