Dan went over to the
kitchen, Srini followed him. The task of getting the roast out and serving the
meal gave Dan just the break he needed to compose himself and think.
The two friends sat down to
have dinner. Srini poured out the Chill-wine. Dan brought out one of his own
favourite country wine that Srini too liked. They served the meal on the
plates, sat down and ate quietly. Both were hungry and surprisingly the quiet
helped them eat. Srini seemed to eat well, while Dan's appetite was a little
impacted by the news. Thoughts were racing through his mind and he knew better
than to show them or talk about them now. "All in good time," he knew
as Srini was fond of saying.
Dan knew that Srini had a
very good relationship with both his children. He was not sure if Srini did not
want to leave them anything. Even if that were the case, from what he knew, the
kids would not mind. They were independent, hardworking and had never shown any
desire or expectation from Srini. If anything they would try and help and pitch
in anytime they thought he might need something. But still, he was aware of the
normal instinct of a parent to leave something behind for their kids. A few did
not for specific reasons. Dan had dealt with the business side of such legal
wills and wishes.
After a quiet dinner, the
two friends walked over to the couch and sat across from each other, their
half-filled wine glasses in hand. Srini looked at Dan's concerned face with a
cheeky smile.
It appeared he could guess
what was going through Dan's mind that he did not want to ask. He just wanted
to listen.
"Dan, it is not that I
don't want to leave anything for my kids. Sure I do. That is only part of it. I
want to give them something as soon as possible. I want to spend the rest
myself and leave with just a penny."
"Of course Srini, you
can do what you want with your money and assets. I will see that it is done
legally according to your wishes. I cannot personally give you the legal
advice, but Steve my manager can. He is the one qualified to do so. I can tell
you the tax implications and suggest strategies. I have worked on cases with
him where the children got nothing and contested the will. We did the right
thing. But can I ask why and how you came to such a decision?"
"I have long had a faith and
belief," said Srini with a faraway look in his eyes,"I think I got it
from my grandfather. He worked hard and struggled, but fate always seemed
against him. He did everything he could for my father and us, as little
children. He was dead set against borrowing or getting into debt. But he finally did it out of desperation to
pay for my father's education and paid it off. He then borrowed to help treat
my brother's illness. He expected to pay that off before he died, but could not
manage it. He had to witness a repossession of some things in the days before
he died. I remember on his death bed, he bade us all goodbye and had a message
for my father and blessings for us. We all witnessed it."
Dan listened quietly.
Srini continued, "My
grandfather said he had tried to live to our ancient cultural maxim that we
come into this world with nothing and we leave taking nothing with us. But if
we leave it without owing anything to anybody, paying all our debts with the last
penny, it was a measure of a successful life. He expressed regret that he was
not able to do so. He apologised to his children and blessed them.
"I hope you can die
without owing anything to anyone, even if you die with your last penny just
spent. You will have done better than I did. I hope your children do better
than you do," said my grandfather to my father. My father worked hard all his life and
achieved that. He died with nothing to his name, but he did not leave us any
debts. I want to do one better than my dad according to his and grandfather's
wishes. I want to die with just a penny to my name. I want to hold it in my
hand and take it with me. One of my heroes - and Indian actor called Ashok
Kumar, did this. He wanted to take something to give his maker, as he put
it," Srini said smiling, with a calm firm conviction that was born of a
long, deep seated desire.
Dan was surprised a bit to
hear this. He had seen Srini work and plan to grow his business and wealth just
like anyone else he had seen, who wanted more, wanted to live really well and
leave behind a sizable fortune to his family and to some dear causes. Dan
realised he was witnessing the revelation of deep cultural roots, beliefs and
memories of a distant land and culture in his friend's explanation.
Copyright (c) Kannan Narayanamurthy 2015
All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment