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| On the see saw Varsha and daddy |
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun...... but Alas! All too soon, the days, months and years just rolled by and one day without saying goodbye to anyone my dad just died. None of his children was in Delhi when he died. One was in London, one was in Dar es Salaam and one was in Mumbai. None of us had ever thought that daddy would leave us, without telling us that he was going away. He was a very courteous person and not a single day would pass without his wishing us a hearty Good morning, good evening or good night.
True to his nature, he did not give anyone even one hour of tension or anxiety at the hospital. No one had to EVER do a hospital run for my father. He was always very particular and took good care of his health. He was very regular with his walks, he was very careful with the food that he ate and he was very generous with his time which was always available to anyone who approached him for anything.
He was a very caring, compassionate,and considerate person who had nothing but kindness for one and all. He was generous to a fault and was very approachable. He would go running to pick up the phone,and never thought that a phone at any odd hour was a disturbance. He could have been eating or sleeping, yet any phone call would always be attended to by him.
His helpful nature was such that anyone could approach him for help, and he would go out of the way to help the person. He would take the people in his own car all over Delhi and speak to any number of people to render help to the person. Often it was a thankless job, and he would not even get a verbal thank you in return. Even this sort of behaviour did not frustrate my father as, he thought that it was his duty to educate people. He would always say that if people do not know how to behave, then it is our duty to teach them.
Long long ago, in the 50's, he was posted at Nagarjuna sagar when the dam was being built. He was Deputy Director and had a jeep, which he loved to drive. While going to Hyderabad, he would give a lift to any number of people who asked for a lift. He would always say I need just a little space to drive, in the rest of the place, you people can adjust. His philosophy was, "arre bhai, bahut jagah hai, dil me jagah honi chahiye". I learnt this from him, and to this day, I can occupy the least possible space and accommodate any number of people in a car.
He was a person who believed whole heartedly in Buddha's philosophy of 'Atta Deep Bhava', which means be your own light. He believed that one must always reason out, and not follow anything blindly. His philosophy was very different from the philosophy of most parents who think that children must obey them as parents know best! We three children were given the freedom to make all the decisions in our life. After one year of Engineering from IIT Delhi, Sunil my brother decided that he did not really like Engineering, so Daddy asked Sunil to study whatever he wanted to, and sure enough Sunil studied English Literature from St Stephen's College.
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| FUN LOVING PERSON |
When he was Director in the Ministry of Defence Production, at a meeting with Mrs. Indira Gandhi he put forth his arguments on an important matter and convinced the then Prime Minister. Those were the days, when fearless men worked, spoke and were extremely honest!
He used to travel by Bus no 610 from Netaji Nagar to G block, his Office near Sena Bhawan. On returning home he would give his return journey ticket of Rs one to Anurag my son, who would wait everyday to get that ticket. Those were small gestures which brought big smiles.
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| Anurag with daddy in 2005 |
He was extremely fun loving with a great sense of humour. He loved people and was the Pied Piper who could entice children away from their mothers. He was a person who would treat the lowliest of low with respect. He always remained a simple man from the very backward District of Gadchiroli,with impeccable manners, and style of a polished citybred.
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| Dad and mum 1949. |
I quote from The Dhammapada,my wishes for everyone,
"Sabbe satta sukhi hontu,
Sarve santu niramaya.
Sarve bhadrani paschchantu
Ma kashchit dukkhbha bhavata”.
Au revoir.
