JAYANTI ASHRAM - IV

Parel, 7th Nov’11: The other two persons here worth mentioning apart from Samir are Ajit and Jagat Narayan jee. Ajit is the brother-in-law of Samir and the septuagenarian Jagat Narayan jee is the cashier of the NGO. Ajit is a married man and a man of his age. Aged in his early forties this man is quite the silent type and believes in being punctual while trying his utmost in taking individual personal care of each boarder. Ajit is equally generous in attitude like Samir but the fact remains that Ajit does not want Samir to mix up with the boarders frequently as he fears that some boarder might not like it. Ajit being much older sometimes scolds Samir but it has no effect. It seems that Samir has a world of his own and that he is very much contented and happy in it. Samir especially feels happy when somebody praises his cooking. Ajit hails from Habra and Samir from Kalyani in West Bengal. Jagat Narayan jee on the other hand hails from Gujarat. He came to Bombay (he prefers Bombay instead of Mumbai) in the year 1959. He is aged 73 as he tells me while narrating endless interesting incidents that centre on his life and this big mega cosmopolitan. There is a joke that prevails in this foundation. It is about the age of Jagat Narayan Jee. I came to this foundation on 22nd Sept 2011. It is then that I first met those persons mentioned. There was one elderly couple Mr. Sushanto Bose (a retired professor in economics from Presidency) and Mrs. Sumitra Bose (a retired Headmistress from a reputed High School) whom I met then. They were an aged and jovial couple. They always found humour in whatever they faced. The elderly couple first came to Mumbai in middle of 2009 when Mr. Bose had to undergo a staggering 11 hours lungs surgery. Mrs. Bose underwent an open heart surgery two years after her retirement from school. They keep each other comfortable and are a source of inspiration for others. Sumitra Bose told me once while chatting and sipping evening tea, that she once asked Jagat Narayan jee his age. To that he replied he was 73 years old. This time, two years later while chatting with Jagat Narayan Jee one evening he on his own told me that he is quite old. He told that he is 73 years now and that he can do all his work alone and is not dependent on anybody. To this I recollected what Sumitra Bose told me 2 months back and laughter gurgled up from deep within me. I somewhat suppressed that giggle and we proceeded on with Jagat Narayan Jee’s conversation in the company of 2 other boarders. Ajit who is also in this foundation right from its inception, tells us that Jagat Narayan Jee for some reason never crosses the limit of ‘magical 73’ - A reason not known to us.

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