The perspective that my friend lent me on one mystical night in a nondescript corner of the sprawling balcony of our college has remained in me alive as a guiding force for the rest of my life, says BATURAM NAYAK

It was a time of nascent awareness…a slow, but reassuring sense of emerging self-confidence was in the process of moulding, supported by some of the wonderful ideas I had derived from my college essays like My Experiment with Truth, The Window View, The Happy Man, On Habits and What I Believe, to name a few of the gems from the very best of the writers.

Each of the write-ups offered a path-breaking perspective to look at things which otherwise I had overlooked, being unaware in life.

It is during these exciting days that I came across an uncommon friend, who subsequently joined the Civil Services and retired after serving as an exemplary senior administrative officer for the Government of India.  We would talk a lot on various topics, over evening walks, sharing a pack of roasted peanuts, unfailingly, almost everyday, moving around every nook and corner of our college campus.

Baturam Nayak

I still remember that glorious meeting at a nondescript corner of the sprawling balcony of our college, where no one ever used to stand. It was a priceless meeting worth more than a billion rupees.  You must be wondering why!

The evening shadows were lengthening. It was that time of the day that I find special, even today, when light fades, and we are enveloped in a darkness that invites us to explore the deep mysteries of life.

It was in that darkness that I experienced the first illumination in the formative time of my life…so very enlightening, indeed.

My friend speaking so softly, almost inaudibly, said, “My dear friend, life is all about having a perspective.” I strained my ears to listen to him, as he continued in his soft, soothing tone: “And for that, you ought to be a detached observer and perceive issues from a nondescript corner of any given situation, as we are now standing here.”

I nodded gently to convey that I was trying to understand and digest his words.  He smiled and said, “Then only, you can learn the way of understanding everything around, with the help of both, a thinking-head and a feeling-heart, without any preconceived notions or past hangover inside you.”

There was so much of wisdom packed in the words of my friend, my contemporary and I might have looked a bit incredulously at him, perhaps giving him the impression that fathoming his thoughts was not easy.  He raised the tone of his voice a wee bit, saying “It is difficult though, but as you learn to practice this, slowly but surely, you can develop the ability of knowing not only the nature of life and things, but also have a feeling of the pulse and impulse of everything around. This can make you understand the heart of the matter, as an unbiased observer, naturally.”

“Yes, yes,” I affirmed.  He seemed pleased that he had got across to me. “Just take a look around at the world, from this corner. And if you can, take home a perspective  from here….”

His clinching words…I simply loved them. The  words of my valuable friend that grand evening has left an indelible mark in my mind and has shown me the way of looking at every dimension of life. I must humbly acknowledge, the perspective that he lent me that mystical night has remained in me alive as a guiding force for the rest of my life.

(Featured image by ambroo)

Baturam Nayak, a postgraduate in economics, joined the banking sector in 1983 and retired in June 2020. He is a firm believer in simplicity and minimalism. “My faith is Oneness, एकत्वम्; that’s the way I would express myself and live in harmony with everything,” he says.

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