Of all my father’s colleagues who came to our house, I liked Srivastava uncle—and would love to sit by his side as long as he stayed in our house. And it was not without reason. Everyone affectionately called him ‘astrologer uncle’. He always had paper and pencil in his pocket and would whip them out to work on a solution to the queries posed to him. Many approached him with their problems—be it their daughter’s marriage, son’s education or even buying a house. He would promptly do some calculations after asking for their date of birth and name with spelling, and give his prediction.
One day when my father asked him about my future, he gave a one-line statement in writing: ‘Son going abroad’ . That made my father happy. Sixty summers have since passed and I am still to experience any indications of going abroad. Save myself, my parents, my sister—who has in fact become a British citizen—and even my daughter, have gone abroad.
My only consolation is that I have a valid passport which I faithfully renew periodically. In fact when I got a job in a public sector bank that had overseas branches, I had a hunch that the prediction was going to fructify. So, I had made necessary preparations. I started with the passport and even read foreign exchange regulations. For inquisitive minds in the office, I gave the stock reply that a passport was one’s best identity card.
Events that rekindled hopes of travelling abroad kept happening in my life. Our bank introduced a scheme for staff where they could go abroad using the leave travel concession that could be availed once in a block of four years. But as luck would have it, my bosses considered me indispensable—at least, that is what they told me every time I approached them with my leave application. In the process, my earned leave lapsed, having exceeded the permitted limit for accruing, till I retired peacefully on superannuation.
My only treasured possession today is the piece of paper with the astrologer uncle’s prediction neatly written on it. When one day out of sheer frustration I was about to tear the paper, a thought flashed in my mind. All of the uncle’s predictions had come true, so my case need not be an exception. He had simply said ‘son going abroad’ but had not spelt out ‘when’. The prediction could come true anytime as long as I am alive. With that sentiment my wait continues!
M S VAIDYANATHAN
Email: maharajapuram.s.vaidyanathan@gmail.com