By God's Grace

A man, seemingly in his late 50s, approached me in the park. My German Shepherd started to bark at him, his natural reaction at any stranger. I shut up my pet. The man with his folded hands greeted, “Namaste.”

“Namaste,” I responded, puzzled. In all probability, I did not know him.

“I know what you must be thinking,” the man smiled. “I am new in your block, a couple of lanes away. I have seen you take a walk here, daily.”

“Oh, okay. I don’t step out much of my house, so probably never saw you earlier.”

“Nevermind. I am Kamat. I have come to stay here with my son.”

“Your son?”

“Yes, he has recently settled here. You might not be knowing him as well.”

“Okay,” I replied, not going into too much detail about his son.

“May I walk along with you?” he asked politely.

“Sure,” I smiled. We started to walk together in the park.

“Oh, by the way, I am Suneel, Suneel Mishra. Retired, and at home now.”

“Good to know you. All well at home?” Mr. Kamat asked with a personal touch.

“Oh yes, thank you for asking. All is going good, by God’s grace,” I replied.

“That’s nice,” Mr. Kamat nodded. He left shortly. There was something pleasant about the man, the way he interacted. It felt good.

Back home, I sat aside my ailing wife. She had been bedridden for almost 3 years now. A major part of my day went into taking care of her needs. To take a break from the hectic schedule, I made it a daily routine to stroll in the nearby park.

“When shall this time pass?” my better half asked with suppressed words.

“Have faith in the almighty. He will take care of everything,” I assured her. She clutched my hand hard.

Post dinner, I prayed to God like any other day, before going to bed:

Hey Lord! Thank you for the beautiful life I have, with my family & friends. Bless me as always and give me strength. Thank you for everything.

The next morning, I got a call from my elder son who was settled in US for more than 4 years now.

“How are you son?”

“Okay,” my usually chirpy son responded in a dull tone.

“What happened Abhay?” I sensed his mood.

“Situation is not very good in the office. Pink slip has been issued to many in the last few weeks,” Abhay said.

“What? Why?” I asked worriedly.

“The company feels they have surplus resources. They are finding it difficult to afford the IT staff,” my elder son explained. “Let’s see what happens,” he said after a pause.

“May God be with you,” I said and disconnected the call. I closed my eyes and prayed for the well-being of my son.

“Did Abhay call?” Mamta asked. We were married for 30 years now.

“Yes. All is well,” I told my wife and left the room.

I met Mr. Kamat in the evening again. “Hello, Suneel ji,” he patted my back.

“Mr. Kamat!”

“So what’s new at home?” he asked casually, as we walked together. My dog barked at Mr. Kamat everytime it saw him, and I had to shut my pet all the time.

“Nothing much.”

“Who all are there in your family?”

“I am blessed with two sons, and a daughter. Daughter is married, elder son is settled in US, and the younger one stays with me…at least uptil now,” I answered.

I was never happy with Abhay’s decision to leave us and settle abroad. I had relied on Abhay for all important decisions at home and he was a big support. Nitish, my younger son, lived in his own world and wasn’t close to us. Abhay, on the contrary, loved us but big money and better growth prospects lured him to US.

We walked together for another half an hour before Mr. Kamat said goodbye.

Days passed by and Mr. Kamat & I became really good friends. He knew a lot about me now, though he himself didn’t talk too much about his family or friends.

One fine day, my daughter visited home. Sumitra had visited us after long. I hugged her instantly.

“How is mom?” my daughter dear asked. She was yet to meet her mom, who was asleep in the adjacent room.

“No significant improvement. Anyways, hope things are good at your end.” Sumitra’s eyes became moist.

“Worried about mom?” I asked my concerned daughter.

“Papa, Shirish...,” she did not finish her sentence.

“Why do you seem to be so worried? Finish what you want to say,” I laid my hand on her head.

“I never told you earlier, but…we have frequent fights,” Sumitra started to weep as she talked about her turmoil relationship with her husband.

“Why did you hide this earlier?” I asked.

“I believed things would settle back to normal, but they never did,” she continued to cry.

“Don’t discuss this with mom. Stay with us for a few days…and have faith in God,” I tried to calm her.

I met Kamat ji after a couple of days, at the park.

“Aap aaye nahi do din se?” Mr. Kamat asked.

“My daughter has come to meet us, so spending time with her,” I answered.

“Oh, good. How is she doing, happily married?” he smiled.

“Yes, of course. God has been very kind to us,” I responded.

Sumitra returned to her in-laws after 4 days. I asked her to try yet again to make her relationship work.

Later that day, Abhay called twice but I couldn’t pick his call. The third time he called, I was with Kamat ji at the park, taking a brisk walk. I picked up his call this time.

“Bad news dad.” These were the first words Abhay spoke. I stayed silent.

“Dad…can you hear me?”

