‘Outlook’ has come out with an anniversary issue and many celebrities have written about 13*. I remember one of the finest interpretations of 13 from Manju Deshbir, the wife of my class friend, Deshbir Singh at IIT, Kharagpur for whom I worked between 1997-2000. She bought a car for me and went for its registration number whose digits added to 13 that sounds ‘terah‘ in Punjabi. Terah according her referred ‘Yours’ and that means to God Almighty. When I decided to retire, I had to buy a car that is Alto. By some chance without my asking for it, the registration number of 4621 that I got again added to 13.

Last Sunday, when we were at Sears’ photo studio for photographs of the family, an initiative by Shannon, the photographer enquired about the total number in the group. There was a little bit confusion. How many are we now- 11 or 13? We are now 13. When we are in India, they are 11 here in US. That caused the confusion. This includes Krish who have arrived on September 25.

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We are ‘Tera(h)‘.

Bestow all the kindness, keep us in peace and give all the happiness.

We were one of the luckiest to have all the three sons with their family within 30 minutes of driving time in Deville, Pleasanton and Santa Clara in California near San Francisco. But perhaps it can’t remain so for long. Shephali with her medical professional qualifications may have to move to East, and so ultimately Rajesh will have to join her. But that is the life.

During this US visit, it might be a good and rare opportunity for all the family members to be together for a family photographs. Though the innovations have made the distance irrelevant, it always remains a wish to live together or at least nearer.

* “13 is nothing more than a number, just one number in a harmless and immensely useful abstract system of counting and measuring developed by our ancestors.”- Sanal Edamaruku