NURUNGUKAL....2...CONTD...

          When I was a bachelor, a transfer from a place to another did not bother me much. There were only  a few items to be packed. But the situation was different after marriage. The biggest problem was to ensure to carry the breakables like crockery and glass wares. Some of our relatives had gifted dinner sets, glass tumblers etc, which carried  a stamp of sentiments also. So at any cost they were to be a part of our future life. Some of them adorn our show case even now  and the rest became an essential part of the kitchen.  List of things  related to our child was quite large and they occupied at leas two big trunks. Fortunately my mother-in-law had given  two such boxes to pack the clothes of my wife. They became useful now. Kitchen wares, my collection of books, personal files, wooden cots, beds etc. etc. the list went on and on . It took nearly two full days to pack. It would have been an impossible task if I had ventured to complete the task  myself. The help rendered by one of my staff Mr. Chadayan in this regard is unforgettable. He did a splendid job and his expertise in such work became evident  when I opened the packages on reaching Pondy. Even the most fragile items remained in tact.

          There was a formal farewell function.  It was a routine  meet, when the colleagues bundled out  words in praise of the transferred official. A gift was presented, followed by a reply by me thanking one and all for their unreserved co-operation and expressing a hope  to meet them again .Many a time in my service I had passed through such routine farewell parties and I felt the sentiments expressed on such occasions were just momentary . But after a lapse of many years  since my retirement  when some of them call me over phone and recap the old days my heart  really miss a few beats. It is now I sincerely feel the amount of love and esteem they still bestow on me.It has become my habit now  to unwind some of the scenes which had occurred during those days  and to express a silent gratitude to those friends who were at that point of time so close to my heart.  Gone are those glorious days which can never come back, except in our sub conscious mind vague like  a distant silhouette in a misty morning......contd