JINXED JUNE...... is it a figment of my Imagination

I am not a superstitious person but then there have some events in my life which has uncannily happened in the month of June which makes me wonder if I need to change my way of thinking. I would like to share few moments/ incidents of my life in chronological order  which have taken place in the month of June that may have no relevance whatsoever to the heading of the post.

June 1981- Baghdad, Iraq :- Had taken up a job with an Indian Company contracted to build an entire township in Al Baya  district of Baghdad and a hot afternoon it was, then suddenly the air raid alarm starts hooting loudly. As the project was just starting we had few cabins for staff to stay and couple of excavations for buildings had just started and our only thought was to somehow get to some safe shelter...and if can imagine this we jumped under a cabin..... lol made out of flimsy wood to save ourselves from bombs (Iran Iraq war was underway from 1980). In about half a hour all clear alarm rang and we crawled out from under the cabin thanking that there was no bombing around the camp. It was much later in the evening the gravity of the entire situation struck me.... Israelis had attacked the nuclear facility in Baghdad that day just before the plant was to go operational as Saddam Hussein in an Islamic conference of the Arab world had boasted that the facility is going online and Iraq will avenge by dropping a nuclear bomb on Israel. Had the plant be operational i would not have been sitting here today !!!!

June 1974-Mangalore, India:- Travelled from Delhi to Mangalore as I had got admission in Karnataka Regional Engineering College along with my father who accompanied me for completing the admission formalities and also because this was an occasion for him to visit his younger brother who at that point of time was based at Mangalore. The first time out of the sanctuary of my parents and as a 17 years old lad it was  frightening as well as exciting !!!!!

June 1983 – Chennai , India :-   Back from Iraq and got married on 6^th June.....;) and still married till this day to the same person and have two beautiful daughters !!!!

June 1995- Antwerp, Belgium:- Me and my wife were going around Europe on a site seeing trip from the 2^nd of June for a month and I was staying with our family friend in Antwerp. We had been to various parts of Belgium, drove down to Paris for couple of day, three days outing to Netherlands and were enjoying the sights and chilly weather of Europe. We were booked to travel by train from Brussels to Switzerland on 19^th June but then fate had other things in mind. On 18^th night i developed a severe stomach pain which induced painful cramps in lower parts of my body and was unable to bear the pain. An ambulance was called and was rushed to emergency ward of Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Antwerp at about 8pm and the duty doctor there administered a pain killer and sent me back home. Later in the night at about 11.30 similar uncontrollable pain started and was once again rushed to the same hospital by an ambulance and an emergency life saving operation was conducted by the specialist who by chance was there the second time I was taken to the hospital. The diagnosis was that there was a perforation in my stomach wall and the entire operation took over 6 hours. I was in the hospital for a period of 16 days and my weight fell down to 39 kgs... awfully thin.... not that I was anytime fat ;).

June 2009 –India :- My youngest sister’s husband passed away and I could not travel immediately for his funeral due to procedural delays in my company. However I was able to travel to India for the ceremonial  rites being conducted from the 8^th to 13^th day after death at Chennai.

June 2010 Chennai, India:- My mother passed away on 31^st May morning and hence reached Chennai from Oman on 1^st June for cremating my mother. As per the Hindu custom the eldest son is tasked with this activity.... Though we have crematoriums as per the tradition burning coal is placed on the chest of the dead person and I have no words to describe the feeling that I felt at that point of time.

Well there are so many other incidents in my life but they have never happened in June and hence I have not recounted them here. Thanks for reading random rambling of an old guy you know !!!!!!