Small Story 460.

Small Story 460 Flight 460: An Encounter Bhujangarao settled into his seat on Flight 460 after attending a meeting of leading business tycoons in Boulder, USA. Having retired from a renowned pharmaceutical company in Mumbai, he now ran his own consultation firm. A gold medalist in M.Pharm, his research work on developing new formulations for hypertension and diabetes had been widely recognized by various scientific groups. Recently, a leading pharmaceutical group had invited him for discussions and agreed to adopt his formulas for new innovations. To his great surprise, he was awarded one million dollars for his work—something he had never anticipated. His long-cherished ambition of developing six successful formulations had finally come true. Bhujangarao smiled to himself and whispered, “God is great. At last, before my departure, I have fulfilled my dream.” He carefully placed his suitcase containing the signed contract documents in the overhead compartment. After a while, the passenger beside him arrived and took her seat. She greeted him warmly and introduced herself as Vasanthy, an independent journalist. Bhujangarao introduced himself and briefly spoke about his journey from Bengaluru to Denver and his recent professional achievement. “Congratulations, sir,” Vasanthy said. “I came to know through Pharma Media that my associates will be covering this news. May I ask what your plans are with this achievement?” Bhujangarao smiled. “That’s a nice question. I have developed six formulas over the years. Whatever I earn before my departure from this world will be distributed equally—one share each for my two daughters, one for my son, one for my better half, one for my grandchildren, and the remaining fifty percent will go to my relatives. The other fifty percent will be used to form a trust to support deserving students in pursuing any field of study.” Vasanthy nodded appreciatively. “That is a wonderful decision, sir. Did you ever expect such a huge amount?” “Never,” Bhujangarao replied softly. “But I always believed in my six-formula principle—whatever I earn before my departure. God has been kind and bestowed this upon me.” Vasanthy admired the great researcher’s simplicity and humility as the aircraft soared through the clouds. K.Ragavan 15-12-65