Amid all the hoopla surrounding me, I forgot to notice that my colleague, Dr. Helal left SC on July 01. It's a major turning point for me, we joined SC together in Jan 2003, and went through the same problems together, organizing trainings.In past four years, I've grown leaps and bounds, as had he. I knew nothing about training when I joined, and I absorbed a lot of the qualities from him. He's the man of great compassion and tolerance. When I had the accident, he showed up at my house with cooked food from his wife, because he knows I like her cooking. Every time he'd be in some interesting location, he'd call me and ask me to come down.
I haven't missed him in last couple of days, because he's at the office right next door. But it'll hit me soon, I'm sure. I'm just trying to stay afloat till 14th, when I can breathe a sigh of relief.
One of Helal bhai's mannerisms used to amuse me when I joined. Instead of saying thank you, he'd say Apni Ekta Mohan... The complete sentence will be Apni Ekta Mohan Bektitto, translated as You are a great figure/personality. But saying only you are a great, and leaving off the rest, he'd wink, and that'd crack me up. The extent of amusement became clear to me when I found myself uttering the same phrase back to everyone.
So, let me say to my dear friend Helal Bhai, Apni Ekta Mohan. There's no one like him, and I really hope that I get to keep learning from him. And I wish him all the best.
