It’s a pity that we seldom care to find out about the lives of our near and dear ones. We take it for granted that they should know everything about us, but we never return the favor. The worst hit in this case are our grandparents. When we actually reach the age of maturity, they are so old that we think it is futile to relive the last century. I am no different. I was blatantly oblivious to my grandparents lives till realization hit me like a bolt of lightning and I felt ashamed at my selfishness. My grandfather, i.e. my mother’s father is the great Onkar Nath Dhar. I use the word “great” because I feel that it is high time he receives his due, at least from his grandson. For starters he was a freedom fighter. He went to jail at the age of fourteen fighting for the independence of a country that his state wasn’t even acceded to. He was the eldest of seven siblings. At that time it was not feasible to achieve a high level of education. But he still managed to do IAS and was one of the outstanding qualifiers there. In the sixties and seventies he served in the ministry of Sheikh Abdullah as a commissioner of tourism. He was revered amongst his colleagues and is still respected very well in the community even today.
That was his professional life, sketchy though. But that is not the real point of this post. My grandfather has been a great achiever in his professional life but has been quite successful in his family life also. He was a strict father to three daughters and a son. Their upbringing was complete and all of them went on to achieve a lot in their educational as well as their professional careers. He is also a doting grandfather. All his grandchildren have received his affection in equal amounts. He has never been partial to anyone. When my father lost everything while migrating from Kashmir, my grandfather provided us a shelter in Delhi for about a year. He has been an honest man, hence does not have the money to live a lavish life. But that does not prevent him to be generous towards his grandchildren. After his retirement, he started writing as freelancer, mostly for the Hindu. His views on political upheavals in Kashmir are still a matter of notice and discussion.
My passion for politics and writing comes from him. I have grown up seen him discussing and writing various political articles. He has been my mentor of sorts. My father has been my knowledge bank but my writing has been passed on from my grandfather. I do not know whether he will ever get to read this piece that I have written about him, if he does I know that he would give me valuable suggestions on my grammar and language. I remember writing him letters when he was away in London. I asked him to get me a memento of the France World Cup, but in my sheer ignorance I misspelled it as “momento”. In his reply, he said “Dear sameer, I shall try my level best to get you a Memento (with a capital m) from here”. Such is the man’s method. He is probably unaware about the impact that he has made on my life, on my passion. Someday I shall tell him, by perhaps writing him a letter, a handwritten letter. And maybe I shall deliberately misspell some words, just to make sure he replies and teaches me another invaluable lesson in life. Here’s to you Papaji, you shall always remain a hero to this grandson of yours.
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