Noelene and Graeme went home last week to celebrate a family wedding, so their driver Suresh and his family were to go and spend some time at his village.
They were travelling to the village on his motorbike. Yes the family of 4 all on the bike. On the way to the village they had a very bad accident and Suresh was killed. Titra his wife suffered a badly broken arm and the children have some cuts and abrasions. But they are alive and we thank God for that. But nothing will ever replace the loss of their Husband and Father.
Suresh was one of a kind and Noelene and Graeme had grown to love him and his family like their own. He was always so willing to please us all and told us often that we too were also part of his family. He was often heard to say "Andrew Purdy Sir you and Megan Madame are my family and I look after you"
Our hearts are filled with sadness for Noelene and Graeme. Their time here has been made very special with Suresh in their lives. It is hard to understand what an impact these people make in our lives. But they are our lifeline in so many ways.
We have so many happy and funny memories of our friend and we often will laugh about our experiences with him. His openness often stopped me in my tracks and I occasionally had to say "Suresh, the children!" But he certainly never meant any harm. We would laugh at the story he would share with us.
We now are concerned about how Titra and the children will survive in this hard country. Suresh also supported his ageing parents who lived with him. In India widows do not ever re-marry, so this poor woman has a battle on her hands. We will try to do as much as we can to help but our time here is so short and their lifetime so long.
Below is an account of a memorable night spent with good friends. One we will never forget.
New Years Eve
We spent a very entertaining evening at Noelene and Graeme's. Suresh their driver had convinced them to have a party as his daughter was celebrating her 7th birthday on New Years Eve.
So we set off to see what the night would bring and as usual it did not disappoint.
Suresh's wife and her friends spent the night in the kitchen cooking up the most delicious Indian meal which we finally ate at about 10 pm. These 3 women worked like troopers in Noelene's kitchen. At one stage there was much tension as Noelene didn't own a pressure cooker and the beef wouldn't cook in the electric fry pan that kept tripping the power off. But even with babies on their laps and inadequate cooking facilities their food was lovely.
These woman do not drink alcohol or dance as it is against the Indian custom. I wonder what they thought of us all having a great time dancing while they worked.
But we had a scream. Listened to plenty of Graeme's old favorites and danced up a storm. Although Suresh insists that he dances better to Indian music, he still did very well.
So as the evening went on the door bell continued to ring and Graeme was heard to say a few times, "Not more" but the door was opened and the people entering were welcomed into their home. Suresh was a very good host and made sure we all had plenty to eat and drink. He certainly has made himself part of their family.
He even insisted on accompanying us home to our "residence". So at midnight, an auto miraculously appears and the 5 of us and Suresh and his friend Ramu from the village who had travelled 8 hrs on the bus with his wife and 2 children just for the party, drove us home. With fire works going off around us it was yet another experience we will never forget.
