At
a time when most people complain about the unending rat race, I recently had a
chance to meet a close friend in the Indian city of Pune, who stays away from
the din of city life, with no neighbours for up to two kilometres.
Adi Aibara, 68, a former colleague, is known among friends to be a gem of a
person who cares a lot for others.
He is passionate about justice for all. When the US launched a war on Iraq based on lies that the country had weapons of mass destruction, Adi expressed his resentment by picking up two dogs and symbolically naming them after top American and British leaders.
He did not even have electricity connection for years and drives long distance in a car to fetch and store water.
Lush green trees and plants surround his house. Birds and animals, including wolves, are the only regular visitors.
While that is not a bother for human friends who visit him on and off, snakes that shed their skins before disappearing do leave guests worried.
A woman friend who accompanied me refused to enter the house saying that she was extremely scared of snakes.
We convinced her to move in and have a soft drink when her umbrella accidentally fell on her feet.
“Snakeee,” she screamed, rushing out of the house.
We lost a few more precious minutes convincing her to re-enter the house.
He is passionate about justice for all. When the US launched a war on Iraq based on lies that the country had weapons of mass destruction, Adi expressed his resentment by picking up two dogs and symbolically naming them after top American and British leaders.
He did not even have electricity connection for years and drives long distance in a car to fetch and store water.
Lush green trees and plants surround his house. Birds and animals, including wolves, are the only regular visitors.
While that is not a bother for human friends who visit him on and off, snakes that shed their skins before disappearing do leave guests worried.
A woman friend who accompanied me refused to enter the house saying that she was extremely scared of snakes.
We convinced her to move in and have a soft drink when her umbrella accidentally fell on her feet.
“Snakeee,” she screamed, rushing out of the house.
We lost a few more precious minutes convincing her to re-enter the house.
