The First and the Last

It was a small shop near my home - The repair beds, bags, sofas etc. The first ever time I visited - to get my shoulder bag fixed. With my broken Hindi, I tried explaining the problem to the owner, a fairly old man. I know - My Hindi would have made him ask this question - "Are you from Madras?"  For a moment, I thought these North Indians think anyone down south as Madrasi. But our man was different - He followed with the question "Kerala or Tamil Nadu?" After I replied "Tamil Nadu", his mouth widened with a big smile, beaming a mix of black, red and yellow lights from his partly-available-pan-strained teeth. He started singing a popular old Tamil song "Ponal Pogattum Poda.. Intha boomi-yil nilaiyaai vaazhthavar yaarada.. " (let bygones be bygones as nobody in this world is mortal..)

For a moment, I was stupefied. To say the least, his Tamil was better than my Hindi. He then elaborated how he learned this song: 'I don't Tamil, but when I was in my school in Gujarat, there was a singing competition. While everyone chose to sing in the languages known to them, I chose Tamil'. He went on for a couple of minutes about the competition and the song. As I was tempted to ask the question on his interest in Tamil, our man pre-empted with the answer: 'Her name was Paarvathy - She was a Tamilian - She is a very good lady.. very intelligent girl'  He completed by winking, 'She taught me not just to sing, but so many other things in life.'  His face and the corresponding expression changed quite a bit when he talked her - a mix of happiness, longing & some nostalgic feeling, a bit emotional - Can't exactly describe how the man was different explaining about this First Love.

Yes, THE first love is quite unforgettable and nostalgic for many people. In fact, it's not just love - the first day at school (yes, I know - most of you would have cried and revolted to go to such a place), your first day in your dream college, the first job & the first month salary, the first ever visit to a city / country abroad, the first kiss, making love for the first time, your first baby and the first ever time you hold the baby in your hands, first ever time your kid beats you in a game or sports. The list goes on.. the list of "first"s you cherish (and regret in some instances) can be never ending. The first is always special, as you can have only ONE first.

Same logic to the Last. The last day in college, last day at work, the last conversation before the death of a loved one, the last day of leaving your homeland (as a refugee to some other country), the last few days of a dying person etc. [The last can be an exception to kids. When moms ask their kids to stop the TV / games and study - Kids invariably say "Mommy, one last game pleasssssse.." - The Gods of the Universe know that it would never be "ONE" last]

People distinctly remember the First and Last. Their commitment, awareness and level of involvement would be at their best. How would our experiences be, if we treat all of our activities, work, play and conversations etc to be The First or The last?

@Regular

Summer has begun and we completely, fully, wholly, entirely, and totally experienced it when we planned for a trek at Kajrat, 100 KM from Mumbai. The scorching sun spoiled the otherwise good trip.

The book "The circle of Reasons" was abandoned after reading the first quarter - Quality writing, but was was too boring to my taste.  Currently reading books with interesting and esoteric titles such as "Life after Life - Actual case studies that reveal there is life after death" written by a doctor who studied 150 people with near death experiences, "Conversations with God - An uncommon dialogue  - Book 3". Yes, I am skeptical of both the books and their concepts, nevertheless exploring.. :)