“Yes…..what happened?” I dreaded his answer.

“I lost my job. I have to come back to India.” I disconnected the call. The expressions on my face changed.

“All well? Who had called up?” Kamat ji had guessed something was wrong.

“My son, Abhay,” I replied.

“Kya hua?” he asked again.

“Nothing, sab theek hai.” I put on a fake smile. “Let’s walk.” I started to walk. Mr. Kamat followed me.

Two weeks later, I was at the dinner table with Nitish and Abhay.

“What’s going on Nitish?” I asked my younger son, with a spoon of rice in my hand.

“Nothing. As usual,” Nitish replied bluntly.

“That’s what I want to know beta. What is your As usual?”

No response.

“You stay in your own space all the time, don’t interact with us. You seem to be disturbed since a few days,” I asserted.

“Abhay bhai is here now, with you and mom,” Nitish looked at Abhay as he spoke.

“We need you also. You are also our son,” my voice choked. Nitish left the half-eaten rice plate and went straight into his room.

I prayed to the almighty before I slept, like all other days:

Hey Lord! Thank you for the beautiful life I have, with my family & friends. Bless me as always and give me strength. Thank you for everything.

Tough time continued. My son-in-law wanted divorce from my daughter. Sumitra was back home and this time, I could not hide this fact from my wife, whose ill-health continued to be a cause of worry.

“Dad, I swear, I tried everything I could to make it work but Shirish is adamant. He fights for no reason at all,” Sumitra said, who had started to accept that divorce was on cards.   

“What do you suspect?”

“He is seeing someone, probably in his office. His body language tells me that, even though he refuses to admit,” she asserted.

The next morning, Abhay came to me.

“Any job calls Abhay?” I asked casually.

“I am trying dad, let’s see.” I patted his back.

“Dad, I want to tell you something,” he continued to speak.

“Go ahead.”

“Dad….I think Nitish is doing drugs,” Abhay said hesitatingly.

“What?!” I exclaimed, taken aback.

“Probably not to a dangerous extent. He is part of some betting group. I have heard him talking to a person on phone, a friend.”

I lost my senses. I started to rush towards Nitish’s room, when Abhay stopped me.

“Dad…Dad, please. This is not the right time. I will handle this,” Abhay assured me.

I left for the park. That might lighten up my mood a bit, I thought. I called up Mr. Kamat.

“Kamat ji, good morning,” I greeted him.

“Good morning. Kahiye.”

“Would you like to come to the park?” I asked him.

“Abhi? Umm....okay, will reach in 15-odd minutes.”

I reached the park and waited for Mr. Kamat, sitting on the newly painted bench.

“How are you Suneel ji?” Mr. Kamat’s voice interrupted my thoughts as I was lost in my problems at home.

“Thank you for coming, Kamat ji.”

“Shall I ask you something?” he asked. “You seem to be in some trouble. I can read your face,” he said, without waiting for my nod.

I opened my heart out to him. I probably wanted to do that and had called him to the park for that reason.

My wife’s illness, my elder son’s unemployment, my younger son’s lifestyle, and my daughter’s turbulent marriage – I discussed it all.

“Oh, I can empathize with you Suneel ji. But whenever I asked you in the past, you insisted that God had been kind to you.”

“Yes, certainly,” I replied.

“But what about your problems?” he asked.

“I can’t blame God for my problems, or say that he has been unkind to me.”

“Of course, he has been unkind to you. Who else? If he wished, your life would have been problem-free.”

“Whose life is problem-free? Nobody’s. We have to tackle with our life and its underlying problems,” I asserted.

“So what, according to you, is the role of God?”

“He is the guide, the mentor, the source of inspiration, and the caretaker. He will eventually help us get rid of all the troubles in our lives, only if we trust him and have complete faith in him.”

“Trust? What have you achieved so far by trusting him? Your life is a living hell at the moment,” Mr. Kamat mentioned, irritated.

“But I still have faith in him,” I said, with firmness in my voice. “Are you an atheist?” I asked Mr. Kamat, after a brief pause.

“Yes I am, if you may know,” he answered, and stood up. “Belief in God will land you nowhere Mr. Suneel,” he shouted as he walked away.

I was astonished at the behavior of Mr. Kamat. We had very good terms with each other but the question was of belief – belief in God. I did not see Mr. Kamat at the park again. Probably, he changed his time of visit to the park to avoid another altercation. I thought of calling him once, but then decided against it.

67 days later

At a fine restaurant, we all were enjoying our meal. Chinese, North Indian, South Indian – the table had it all. Nitish had ordered Manchurian with fried rice, Abhay ordered his usual Punjabi thali, Sumitra & Shirish were loving Malai Kofta & Pindi Chana and we oldies, me and my wife Mamta settled for light-on-stomach Rava Masala Dosa.  

