It was been a while since I saw him ,and then one day he came into my cabin ,He was accompanied by a women, who I presumed was his wife.
Mr Chang was a Tibetan refugee settled in Dehradun. I have always seen him with a smile on his face. He was a respected member of his community . He used to frequent the banks mainly to help out his fellow Tibetans ,many of them old , who needed help in operating their accounts. I had a cordial relation with him. Whenever we needed to convey some info to the community or help us during any Deposit mobilisation campaigns, he was the go to person.
And so ,Mr Chang' s absence was noticed in the branch. He didn't come to branch for few weeks and I enquired with his fellow community members. He was in Delhi for some purpose. Many of the community members had close relatives ,who were studying or working in Delhi and it was natural for them to stay with them for vacations, so naturally I didn't give much thought on that.
And so seeing Mr Chang was a happy sight. He looked tired but his smile had the similar warmth . I enquired about his absence from Dehradun. He replied with the usual calmness in his voice " I am suffering from cancer and had gone to Delhi for treatment, but it has progressed and doctor had told the treatment won't have much effect and I had only fees days left, so I decided to come back and spent the last days with my loved ones. "
I was shocked and didn't knew how to respond to . But Mr Chang remained as calm as ever, He continued " This is my wife, as I was looking after the financial , she never had come to the bank or had any interactions. I bought her to make her understand what all to be done.. He then updated his passbook ,made sure that all his deposit have his wife as nominee.. Asked in detail what all procedures to be done for claiming his deposits once he was gone. And finally he rose to leave and thanked me for my help with a smile. He was as calm as ever, he didn't show any fear, pain or anything.
That was the last time I saw him. A few days later he passed away surrounded by his loved ones.
I have never seen someone who has accepted his faith as him.
He is gone, but his smiling face will be in my mind for ever....
