Today March 17th being Puneet Rajkumar's birthday, I saw 100s of hoarding of him on the street. For anyone who is not aware of him, he was one of the big movie stars in Karnataka and the youngest son of the biggest actor in the Kannada industry. His sudden demise last year due to cardiac arrest was a shock to most of us and became a talk of the town for months.
I'm not writing this blog to talk about how good an actor he was for 4 decades and how much his fans will miss him. TBH, I have not watched his single movie in a theatre. It is not about how fit he was and the death was unbelivable. His pictures today reminded me of what he stood for and what people remember him for, his Friendship!!!
After his death was announced, millions of fans came to see him and to show their love. Hundreds of close friends spoke about him and the charitable work he did. And almost everyone spoke of how good a friend he was. He would not wait for others to greet him, he would go straight to them and give them a proper hug. I have not met Puneet in person even though he used to often visit one of our neighbors during his school days. My dear friend Rakesh knew Puneet and told me how good he was with people. He would remember everyone and talk to them as though they were his best mates even if he had not met them for ages.
And his hug was also different, not the normal when one arm goes on the shoulder and the other on ur back around the waist. His arms were around ur waist holding your back and his head around ur chest, as though he was listening to your heartbeat. This is normally how you hold your loved ones, around their waist and close to you 💗 He always had a big smile, had a connection with his audience, and spoke like a young person. Probably being the youngest of the most famous family in Karnataka made people look at him as a kid. I was amazed at the number of friends he had made outside Karnataka and the way they reacted when he left. Such traits are not commonly visible in rich kids due to the way others look at them. Puneet somehow managed to break out of this and be grounded throughout.
This takes me to how he was seen by a few and rumors about him being involved in some cases. Not many praised him for his work and 'humbility' when he was alive and everything came in when he was gone. It was overwhelming to see and my eyes managed to get moist with emotion (which is not easy for me, that's another story for another day). I wonder why none of this was visible while he was alive. Why dint these people talk about him so passionately when he was around? Probably that is human nature, we talk good about a person after they are dead.
I do not want to make that mistake. I will make sure I let my friends know how I feel about them and how important they are to me. And one of them is Rakesh, who told me about Puneet. My oldest buddy from kindergarten remains one of my closest to date (even though we had lost contact for 25yrs in between). Rakesh goes over the limits to take care of his friends, so much so that I end up shouting at him to give some importance to family. I do tell everyone that the only reason that I joined my primary school gang was to spend time with Rakesh. That school gang has grown on me to become some of my best buddies which was a big bonus and totally unexpected.
There are many such people I love being with and miss dearly. Let it be my high school gang, UVCE brothers, Oracle gang, UK buddies, cousins (who are my best friends) etc. I have tried hard to be relevant in their lives and will continue to do so. With the hope, they remember me even after I'm gone!!!
I wanted to write this after I watch his last movie with my friends and family. Emotions took over and could not let go of the thoughts that hit me watching his pictures on the street today 😓
Puneet will live long in people's heart, not for his movies but for his friendship 💖
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