Can
a person be truly selfless?
Difficult,
but Mohammed Rafi was just that!
I was a rookie when
Rafi was already a legend in the organization. I had heard of him but did not
come across him until much later. People used to say that he could fix any switchgear.
These switch-gears were complicated and temperamental! They would often refuse
to obey the simplest of commands at their whim. There were others who were good
at fixing them but Rafi stood apart in sheer class.
He also stood apart
in the way he responded. Call on him any time, any hour, in any conditions he
would just smile and join you in a second. Sometimes the person responsible
would even hand over the problem to Rafi and disappear from the scene. Rafi
just shrugged and dismissed such uncouth and selfish behaviour in the only way
he knew – with a smile!
I came into his
contact quite some time later. For a legend, he looked very ordinary! Of medium
build, of features that would not stand out in a crowd of two, with a soft
voice and few words – he was unimpressive! However, something drew me to him. I
could not put my finger on it then but now I know.
Our office group
comprised very different personalities – some bossy, some airy-fairy, some
crass, some paternal, some boring, some dour and what not! Rafi was none of
these.
Owing to the new
theory of job rotation he was transferred to the front-line distribution
function after spending long years in the centralized high tension section,
where he had built his reputation.
Quietly doing his
work (and often he would be allocated low-level tasks in his new role), he was
uncomplaining and since I was the junior most in the group, he would often
consult me.
Whatever task was
assigned to him, he did it diligently and without complaint. I found gradually
that it was a feature of his professionalism. He never balked at stepping out
of his comfort zone to learn new things.
He was often bullied
by an individual but all he did was smile. I later understood that this
bullying came out of jealously owing to the clash between mediocrity and
brilliance.
A strong friendship
developed between us. Differences in age, background, education, religion,
experience did not matter.
We were as different
as two individuals can be. He was soft spoken; I was quick tempered. He was in
awe of senior officers; I respected few and not because of their position in
the hierarchy. I was slowly gathering a group of people around me (they mistakenly
saw me as their leader); he usually dropped to the back of any gathering and
tried to become as inconspicuous as possible. This did nothing to diminish our
growing friendship.
Often, he would tutor
me about the high-tension section and its various wings and equipments but this
came in such simple terms and without any formal situations that this knowledge
came to be part of my knowledge stack without my even realizing it.
He was my guru about
a host of things and for that I am thankful to him. I did not dare to say
thanks at that time to his face, for he would have become bashful in the face
of such formality and maybe would have had second thoughts about tutoring me
afterwards. But today, I believe thanks are overdue and I use this opportunity
to convey this.
Over a period, we
would talk about many things – books, family, our likes and dislikes, religion,
things which made us happy, things which hurt us – in fact, everything under
the sun. In so many ways we were so different yet there were some common
threads. Similar things hurt us, we celebrated many common situations. Maybe
this was what forged the bond.
His wife had a tough
time because of his willingness to help people in any situation. His
availability and presence at home were completely uncertain resulting in making
it difficult for her to plan anything. It was exasperating for her, I am sure,
and unplanned visitors to his home were eyed with suspicion.
Rightly so!
For a majority of
them would come with a request that Rafi would not deny and often this would
take him away from his wife even when she had planned something together with
him.
I have been witness
to one such incident. One of my colleagues had an engagement a week later and
could not convince anyone to take his place in office for a work that had to be
done during the night. As a last resort he requested Rafi to help out. This
request was made at his home while we were having tea.
Rafi immediately
agreed but his wife, who was keeping a sharp ear on the conversation, objected.
She reminded him that his niece was getting engaged at their home on that day,
and as host, he was required to be there. Rafi simply disregarded her protests
saying he could not refuse someone who was in need of assistance. In any case,
she was more than capable of handling the guests at home.
This was so
uncomfortable for me that I hurriedly finished my tea and was off! I could not
be a witness to Bhabhi’s wrath!
I
don’t know any other person who would do this.
A few years later we
were both transferred to the high tension section. While I was new to this
area, Rafi was one of the pillars of this area. I always knew I could count on
him to help me in sticky situations. I would not have to ask for help. It would
be given without asking.
One facet of his came
to light during this period. He, like me, simply loved films! We were always on
the lookout for films from all over the world. The film societies in Calcutta
fulfilled this need admirably but our thirst was insatiable.
It became a secret
pact to share notes since we were members of different film clubs and since the
same films would mostly be circulated in the different clubs, we would often
tip each other about the ones to miss and not to miss. During one two-week
period we watched thirty six films being screened during a film festival in
Calcutta! Often three or more in a day!
Late in life he went
for Haj (Muslim Pilgrimage), like any pious Muslim. But Rafi was a thinking
religious man. He took all the good that Islam had to offer in spirit and
ignored the embellishments that often accompany any religion.
The only symbolism
that he allowed himself was that he grew a beard on becoming a Haji. Later, we
would often discuss religion and the impression of a purely religious person
was clear. A person with the purity of thought! That is probably what religions
were designed to create?
We were together at
many places – at parties, at official functions, at work sites, at funerals and
I always enjoyed his company. With time, as I moved to Delhi, the communication
became infrequent but the bond remained strong. I was blessed to walk a part of
the road with him.
For this man had a
quality so rare, so bright that it set him apart from us mortals. The people
who came in contact with him instinctively knew that this was a person
different from the rest of us. The quality remained bright and strong even in
the face of extremely difficult situations, of the stress of politics and
jealousy, in spite of the lack of recognition of his professional capability.
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