In a sudden turn of events, my life had taken a U-turn and situation changed for better. God had showered his love upon me and in what manner!

I wanted to share these events with Mr. Kamat, more so after that conflict of belief between us.  I called him the next day but the number was switched off. I could not resist and went around in my colony to look for his house. The chowkidar in his lane helped me locate his residence.

I pressed the doorbell twice. A young fellow opened the door. He had a son who had recently settled here, he had told me.

“Hello beta. You must be Kamat’s son.” I actually intended to confirm from him.

“Yes….uncle. You?”

“Of course you don’t know me. Your dad and I are friends. We take a walk at the nearby park daily, I mean….we used to.” I had not seen him for more than 2 months now.

“Used to? When?” he questioned as if I was cooking up all this.

“Roughly 2 months ago. Why?” I answered, and counter questioned.

He did not speak, and had this bewildered look on his face. He took me inside, and pointed his finger to the framed photograph hanged on the wall. The frame had a garland over it, which looked fresh. It was Mr. Kamat.

I was dumbstruck. Now I knew why I never got to see him in the last couple of months.

“Oh, I am sorry. When did this happen?” I was quick to ask.

“Yesterday was his death anniversary,” Mr. Kamat’s son answered with heaviness in his voice. “And when did you say you met him…2 months ago?” he asked, still puzzled.

My body stood stiff, cold and still like a dead body. If he was not among us for a year now, whom did I meet in the park, daily?

“I think there is some confusion. Nevermind, I have to leave,” I responded, after I recovered, with whatever struck my mind.

Before he could analyze and react to my words, I exited Mr. Kamat’s house. I rushed straight to my room after I reached home, and latched the door. I gulped a glass of water, and sat on the chair lying in the corner of the room, head down.  My eyes closed, Mr. Kamat’s wavering image dominated my mind.

“I know what you just went through was disturbing,” a voice echoed in the room. I opened my eyes. I was hallucinating. There was no one in the room.

“You have passed the test with flying colors, my child.” It was the same voice. I tried to compose myself.

“Who…who is it?” I mustered courage, and asked.

“God,” pat came the reply.

“Who?” I wished to confirm.

“It’s me, the creator of this universe, the one.”

“God? Oh-my-God!” I exclaimed.

“Yes. I know you have lots of questions to ask. Go ahead.”

I held my nerves and got ready for the conversation.

“His son told me he died a year ago, Mr. Kamat…,” I paused.

“Yes indeed. The soul you met at the park was an atheist when he left this earth and travelled to me. It does not matter if you believe in me or not, you all will have to come to me at the end.”

I kept quiet. I just wanted to listen to his magical words.

“Like I said earlier, you passed the test. The soul I sent on earth tested your patience, questioned your beliefs, and tried to manipulate your conviction, but your faith in me was intact. Your unshaken credence in my divine powers is what pleased me, my son.”

I was in a different world. It felt heavenly.

“Lord, I am speechless. I just want to say – Thank you. Thank you for fixing everything in my life.” I closed my eyes, and cried with joy.

My wife was speedily recovering and could now walk with some support. Abhay, my elder son, had notched a job with an IT major within the city, and got a prominent position. He vowed to stay with us, forever.

Nitish broke down when Abhay, as he promised he would, confronted his younger brother and made him spill the beans. Luckily for us, one of Nitish’s accomplices was held by police in a betting racket and this made him vulnerable to confide in his elder brother, when questioned. His behavior changed overnight and we were now a happy lot.

My son-in-law Shirish too learnt his lessons. As Sumitra had sensed, he had an extra-marital affair with a woman colleague. My daughter took charge and got hold of that woman, who claimed she was unaware that Shirish was married. She was too hurt to continue in the same office, and resigned. She also threatened to lodge a complaint against the cheater, but held her decision on Sumitra’s plead. Shirish apologized, and we all agreed to forgive him.

I had now realized how this turnaround happened in my life – by God’s grace.

7 months later

“Dad, something interesting happened today,” Abhay spoke as he picked up Real juice from the refrigerator. He was still sweating after his evening jogging session at the nearby park.

“What?” I asked, not paying too much attention to his words.

“This man came to me at the park – must be in his 50s, and tried to befriend me. He was a warm person though, and I liked the way he interacted,” Abhay told me.

“Hmm…,” I responded, just for the heck of it. I was busy reading.

“And dad, he kept asking how things were going on in our family….et cetera, et cetera.” Abhay paused for a while, and then said, “I never saw him earlier.”

This diverted my attention. I removed my glasses.

“Who was he?” I asked, unsure if Abhay had an answer to it.

“Oh yes, I did ask him. He was…he was Mr. Kamat. Any idea who this fellow could be?”

I put on my glasses back, shadowed my face behind the newspaper I was reading, looked upwards, and just smiled – to God.

(End of Story)