Uncanny similarity

December 6, 2012: I arrived in Jaipur last evening and went to the House of Mr V S Singh, Additional Chief Secretary. I had spoken to him last Sunday on phone and we had decided to meet on December 5 (yesterday) at 6.30 in the evening. I have known Mr Singh and his whole family since my childhood days.

In fact, I had plans to visit the Ranthambor tiger reserve later this month and Mr Singh was helping me to work out the plan. But when I landed in Jaipur on December 3, I was left stunned when I got a call from one of my journalist friend who informed me that Mr Singh had died in a road accident near his home early in the morning on that very day. He was hit by a car while returning from morning walk. His friend Bijender Singh, Additional Sales Tax Commissioner, was seriously injured and taken to hospital.

I can say that the civil service has lost one of its finest officers.

It was very tragic and numbing experience for me. The man I was supposed to meet over cup of tea was suddenly no more and I was, instead, paying my final floral tributes on his portrait.

This is the second time that such a thing has happened with me in close succession. On October 22nd, 2012, I had talked to eminent Bengali litterateur Sunil Ganguly over phone and we had fixed up a meeting for the next day. But he too passed away that night due to cardiac arrest. The next morning I was at him home putting flowers on his portrait.

Once again, this time in Jaipur, I found myself placed in an uncannily similar situation. Strange are the ways of life.

ess bee