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IF the current owner of Meridian Care Living (MCL), Subash Rengasamy, were to be assigned a house by the Hogwarts’ Sorting Hat, his determination for success and courage to take on a new challenge would definitely land him in Gryffindor.
And like Harry Potter, Subash now carries a legacy his father started three years ago.
MCL is an assisted living home located on the outskirts of Bangsar. Rising from the desire to “get people going and challenge stereotypes,” Subash’s father Renga wanted to challenge the public’s less than positive notions of elderly care.
However, after three long years of planning and trying to ensure that everything was perfect, Renga succumbed to cancer, not only leaving Subash with his dream to bring to life, but a scar of grief to work through.
During his father’s illness, Subash was thrown into a whirlpool of emotions and challenges where everything just happened rapidly.
With his father’s ongoing project, the cancer diagnosis and the start of a global pandemic, Subash told The Vibes that “We were just running from one place to another, constantly hoping and praying.”
While Harry was too young to remember the murder of his parents, Subash walked into the hospital room as his father breathed his last breath.
And while Harry only got to know of his parents’ legacy, later on, Subash watched as his father poured blood, sweat and tears into MCL.
So just letting go of MCL was not an option as Subash intends to carry on his father’s legacy and to make his dream a reality.
MCL officially opened in March and it has been trying times for the family.
Renga’s passing is not the only scar that remains in Subash’s heart, but every single detail of the house that stares at him daily is also an ever-present reminder of his loss.
“Trying to work on his legacy while being reminded of his absence was very painful; and when you come in, every little thing reminds you of him,” Subash said.
The situation became the hardest when Subash and family pushed themselves to run a business that they had no knowledge or experience in while working through their grief.
Instead of learning to overcome Voldermort, Subash has to learn the ways of the business, which he regrets not obtaining from his father earlier on.
Yet it was not easy to get a hand in while Renga was working on the house.
“Father has got his visions and a certain way he wants to do things. We just assisted in whatever way we could,” shared Subash.
Things took a turn for the worse when the Death Eaters, or in Subash’s world, Covid-19 hit.
As everyone is under lockdown and people are unable to go out, potential customers are harder to come by as visiting conditions have become stricter.
Families are also either hesitant to bring their elderly out at all or to move them to a new living situation. Yet Subash is determined to move forward.
Subash may not be working side-by-side with his father, but for him, “Everything here has every bit of him, so it still feels like a father-son thing, despite his physical absence.”
He has only one goal in mind, which is to make his father proud, and he approaches his decision-making with the question, “What would Renga do?”
So, why make the comparison between Subash and Harry Potter?
When The Vibes asked Subash what fictional character he most related to, he said Harry Potter. For Subash, Harry was someone who wanted a normal life, yet a challenge would always arise.
Harry always wanted things to be ideal, just as Subash wanted things to be after his father hopefully recovered, but life surprises us in ways we never expect.
Yet, just as Harry always finds a way to overcome his challenges, Subash is determined to find his way through his own hardships. – The Vibes, November 14, 2020
