P S SUNDAR'S ARTICLE ON HIS SON -- 8::

THE DAY WHEN MY COMMUNICATION FAILED

BY P S SUNDAR

Communication, written and oral as also body language had always been hailed as my strongpoint.   Being a faculty of many institutions, international and domestic, I deliver a lot of lecture on varied topics.   Being a prolific writer in media, not a day passes without my article appearing in some publication or other.   So much so, replying to many people who want to know what I am doing, I have said, “Talking or writing is what I do .. reading and listening to strengthen these!”. 

But then, there was a day when I could not talk what I had to say... And, all I had to say were just three words .. they were words of truth, ground reality and embodiment of an irrevocable reality...

So, it was a case of being in difficulty to utter not a lie but truth.. a truth so hard to digest despite years of mental preparation ..  

These three words came up to my throat every time I had to mention to my contacts but they failed to raise above that stage at ease, got swallowed in sorrow and forced me to exert a greater effort to eject them from my throat.

In the Indian epic Mahabharatha, Bhagavad Githa enjoys a special status for the communication skill of Lord Krishna in making a confused Arjuna clear in mind.  In the other epic Ramayana, Hanuman excels in communicating to Lord Rama the truth of his having sighted Goddess Seetha in Ashok Vanam in Sri Lanka for which He is hailed as ‘Sollin Selvar’ (Master of word).

Both these epics, however, describe the verbal numbness a parent undergoes –  a scenario diagonally opposite to these communication excellence .. and that happens when a parent (father or mother) witnesses and passes through the saddest moment of his/her child (son or daughter) dies.

Irrespective of ‘Poorva Janma prathipalan’ (impact of previous birth) concept of explanation, ‘Puthra marana Dhukkam’ (sorrow on child’s demise) causes communication failure.

And, in my case, the three words I had to say were ‘My son died” .. this day (Oct 21) 12 years ago.. when our son, Vignesh, left us forever to a destination beyond our imagination at an age of 16 years...

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)