Gifts from India

Sometime late last year, I got to know a friend through work and he comes from India. He is a very bright and smart man, having a few businesses in India and could be quite an influential person in the industry that he worked in.
He had a certain interest in wanting to guide me in my career and always gives me encouragement to do the things I like to do. He has a certain fondness in me as a very good friend, not in that relationship sense but he seems to have some connection with me. It was very scary for me to hear that at first, but gradually I came to know that he has helped many people achieved their own career in some ways or another.

He’s around 60+ of age and is quite a health-conscious person. He’s extremely knowledgeable and is very persistent in the things that he wants to do. He has a lovely wife and his son recently got married to a very beautiful woman India whom I think is a Bollywood actress. He lives in a big mansion and is very down-to-earth. He wears branded clothes and all but is never one who shows off.
He’s like a mentor to me and is like a guidance to me. He can be quite pushy in getting things done, but it is this determination that rose him up to where he is now.

He will also call me occasionally to ask about me and my family and about the friends that we both know in Malaysia. He’ll sometimes just send me an sms to wish me a beautiful day, to tell me about the festivals going on there, to send greetings on festive seasons as well as on friendship day or just to tell me of his latest experience in securing a business alliance.

In his recent trip to Malaysia 2 months back, he presented me with a very lovely cream-coloured Pashmina shawl and 2 very beautiful traditional Indian attire for my two children. The attires are still a few sizes too big at the moment. He bought a nice cream-coloured costume which looks like a Khurta / Sherwani with a shawl for Brendan and for Eryn, an elegant, traditional red Chaniya-Choli dress with an eye-catching design.

I introduced him to one local university here where he managed to secure a business partnership for a few years contract. The local university will set up a few branches in India and my dear friend will be overlooking in building the business and in strengthening the Malaysia-India bond. He had wanted me to be the Malaysia partner in working in such alliance with him – be it education, furniture industry for the huge hotel boom in India, or simply some smaller business partnership.

I never take up his offer in attending his son’s marriage in India, or allowing him to guide me into setting up my own business and be a top-notch entrepreneur. I haven’t also accept his invitation to visit India under his family’s warm hospitality.

All I can do is extend him my sincere friendship and know that he will be one foreign friend who has inspired me in some ways.

Thanks for your kind thoughts and many well wishes and most importantly, your very kind friendship, Anand Sandil.