Smmall Story 406.

Small Story 406 Deepavali Encounter: A Festival of Realisation This year too, Pramod had not come home to Chennai from Madurai for the Deepavali festival. Suma was quietly disappointed, wondering why her son hadn’t turned up. Her husband, Srinath, shared the same feeling. Last year, Pramod had missed Deepavali because one of his friends met with a serious accident. But this year, there wasn’t even a phone call from him or his wife, Revathi. Just as Suma was pondering this, the phone rang. “Hey Mum! How are you? Happy Deepavali!” Pramod’s cheerful voice came through. “What happened? You both didn’t come this year too?” she asked. “I had a lot of work at the office. Couldn't get away,” Pramod replied. Though the explanation seemed reasonable, something about it didn’t convince Srinath. That evening, while walking around the Anna Nagar Round Tana, Srinath ran into his old friend Gokul, a doctor working in Madurai. “Hey Srinath! Happy Deepavali!” Gokul greeted him warmly. “Come, let’s have some tea,” he offered. The two headed to Saravana Bhavan and ordered tiffin. As they caught up on old times, Gokul suddenly said, “I left Madurai just last night. Before that, I confirmed Pramod’s results were negative. Today, he’ll be relieved.” Srinath was puzzled. “What do you mean?” Gokul explained, “Two months ago, Pramod came to our hospital. The specialist suspected a tumour. We had to run several tests. Fortunately, the results came back yesterday — it wasn’t a tumour. Just an infection, treatable with antibiotics.” Stunned, Srinath sat in silence for a moment. The two finished their meal and parted ways. When Srinath reached home, Revathi was on the line. Pramod just called. He told me everything about his recent health crisis. The tests are all clear. He wanted to share the news only after knowing for sure.” Srinath felt a deep wave of emotion and pride. “This generation really does think differently,” he told Suma later. “Calm in crisis and so thoughtful.” The next day, Srinath and Suma left for Madurai — not just to celebrate the good news, but to spend a week with Pramod and Revathi, bringing along their favourite sweets. K.Ragavan 22-10-25