FAREWELL TO OUR FRIEND VASANTHAN, A FELLOW TRAVELER

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  FAREWELL TO OUR FRIEND VASANTHAN, A FELLOW TRAVELER 

 O. George W. Berlin

 Seventy years ago, the French aviator, philosopher and poet Antoine de Saint Exupery, a participant in the WWII reconnaissance mission over France, disappeared suddenly and never came back. But we all remember him for his classic fable, The Little Prince. To him, we are all time travelers passing through different planets and dimensions. To this poet, time travel is the essence of all our lives as we all are the temporary inhabitants of this celestial abode. 

 Today, we mourn the loss of our dear friend and fellow traveler Vasanthan who has moved to another dimension. Vasanthan was my class mate during 1951-53 and later as a colleague in American College. He was an excellent teacher, a good artist, and a fabulous writer, famous for his subtle humor. In our lifetime, we meet so many thousands of lives but they do not leave much impact or impression. Only rarely you meet a few for a "cosmic millisecond" but they leave a lifetime of memories. Vasanthan was indeed one of these rare individuals. The loss of this dear friend really diminishes our lives as we are all part of the humanity. It is said: 

Death leaves a heartache 

No one can heal; 

Love leaves a memory 

No one can steal. 

 While the glories of our blood and state are only shadows, death lays its icy hands on all. Death is the only democratic institution where everyone is treated equal. One of the ways to comfort those who have lost a near and dear one is to remember the comforting words of Irish post, philosopher, and scholar John O'Donohue:

 We do not need to grieve for the dead, 

 Why should we grieve for them? 

 They are now in a place Where there is nor more shadow, 

 Darkness, loneliness, isolation, or pain; 

 They are home. 

 To the poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran, death is not an end, but a new beginning:

 When the Earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance. 

 When drinking from the river of silence, shall you begin to climb; 

 When you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. 

 While we mourn for our dear friend Vasanthan, there is no perfect way of comforting the family who has lost a husband/father/grandfather. Only the Time will heal all wounds. Today, the world is a tad poorer, our lives a little lonelier, and hearts a bit sadder. About 27 years ago I read a poem that appeared in a Swedish Newspaper (Dagens Nyheter):

 The day you were born, everyone was smiling, you cried alone; 

 Make your life such that in the last hour, 

 When everyone is crying, but you have no more tear to shed; 

 Then you can calmly face Death, whenever it comes. 

 We will miss his friendship. Thank you very much for all the pleasant memories.

 Farewell, my dear friend and a fellow traveler.

 O. George W. Berlin, 
Professor of Epidemiology,
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health,
LOS ANGELES, CA, 90024, USA.

Jan 26, 2014