My Wanderings - 39. Short Story No 21 The Dilemma of a Diplomat

Omkar Nath Kaul, popularly known as O.N.Kaul was a well known personality  in diplomatic circles and also famous  beyond  corridors and hierarchy of external affairs ministry of the country. He was even posted on senior positions  in many embassies of India located in various foreign  countries .  He started his career from a humble background. His father was a primary school teacher with a large family to support. Omkar was third child amongst the family of four  brothers and three sisters. His father was not able to provide all his children a better future but Omkar was an exception. He was extraordinarily intelligent and by the dint  of his  hard work  and patorn age  of some  community members already established  in New Delhi,  he  could  realise his dream of qualifying IFS, unlike his other siblings who had to remain contended with the circumstances and to eat a humble pie.
Omkar also got a wife from an affluent family who was a little arrogant right from beginning and  hardly tried to maintain relations with her in-laws. Omkar mostly remained posted outside his native state and
even in foreign countries. Therefore, in a rush to create  his  resourcefulness   in higher circles, he could not also keep much track of his roots. In earlier years of his career some old acquaintances and  relations visited him to seek some help from him in the alien environs of capital then, but after observing indifferent attitude of Omkar and his wife, they hardly visited him thereafter. In the meantime he remained busy in making his career and building  resources . He learned the tricks of his trade and achieved excellence in International laws and techniques associated with it. He was consulted   even by his seniors often and  accompanied them  when ever there were bilateral treaties or negotiations with other countries.  It was by virtue of his resourcefulness  and using his good offices ,he also managed to purchase a huge property comprising of few apartments in New Delhi and a farm house near Shimla. His children, a son and a daughter also got the opportunity of  getting better education earlier in India and later on in foreign countries. They also got married as per their choice and  settled  there
Mr Kaul after retirement from active service could not reconcile with  retired life and therefore, joined again some MNC on very senior position after completing the necessary time  gap between the two jobs  giving due cognisance to law. In the mean time his wife died   due to heart ailment. After the death of his wife, his health deteriorated tremendously and  he was advised by Doctors to take due care of his health if he wanted to live more. Finally he decided to leave the job and live in serene atmosphere of his farm house near Shimla despite  of the fact that both his son and daughter advised him to join them at  their places.
He however, employed a local lad of the village in the age group of early twenties to look after himself and his farm house. His name was Mohan and being a country lad, he was very simple and full of dreams as per his age. He worked very sincerely and proved very helpful to Mr.Kaul. Mr Kaul liked his company very much. After few years the health of Mr. Kaul deteriorated further. His body became very weak and frail and he was not able to move with out the  help  of Mohan.His body muscles became very thin  and his skin appeared loosely dangling from his fragile bones. He was in possession of everything,  nature's bounty as well as all the materialistic gadgets. But his  personal faculties failed him to enjoy the same. He could not enjoy a bite of apple from his farm because of his weak teeth. He could not enjoy the chirp of birds or buzz of early breeze because he was hard of hearing now. A little cool air would ache his bones to the hilt. All the money and property amassed so far, appeared to him of little value as compared to good health, which he had taken for granted through out his active career. He sometimes envied the good health of Mohan, which he considered the real wealth now. He desired to live a poor man's life with good health and youth. He sometimes conceived to barter all his fortunes with Mohan against his healthy body and young age .  It would have been a good bargain. He was perhaps in dilemma.  He could reminisce that almost all his wishes of youthful days had been realised but against a huge cost that he had to pay for it in terms of his health and age. He wished now to un realise his dreams and get his health and youth back.   But  on the other hand Mohan was full of dreams. He wanted to make money and property in his life. He also wanted to make name  and  fortune like  Mr Kaul, who was his ideal.  He was also taking his good health and youth for granted.
One day Mohan said to Mr Kaul, 'sir I have heard that you are having very Good connection in New Delhi, can't you recommend me for a Govt. job'
Mr Kaul was stunned by this question of Mohan. He could most easily adjust him somewhere but he felt helpless in his absence.  He most sincerely wanted to help Mohan, but his mere existence was in peril with out him. Therefore, he could not reply him properly. This question of Mohan haunted Mr. Kaul for several days and finally he took a decision . He sent for his lawyer and changed his will and transferred the  property rights of Farm House to Mohan after his death.
Mohan most loyally worked with Mr Kaul till his death. Then Mohan changed the farm house into a Guest house as per the dictates of Mr. Kaul, which became a source of livelihood for him afterwards.
Any reader going to Shimla can still enquire about the Omkar Guest House, which is  fifty kms away from it towards north.