STORY OF SOURA (Thought of sharing this on the occasion of Hindi Fortnight being observed across the country to promote and propagate the language as Rajbhasha) Well, my father was a Hindi professor and taught the subject in various colleges of Odisha from 1955 to 1990. During these 35 years, and beyond, he touched and impacted hundreds of lives through his selfless service, as an affectionate teacher. He was lifelong friend, philosopher and guide to many of them. That’s why when he retired from Ravenshaw College, 24 years ago, his students came from all parts of Odisha to pay their obeisance in a special function organised by a State-level Committee in the Town Hall of Cuttack. Scores of students shared their experiences that day, from the dais, off the dais, and sobbed throughout that seemingly never-ending function - a far cry from the corporate farewells that my brother Arun and I organize for our respective organizations. One of father’s pet students was Soura Nayak, who is a Hindi teacher now in a Govt High School of Gunupur. Soura met my father in 1972, expressing his keen desire to study Hindi as a subject at college level, despite the fact that the tribal boy could neither read, write nor speak Hindi at that point of time. Father took him in his fold and spent hours to bring him to a desirable level. Growing in confidence, he did his post graduation in Hindi Literature and studied at Hindi Training Institute where my father was the Principal. During the decades of association, they exchanged hundreds of letters between them. Soura’s command over the language and calligraphy always gave me an inferiority complex. My father was born on 19th of October and for the past four decades, on 19th of every month, Soura has been keeping fast and going to the temple to pray for my father’s well-being. When my father suffered from cancer, he even offered financial help to me. And eventually, when my father passed away on 30th May 2012, during the rituals at Bhubaneswar, Soura distributed free copies of his book (Mujhe Bananewale Hasti), which contained letters written by my father to him. While parting, I told Soura that he need not fast on every 19th anymore... Everything is over now, I said slowly… He spontaneously hugged me and said that from now onwards he would pray for father’s well-being on both 19th and 30th of every month, his physical presence notwithstanding… His moist look reflected in mine, as I turned my head heaven wards….
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 17:08:15 +0000
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