The prodigal son returns home.

It takes you by surprise when real life plays out like a story that was told 2000 years ago,
which is what happened to us last week. There is a parable in the Bible about the "Prodigal
son" - a story told by Jesus to his followers, to stress on the importance of acknowledging
one's fault and repenting for it.

The story tells about a man who has 2 sons. While the elder son is obedient to the father
and does his bidding, the younger one leaves home after taking his share of the property.
He squanders all the money, becomes penniless & then takes up the lowly job of a swineherd
to keep body and soul together. And it is then that he thinks of how life was at his father's
home, where even the servants led a better life than he was now leading.

He decides to go back to his father's home and reckons that even if his father disowns him
(for which no one can fault him), he can take a job there as a servant, which would be much better than his current life. But he is taken by surprise at his father's reaction on seeing him back. His father is overjoyed and kills the fattest calf to celebrate his return.

The elder son returns from the fields and hears the celebration and enquires with a servant
who tells that their father is celebrating the return of his younger brother. Naturally this does not go down well with the elder brother who doesn't understand why his father should do this
for a faithless son, and asks his father.

"Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you
never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened
calf for him!"

To which the father replies,
"My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate &
be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
- Luke 15:11-32

Something on the lines of the above parable happened in our family last week. My cousin San returned home on 16-Jan-09 after 11 long years. He had left home 11 years ago (at the age of
18 years) due to some disagreement with his parents and all this time no one had any idea of where he was. Search teams were sent to various states of India, but without any success.
The last such mission was to Bombay few months ago, when someone there mentioned that
he has seen a person resembling San, but this turned out to be a false call.

His parents spent the last decade & more shedding tears for a son whose whereabouts were
not known. Not to mention the ridicule of friends/relatives, some of whom even had the gall
to tell them to their face that their son might not be even alive. Ofcourse they never lost hope and were sure that he would return one day. Which is what happened.

11 years is a long time to be away from your near and dear ones. Even while he has been the cause of so much anguish to his parents and sister, I am sure they would welcome him back
with happiness. For as was said, "He was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found".

I am glad for his parents. Every time I met them (especially his mother), I could see the grief
in their eyes, though this did not prevent them from sharing in the joys of others (especially
our family with whom they were very close). I am glad San is back and hope he stays put &
does not attempt any more of such antics.