Papa left struggling with a disease that did not belong to him....by Natasha Kalra ..A Tribute to Papa
It is the prayer meeting of Papa, who went away three days back struggling with a disease that did not truly belong to him. A non-smoker, and an occasional drinker, he was a true epitome of a healthy, active life.
People like him are rare because they are a force wherever they go. They grab all of the space, limelight, and attention. Well, that is what exactly people are speaking of in his prayer meet.
The SSP of the district, ex-Speaker of the state, and former education minister of the state are among the various people present. Condolence letters from the present ministers, present MP, his department, and all of the clubs that he was a part of have arrived. This is all new for me. Not because I had not seen this day coming but because I did not know about his places of belonging.
I thought he belonged to just one place and that was our home, to a larger extent, I thought he belonged to his office in which he had worked religiously for 37 years giving away his day and night.
But today, looking at all of this, I realize that these were all just smaller parts of his larger-than-life personality, a personality that could not just be measured with all of the things he was a part of, but a persona that was present in all of the people who were there, his friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, all of them had some things to remember about him.
He had left a part of himself in all of the people there. People who are coming to me talking of ways he had influenced them, had inspired them.
There is no single person present here who is not teary-eyed. I, on the other hand, have dry eyes because just like all, I have learned one thing from him and that is the grace to carry on, with all the burdens, with all the responsibilities, moving on without drooping your shoulders, without making a sad face, head on facing life in all of its largest and smallest forms.
For what I have learned today is that his life is a celebration of life itself, in its smiling form, in its happier form, and in its most exciting form.
May 22, 2023
Note: Harisha Kalra, District Correspondent Babushahi Network , Ropar and Former DPRO Ropar, expired on May 16, 2023.
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Natasha Kalra, Daughter of late Journalist Harish Kalra , Asst. Professor, English, Govt College Ropar
natashakalragcr@gmail.com
Phone No. : +91-9988086104
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