Tang of dried figs

A cartonful of medicines and medical accessories were being placed into my hands by the dispenser at the hospital where a beloved person had just undergone an angiogram when my phone rang.

'Benoy is no more,' the voice said stifling a sob.

Benoy was a friend who was my batchmate from 1975 to 1978. The friendship endured till his ultimate departure because he had a unique ability to retain friendships. He took extraordinary pains to collect the whereabouts of each member of that particular batch and organise a gathering of theirs in Kochi about a decade back. He made a data bank of each one's significant dates such as birthday, wedding, and spouse's birthday. He wished each one on those occasions at the WhatsApp group he formed. Every friend was special for him.

'I won't leave you,' he told me when I left the WhatsApp group which I found a bit obscurantist in outlooks. But I was adamant on leaving the group with which I couldn't identify myself. Moreover, most members in the group were uncomfortable with my irreverence towards religion.

Benoy found a solution. He formed another group of the same batchmates but only those who could accept any and all kinds of views and opinions. This new group inspired my story 'Dirty Saints.'  In spite of heavily accentuated personal differences, the members of the new group held together because of the unique charm that Benoy exuded. The group had an informal get-together last year in Kochi. That was the last time I met Benoy.

The tang of dried figs rises turns sour on my palette. That was his last gift. 'Let Maggie have a taste of this biblical fruit,' he said placing a packet of dried figs in my hands. Fruits from God's garden.

He was a devoted Catholic and I a proclaimed atheist. There were all sorts of people in that heterogeneous group which only Benoy could have held together so effortlessly.

It is another leading member of the group who gave me the heartrending news about Benoy's surrender to Covid-19 after a protracted battle in a Dubai hospital. My heart grieves for the untimely end of one of the finest persons I have known. I hope his wife and son will endure their grief with fortitude.

Nobody could understand and accept the entire spectrum of human attitudes and outlooks as Benoy could. The world is a much poorer place because of his departure.