Don't Worry

Guru asked me to request a comment from the Prime Minister of Nepal for the service in memory of John F. Kennedy, Jr. held at the United Nations in late July 1999. Two months earlier, in May, an election had taken place in Nepal, and there was a new administration. My previous contact was no longer there, but I obtained the number for the Prime Minister's residence, and I tried calling. The second time I called, the secretary told me, "For this you need to speak to the First Secretary, N. Khadka." I was surprised because the man he mentioned had met Guru years ago in Ottawa, when Guru blessed his new baby at the Jharna-Kala Gallery. I was relieved and immediately called him. He was very kind but explained that the Prime Minister had already sent a message to the White House and that he might not have a chance to get another message in two days' time. Nevertheless I called him back the next day—on Sunday. He told me something "extraordinary" had happened—something he couldn't account for. When he had arrived home that night and sat down for a moment's rest, he noticed a newspaper on the floor. No newspapers were kept in his house—they were always thrown out the same day—so he looked at it, curious to see what the paper was doing there. It was a newspaper from February 1st, 1999—six months past. Then he saw the headline: it was a front page article with a photo of Guru meeting with the current Prime Minister and the previous Prime Minister, taken when we were visiting Nepal for the Peace Nation dedication. But how, he asked, had the paper appeared in his living room? Who on earth put it there? He had discovered the paper only five minutes before I placed the call. "Don't worry," he said, "you will get a comment."

Saudamini (New York)