It was always at mid-day he arrived ,he travelled two hours to reach my hse .His lanky tall bespecticaled figure ,had a ready smile on the face. He carried an office bag always buldging with things.He never said he was tired , but I knew. Anyone would be in the boiling heat.

 The children welcomed him with open arms, he was theirPanvelmama.

He was a Pied Piper if you ask me. He opened his bag and took out , coloured rubbers, or pink and green candy , or a spring toy top, a puzzle, a whistle.It was always a surprise for the boys.

His arrival was noticed in the building as he came upand soon ,a small gang of children rang our bell.

He always had somthing for each one of them , no one was ever disappointed.

That was not all , he wld ask for a plate and would take out garam pattice or kachories , or pendas, or kaju katri.

And I wld quickly roll out purries and allu sabji for him . Indian sweets were his passion and the plate would soon be full of yummy gulabjamuns and rassgullas.Three hours that he would spend with the children were bliss, to all there was fun and frolic all the time.God had not blessed him with his own child, so he said all the children in the world were is own.Years passed by and the little boys grew up to be teenagers and in no time they were grown upsand wereawy for studies.Panvelmama kept coming and now the little treasures he got for me , ablack ink pen for my sketches , a clip for my hair , my favourite sabudanawada , or a chocolate bar .

He had bent in shoulders with age but got himself photographed with his chest out with Lt. Nawang when he was commissioned.And then when I went to see him last , he took out the photo and clinged to it as if I would snatch it away from him . He was no longer the Pied Pieper I had known him to be . He was a little child now and wanted all the attention , he cld not express himself , his memory failed him , he knew me dearly yet he had no recognition.He was at peace only when , I ate sweets with him and I fed him .He was fading away then and as I type this he has gone away from us yet has left so much of his memories within us to love life and to be loved by all .Our Pied Piper we may not see amongst new generation.