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Bon vivant

Anthony Michael Xavier Hirudayaraj was a big man in every way

The dictionary defines bon vivant as a person indulging in a sociable and expansive lifestyle. And if one wanted an example for this term, one would have found it in my friend Anthony Michael Xavier Hirudayaraj (or AMX for short).

I first met AMX when we both joined the M.A. English course in the Madras Christian College. I was struck by his awesome appearance. About six feet in height, and an enormous girth, he weighed around three hundred pounds. When he walked on the road, he attracted more glances than the prettiest girl in town.

I had come to study after a four year break. AMX had been a tutor in the Loyola College for a few years and then come to get his MA degree. So we were a little older than some of the students, though there were two ladies older to us. AMX was a resident of Selaiyur Hall, while I was in Bishop Heber Hall. But we were constantly together.

Gourmet Trips

Both of us had season tickets to travel by electric trains from Tambaram to Beach Station, and we made full use of these tickets. One day a week we attended inter-collegiate classes in the Presidency College. And from there we usually took off after classes (sometimes even before) to loaf around.

Sometimes we went to a restaurant . One day AMX ordered for three laddoos. The waiter looked around wondering who the third person was. And AMX said, "The laddoos are for me. This gentleman doesn't eat sweets". After he finished the sweets he ordered two masala dosais which also he devoured. Then he ordered for coffee. "How many cups, Sir?" the waiter asked. AMX put on a show of anger. "How many cups does a man drink? Are you trying to be cheeky?" The waiter paled and retreated in a hurry. AMX chuckled at the plight of the waiter. Such incidents happened quite often.

After we completed our course AMX went back to Loyola as a lecturer, and I joined the staff of the MCC. Later he went to V.O.C. College in Tuticorin, which was his hometown. And then since his wife Isabel was working in Madurai, he shifted to the Madurai Kamaraj University. Meanwhile I had moved to the American College, and so we were able to renew our periodical get-togethers.

As he grew older AMX avoided any kind of exercise. He walked only when absolutely necessary. Mostly he lounged around on a sofa. But he still had a Gargantuan appetite. He also smoked like a chimney. All this got the people around him worried. But he himself was not in the least bothered about his health. He never went for a check-up nor took any medicine. His weight kept increasing, and he looked like a gigantic monolith. We told him that at this rate he might burst one day. Whereupon he chuckled, and his body shook and quivered until we wondered whether the event we had predicted was imminent. Wherever he was there was fun, laughter and camaraderie.

The Great Escape

Though he found it difficult to walk, his body responded to his urging when the occasion demanded it. Once his wife Isabel had been admitted to a hospital for some ailment. AMX went to see her. As usual he had taken an autorickshaw. The driver slid the vehicle as close to the steps as possible so that the big man could just step out onto them. AMX went up in the lift to the second floor and sat chatting with Isabel. The doctors seeing his size suggested that he too should have some tests done. When they started becoming a bit too persuasive AMX jumped up and rushed out, thundering down the stairs two at a time and leaped into the waiting auto. The auto driver, sensing the urgency, took off like a bat out of hell and vanished from the scene.

AMX's two daughters, Malarvizhi and Purnima and two sons Sudhir and Sanjeev did very well in their careers and came up in life. Purnima has a cute little daughter called Snehaa. But AMX was not there to see all this. He passed away after a very brief illness on November 16, 1998 at the age of 64. Just as he had wished, he didn't go to a hospital nor did he suffer long as an invalid.

Death was swift and kind.

J.VASANTHAN

(e-mail: jvasanthan@sancharnet.in)

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