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| PAPA AND MA |
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| AT BISHODHAR MICA MINES |
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| MERE PAPA |
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| WITH SRI RAM LAKHAN SINGH YADAV AT A FUNCTION IN JHUMRI-TELAIYA |
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| ADDRESSING A GATHERING ON THE OCCASION OF VEER KUNWAR SINGH JAYANTI |
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| IN THE LAWNS AT HIS HOUSE |
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| WITH THE THEN CHIEF MINISTER OF BIHAR SRI CHANDRASHEKHAR SINGH AT HIS RESIDENCE IN 1984 |
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| ADDRESSING A GATHERING ON AMBEDKAR JAYANTI |
Every child considers his father a hero and I wasn’t
different. My childhood was spent reading the adventures of Phantom (Published
by Indrajal Comics).-an imaginative character conceptualized by Lee Falk.
Phantom had a great impact on my impressionable mind as a child and mesmerized me
because wherever he saw evil, he would pounce upon it like a lightning to root it out. I ventured with him to unseen terrains- deadly swampy islands, deep forest,
extensive grasslands and deserted desert. In my childhood, I considered my father
no less than a Phantom. Phantom rode a horse with his pet dog at his side. My
father drove a 4X4 Willys Jeep with his ‘Spanish Eagle’ double-barreled gun belted
to the gun carriage in the dashboard of the open hooded jeep with its windscreen placed
on bonnet. Just like Phantom, he had his German Shepherds (Alsatian dogs) Robin
and later Tiger with him in his jeep driven by his faithful ‘man-Friday’
‘Chimtu’. Phantom was swifter then flashlight in flashing his revolver tucked
neatly in the holster under his arms. I saw the same swiftness in my father who
kept his fully loaded Webley Scott Revolver in holster tied to a leather belt
around his waist. He traversed the dusty rocky terrains of Koderma Reserve Forests that led to the
Bishodhar Mica Mines,
unhesitatingly even in the dead of night with his gun, revolver, and a German shepherd
at his side, alert even at the slightest of movement of a fig. It was this
dare-devilish nature that paled even the masculinity of the most handsome cine
star of the era Dharmendra that romanticized me much more than the imaginary
stories of Phantom. Hence he was my real childhood Phantom. And then there were
many stories of his dare-devilry, some retold by Chimptu while others to which
I was witness to personally. On one occasion he had single-handedly chased
away a band of railway looters led by Ghani Miyan at Gujhandi. On another occasion that happened in 1975, I saw him singlehandedly chasing away a
group of bandits, who had laid hostage the two petrol pumps and its staff (Esso
& Parmar Petrol Pumps) near our place in Jhumri-Telaiya. He would never call or wait for the police to
arrive as he had his own reservations about the efficiency and capability of the
police to control crime. On the other hand, he had great respect for the Armed
forces. This was reflected in his decision to send his eldest son in the Armed
forces. It was this love and respect for the Armed forces that led him to
mobilize all motor mechanics of that small township in 1962 to help repair the
vintage ‘Shaktiman’ trucks and ‘Jonga’ jeeps of the army convoy that often
broke down on their way to the NEFA on the Grand Trunk Road. He mobilized his
group of friends to arrange for the hospitality of the armed forces and took
great care for their comfortable onward journey.
He commanded unparalleled authority in that small kasba and this led poor village folks to
approach him to settle their disputes and preside over panchayat meeting, as the unofficial panch (judge). This often influential gentry
of the village. His weekends were spent
solving disputes and delivering justice. What was indeed novel that he would also ensure that his decision was
implemented in letter and spirit. No one stood up to register his protest to the
judgment passed by him.
Despite his rough exterior, he was a warm-hearted
person who was so emotional that he would never be present to send off a family
member at the time of their departure from his place. Even though he reminded me of Dharmendra
in his daredevilry, he was personally a great fan of Raj Kapoor, probably
because his childhood was spent in the manner similar to that portrayed by Raj
Kapoor in the famous film ‘Awara’. He
had a great liking for theatres. On Dussehra his local theatre group would
perform at the Belatand Durga Puja Samiti. On stage, his performance was closer
to noted actors Premnath and Prithvi Raj Kapoor.
He was an ardent football fan. With the help of other
noted citizens of the town, he took lead in organizing football tournament every year. Matches
were played at the football ground of Chhatthuram Horilram Senior secondary
School. Entry to football ground was free. Football Clubs from nearby cities
such as Patna, Ranchi, Hazaribag, Gaya, Patratu, Dhanbad, Nawada, apart from
Border Security Force (BSF), Sainik School, Telaiya and two local clubs namely
Young Boys’ Club and the Prince Club participated.
He was able to maintain religious harmony in that
small village and would keep a strict vigil on any mischief element. In doing
so he was a true secularist and maintained a good relationship with people of all
community and was open to helping anyone irrespective of his caste, creed or
religion. He ensured that there was never a riot in that small hamlet. After Mrs.
Indira Gandhi’s assassination he ensured that no harm was caused to the Sikh
community. Nearly all the people who assisted him (his driver, darzi etc) came
from the Muslim community.
Not a single day passes when I do not miss him or do
not remember him. His loss was a colossal personal loss. He left us on 31st January 2006.
Great memories
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