Death will not be a thing that is on the mind of most of the people when the time is so close to the year end. I am not saying it is weighing heavily on my mind but yes, it is there somewhere, in one corner of my mind. A few days back, I had written about a team member who lost his parents within a matter of months.

There was another sad incident with a neighbor of my mom's. This lady was suffering from cancer since past few years and we hadn't seen her since past couple of months. About a month back, mom and I were going out for shopping when we saw her. I have seen a cancer patient before and I know what the disease does to a healthy human being. I, nevertheless, was shocked to the core because I couldn't recognize her at first. My mom was so shocked that she couldn't, for life of her, muster the courage to go and say 'Hi' to her. We just smiled at her as we got into the car and she smiled back.

Then 15 days later I heard that she passed away. I tell you, the thought that was uppermost in my mind at that moment was of her daughter. I just sat there, feeling her sadness. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not an emotional sort of a person (unless someone says 'भारतमाता की जय'!). I have often laughed at all the cliched Bollywood motherly dialogues.

But this time it was different. Somehow, it shook me because it happened 2 apartments away from my parents' place. It reminded, in the sort of grim way that Death does, that many of us have to go through this one day. And I am just not ready for that. I don't think I ever will be. :-(