Musings from Antique Origins

I   made a post about  'A Farewell',  last week. I did not have the slightest inkling then that I was soon to write another farewell note. This note is about a cousin and friend who happened to be the son of a former celebrity.   The celebrity I refer to is Sri.LPR Varma, Carnatic music maestro, Music Director, Singer and Actor and a Sangeeta Nataka Academy winner for classical music in 1978. Anyone born before the 1970s will remember many lyrics directed and often sung by him. Now, I bid farewell to Raj Kumar Varma, his son.   I first met Raj in New Delhi in 1979. I had joined a Bank and the first posting was in New Delhi.  Laksman Varma. a  youngster and a nephew of the  then Cabinet Minister for Labour, G. Ravindra Varma,  one of the true  Gandhians  in politics  was put up at his official residence. So I met Raj and Lakshman together as the two youngsters, both searching for jobs, were inseparable.   Raj was well over 6 feet and very handsome. He was staying in Karo

L ast week, Dr Harikrishna Varma, my younger brother, wrote me if I had read a book, A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes . He is a career scientist trained in Japan and the Head of the Bio-Medical Technology Wing of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology at Trivandrum. The book written by Rodrigo Garcia is the son’s memoir of his illustrious parents, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mercedes Barcha. My brother told me that the book reminded him of our parents and he was very moved on reading it. I immediately ordered a copy of the book and have just completed reading it. I am emotionally disturbed after reading it. The book made me think about my own life and the myriad experiences I have had over the years. This includes the deaths of my parents as well. Rodrigo Garcia, a scriptwriter by profession based out of California, tells us about the last days of his father fighting dementia and cancer through this book. Gabriel Garcia Marques, the Columbian novelist and