There is only one cure for gray hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine.
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P. G. Wodehouse
St. Valentine's Day may mean whatever it does to people all over the world. 14th of February, however, is a significant date for me because it is the death anniversary of my favourite author, Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. On this day in the year 1975 Sir Wodehouse breathed his last at the ripe age of 94. Had I had it my way, no age would be ripe enough for him to leave the world. If I am fortunate to meet the man's soul at the place where the departed rest in my after life I will definitely have a paean or two to sing for him. But I am not sure if I'd have the words to thank him for giving me the joy that he has, through his words.
I was fifteen when I had my first encounter with Wodehouse. I remember, slowly grasping his unique style of narration and in no time getting hooked on to it. It is an affair that I am proud to have, and will continue to have for as long as I can read. And after that I will pester my grand children to read to me for as long as I can hear. I have sat in corridors and laughed all by myself till my sides threatened to split open clutching a Wodehouse book in my hand. In addition to his exemplary writing style, his exceptional sense of humour, the ingenious use of language, the intricate and shrewd plots and the sheer brilliance in execution is what makes Wodehouse par excellence. I have been swept off my feet umpteen times by the wondrous world that Wodehouse creates in his stories, as I believe is the case with his other readers too. Every book that he's written is a haven that one can fall back on to restore one's spirits. He played with his words as an artist would with his paint. As fate would have it, Wodehouse ascended to heaven - there can be no two thoughts about him going to heaven - on a day when the world celebrates love and happiness. Just what he gave to his readers throughout his life, and what his immortal words will continue to give to readers for generations to come.
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