Dear All,
1)I
was shocked to hear the sad news of the demise of our beloved former
Chairman LIC, Sri JMatthan from our GS,AIRIEF, Sri
GKrishnaswamy,Immediately, I inserted the news in
our website airiefvision,wordpress.com..He
was 97 yrs old,pazhutha pazham, we say in Tamil. He was short of a
Centurion by 3 yrs. He was always having a smiling face,never poker-
faced, never wry.Like magnets, we will be attracted towards him.Surprising, at such positions, when dominance & pride are likely to take over other characteristics, here was a person,
gentleman to the core, no airs whatsoever,never repulses anybody, rebuke perhaps was not in his vocabulary, question of disregard never arises in his case. It used to be said,none in his
near family occupied any post less than a Chairman,so aristocratic, yet so near & dear to all, hard to emulate the milk of human kindness he possessed in abundance,may be that is how
he lived a full life of 97,I only know of his other brother, who was Chairman, Integral Coach Factory, Perambur,Chennai.
2)When
domestic circumstances compelled our father ,mother & aunt to call
me from Rajkot ,as slowly the happy 24 member Joint family at
Chintadripet,Chennai was disintegrating,as
nephews, nieces
began to grow attain boyhood/girlhood,adulthood,I tried my level best
& failed miserably with Sri Gajanan Hiralal Thakore, then ZM ,WZ ,
MA Cantab he was, a stern
disciplinarian & a taskmaster.,
refusal not because I was in the WZ Fedn of LIC Class I Officers Assns
as a Grievance Committee Member.Next year 1973,I pursued with Sri
JMatthan,a
good listener, tries to fathom real
cause & within 2 months, favorable decision & I was in Madras
Division,Appreciative of Rajkot Claims record of being No 1 All
India,which GHT never
gave credit nor to my credentials as
a young AO representing earlier Pune, then Rajkot in Table Tennis
Tournaments for many years, How can one forget such a human &
humane
personality like late Sri JMatthan,on the other , our prayers
will be more Matthans must exist to make the institution stress-free
& to bloom as a full-fledged employee & the world more
open & transparent & spontaneous.
3)Few
years back, Sri N.Balan used to ring me or send emails asking for pithy
Notes on Court & other important developments for pensioners , as
he was fairly regularly conducting
meeting at Bengaluru
of Officers & many Seniors.I used to respond,Sri NBalan used to
mention about our AIRIEF exgratia notes with numbers, likely small
outlay etc & he was
referring to elders & elders of elders being sidetracked
,some meetings Sri Matthan attended. I recall Sri Clifford
Martis,Bengaluru, & my good friend ,the Humourist that he was , at
MDC, early days,always mentioning ones Full Name only, so thorough he remembered,used to make all laugh with full gusto, no smile, but ripples of loud laughter, "here is Sri Matthan,
just as Lord Hanuman opened his chest & lo, Lord Rama & consort Seetha always lived there, so too Sir, when I open my chest, lo, Mr & Mrs Matthan emerge "
4)Let
us all pay a humble,deserving Tribute to this rare Gem of a
person,etiquette sky-high,modest in his dealings & empathetic to the
core.We miss him in our midst. May his soul rest in
peace. A
vacuum in the family indeed creeps sorrow & sadness, but he has had
many many friends & admirers, many who cherish his bond &
association & above all having steered the
ship of this organisation
LIC with aplomb & distinction as the Head of the Insurance family
& fraternity. We bow before him in stunned silence, with woe &
grief. May the Almighty
shower His blessings on his
family to bear this irreparable loss with courage & fortitude.Let
us follow his footsteps ,qualities of head & heart ,which he has
bequeathed in abundance to
Posterity
Mournfully,
R.B.KISHORE
VP, AIRIEF
Las Vegas
No comments:
Post a Comment