A tribute to a life Well-lived

 I vividly remember Athimber reviewing the last pages of the mortal being by Atul Gawande at my home in Kochi on a sunny afternoon. The key takeaway he remarked to me, " A life well-lived is better than a life outlived." Pretty original! I remember this scene like it was just the other day. He loved words; especially it's interplay.


In his 82 years of storied life, he played steady test cricket. He always gave more premium to guarding his wicket than getting out of the crease. At times he was a happy non-striker patiently watching the ball roll by. He knew being on guard was more critical than playing for the stands. He was a debt market trader who understood the power of compounding. He quoted Keynes to me once in Hyderabad while dismissing my career anxieties. " In the long run, we are all dead."  


He was an engineer by profession. However, in his heart, he was a supply chain guy! A curious one at that. He asked many existential questions and probed them—one being the curious case of Jaggery. He had to negotiate a reasonable price for Jaggery during the annual grocery procurement expedition. The folklore has it that he went to the village where the Jaggery was made to understand its production and logistics. He came back to the wholesaler and outsmarted him with his knowledge. 

He was the founder of the annual grocery co-operative. He understood the virtue of wholesale before his fraternity of non-enterprising brahmins even fathomed it! During Kargil, he wondered aloud, " do the soldiers get hot tea in sub-zero conditions? How does the rice boil?" Existential questions they were! 


This is a Good time to dwell on the counterfactual. What if he was born in this era? Could he be at Amazon heading the logistics function or at Blue dart directing the supply chain? In his honor, we must name the annual purchase expedition as GK memorial wholesale co-operative. 

 

He loved reciting jokes. Athimber held his fort here. A popular one was that of the Tamil builder who builds a fragile building in Tokyo. What does he call it? Nikmo nikatho!! I like to believe that he created this joke. Another one of his originals was - What makes a road broad? I will leave you guessing for the answer. He repeated his jokes so many times that it became his signature repartees. He relished the power of repetition. When he is not with us today, this is what we recall - his crafty one-liners. I believe this was his way of walking to the stands at the end of his innings, reminding us of his cheeky singles. He loved words; especially it's interplay


His passing away was in character with his long legacy of poise and composure. He stared at death with the same equanimity and serenity, that had been his leitmotif through his life. It was not for him to bicker and complain about his suffering. But neither do you recall him shouting in joy when he achieved his big milestones. It is this attribute of his life that deserves to be celebrated. A life well-lived is better than a life outlived!



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