Between the sunrise and sunset
Lakshmi Kothaneth
What do you when a person leaves this world and you never knew they were even ailing?
We flow with life, until something shocks you to the reality. It is when the person makes an exit when so many memories rush in.
Few months back, I met Mahmood Obaid and it was full of laughter and recording session of video. To know he has gone, is hard to accept but that is the reality. Looking back, I realised all of those memories leave a smile. It must have been special being Mahmood Obaid.
His sense of humor brought in laughter at every gathering. But his seriousness to his profession as a broadcaster, writer, actor and director could be seen in his dedication.
A quality I remember is being proactive. As a team, we had gone for the coverage of Khareef Salalah, and Wadi Darbat was not then how it is today. The mud was so slippery that I could have easel slipped into the water if not his quick action. We laughed so much then. And the memory brings a smile to all the colleagues even today.
Not many people even knew that he was fighting illness. The power of positivity is what he must have been practicing.
My early days in the radio had him because he was such a considerate person. Although our radios were different he came and checked on this newcomer and guided. Speaking to his childhood friend and colleagues on the day he left, I learnt a lot more about him.
He lived well by staying true to his passion and craft.
There is so much we miss out on life because we are too busy. The sun rises and sun sets each day and between those many hours things happen. We say hello and we say goodbye and sometimes we have to say goodbye with no response. And then we are just left with memories. And so this Eid we will not receive a greeting from him.
Most often we tend to live in the past, or live in the future filled with anxiety, and forget to live in the present. Moments pass by without us enjoying its essence. We ask mechanically, ‘how are you?’ Almost always expecting an answer of ‘yes’. Most of the time we cannot handle disappointments because situations went against our expectations. When the sun rises we wake up with intentions and expectations and life has special meanings when we have dreams. People have not had the perfect setting for the ideal life, yet they excelled. Our expectations are more often based on our limitations. But life has endless potential for possibilities.