RIP Smarajit (Malla) Patnaik

 This year has started on a bad note for me. I am losing way too many friends too soon, too fast. He was my friend from childhood days, my classmate in D. M. School in Bhubaneswar. Popular among us by his nickname "MALLA" (means wrestler in Odia) for his chubby face and rotund figure, he went on to carve his niche in the field of medical science as a renowned Orthopedic doctor, much sough after by Who's Who of Bhubaneswar and beyond.

Though Malla, aka Smarajit Patnaik became a highly sought after Orthopedic doctor in Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar, he was always down to earth, forever enthusiastic to lend a helping hand to whoever and whenever solicits him for help. Last year my cousin's wife was struggling for life when the Covid Delta variant was rife in Odisha. When I contacted him he immediately arranged a much coveted Hospital bed for her which was almost difficult to get when the epidemics was at its peak. He was the one who made a difference between her life and death. If she is alive today the credit goes to him. In lieu of his help he asked for only one thing, pray for him as he was slowly getting consumed by the dreaded C - Colon Cancer.

Smarajit's life story is impressive - a case study of focus and determination. He was a decent student but couldn't reach his potential at an early stage. After passing from school when the more meritorious ones went to BJB College he had to settle for the lesser entity Maharshi College. After our +2 Science only half a dozen folks from our batch got selected into NIT (then REC), Rourkela. I happened to be one of them. A bunch of close friends came to bid us adieu at the Bhubaneswar Railway Station where we were waiting to catch Utkal Express on our way to Rourkela.

Smarajit took me to a corner of the platform and asked me - "I want to excel in academics, but just can't just focus. What advice you would suggest ?" I said that I may not be the right guy as I was hardly a focused person. So I outsourced the career councelling session to my close buddies and REC mates Debesh Khattoi and Biswajit Parida who were on the train to Rourkela and academically more focused than me. They left no stones unturned by churning out plenty of Gyaan (advices or Funda in REC lingo) for him to digest.

The very next year Smarajit qualified for the SCB Medical College, graduated from there, did his M.D later. He never looked back, becoming a very popular doctor who could do wonders in Orthopedics. Not only he was a great medico, his communication skills were exemplary. A soft spoken, an impeccably professional doctor and a good man too - all blended in one. Though he had an extremely busy schedule he would always find time to see me whenever I visited India every other year. He never failed to complement me on my blogs and told me once of sharing some of my writings to his son to improve his vocabulary. I was flattered.

A part of me snapped when I heard the news of him passing away. A stubborn and born fighter, he finally lost his battle to the dreaded disease. Sometimes I wonder about the vagaries of life. A doctor who cures patients from incurable diseases, often falls pray to the same. Great bowlers who take wickets of the best of the best batsmen often get out to ordinary bowlers. Astrologers who can predict other's future with immaculate accuracy can barely control their own fate. Burglaries in policemen's home aren't so uncommon.

As I finish writing my obituary, I can feel the blurriness of my eyelids, the view turning hazy due to the moistening of the corner of my eyes. Unknown to me, my reflex action took my glasses off using my fingers, wiping off my tears, tersly reminded of this Hindi song, an ode to my friend whose repertoire of love was never empty.

ZINDAGI SAU BARAS KI SAHI,

ZINDAGI KA BHAROSA NAHI;

CHAAND CHHOOP JAE KAB KYA PATA,

CHANDNI KA BHAROSA NAHI.

Transliterated..

Life is to live for hundred years,

But destiny is unreliable forever ;

Never know when moon goes hiding,

For Moonlight is not worth relying.