टी डी एस ‘आलोक’

इस बार 15 अगस्त को मूड काफी अपसेट था । कुछ भी तो नहीं था कि भारतवासी होने पर कुछ गर्व किया जा सके। घोटाले , भ्रष्टाचार, क्रिकेट में इंग्लैंड के हाथों पिटना आदि जैसी कुछ बातों से अत्यधिक निराशा थी । ऐसे में सुबह समाचार पत्रों में डा. टी डी एस ‘आलोक’ के देहावसान का दुखद समाचार पढ़ने को मिला। हिमाचल प्रदेश के ज़िला कुल्लू की आनी तहसील के अंतर्गत दलाश क्षेत्र से संबंध रखने वाले डा. आलोक से मेरा परिचय लगभग 31-32 वर्ष पूर्व अपने जीजाजी के माध्यम से उन्हीं के घर पर हुआ था । प्रत्यक्षत: साहित्यिक अभिरुचि ही उन दोनों की मित्रता का आधार थी । उस समय आलोक जी शिमला में ही एक निजी स्कूल में अध्यापक थे तथा मुझसे उनका परिचय ठाकुर दत्त शर्मा के रूप में कराया गया था । परिचय एवं प्रथम मुलाक़ात में ही उनसे आत्मीयता हो गयी थी। उनका स्वभाव ही कुछ ऐसा था कि सहज ही दूसरों को अपना बना लेते थे ।

कार्यक्षेत्र व कार्यस्थली भिन्न होने के कारण बीच में कई वर्षों के लिए उनसे संपर्क कुछ टूट सा गया था परंतु आत्मीयता में कोई कमी नहीं आई . एक स्कूल अध्यापक से आरंभ हुआ उनका सफर , जो लोक संपर्क विभाग की समाचार पत्रिका गिरिराज के सम्पादन से होता हुआ हिमाचल प्रदेश विश्व विद्यालय में पत्रकारिता विभाग के विभागाध्यक्ष के पद पर समाप्त होता है , निरंतर संघर्ष की गाथा है । यह सब पाने के लिए नौकरी के साथ साथ शैक्षणिक योग्यता प्राप्त करना जो कि पी. एच डी पर समाप्त होती है , अपने आप में कम उपलब्धि नहीं !

मुझे जिस चीज़ ने सबसे अधिक प्रभावित किया वह थी उनके व्यक्तित्व की सरलता । ज्ञान , विद्वत्ता का कोई आडंबर नहीं , (जब कि एलेक्ट्रोनिक मीडिया पर लिखी उनकी पुस्तक भी पुरस्कृत हो चुकी थी ) और न ही इन सबसे उपजा हुआ कोई बोझ। जब भी मिलते बड़े प्यार से मिलते । मज़ाक में मैं कभी कभी उन्हें ‘ टीडीयस ’ भी कह देता , मज़ाक में कमी उनकी ओर से भी न रहती ।

नियति के हाथों एक अच्छा मित्र खो देने का अत्यधिक दुख है ।

अब केवल यादें ही बची हैं।

Of Friends & Friendship

We have just celebrated Friendship Day. Friend and friendship have had different meaning for us at various stages of life. As children, we had our playmates as friends. In school , we found some classmates to strike a friendship with. The friend as often described in an essay on “ My Best Friend” used to be a paragon of virtue – a brilliant student , an excellent sportsperson , born of rich parents but very humane and down to earth, without any airs, respectful and obedient etc etc. In later years, pursuing our career and vocation, may be we found some kindred souls , who fitted in the definition of a friend. In school we were told and made to write a story “ Two Friends and the Bear ” , which bore the moral: “ A friend in need is a friend indeed” & “ Do not trust a selfish friend ” - the latter purported to have been whispered by the bear in to the ear of the friend feigning death , so that the bear would leave him unharmed.

Man being a social animal has always craved for company and companionship which with some further bonding develops into friend ship.

We have had movies like ‘Jagriti’ and ‘Dosti’ eulogizing true friendship

Francis Bacon in his essay “ Of Friendship” has waxed eloquent on the need for friends and friendship, as an essential human trait and has minced no words to drive home his point.

Once , the outgoing Chairman of an institution , where I had a stint , in his farewell address advised the staff to live and be like friends and not like brothers -as he put it – as there is always a possibility of brothers falling out over matters.

I can safely vouch for the friends and friendship made in the school/college days as being true as in later years, it is not friendship but more of a symbiotic relationship , meaning, you rub my back and I will rub yours- implying that there is some give & take involved , though there are exceptions to this rule also.

One has to be wary while choosing friends so as not to regret later like the poet who wrote :

“ Huey tum dost jiske dushman uska aasmaan kyon Ho” !

Of Gurus and Ustaads

The other day I watched a recording of an old programme on DD Bharati, featuring Prakash Kaur, a noted Punjabi singer and the elder sister of Surinder Kaur , another singing genius . The singer, when asked about the first remuneration she received as a professional singer, told that it was an amount of Rs. Five and she had given this to her Ustaad as an offering. The Ustaad , obviously moved by this honour , in his turn , told every body about this .

Years ago, while in school, I read a book – The Untold Story – by Lt.Gen. B .M . Kaul, in which , he had showered praise and expressed his gratitude to one of his teachers- himself making both ends meet with difficulty - for giving him a hundred rupee note, signed by him , wishing him good luck. .

Both these incidents present Gurus or teachers or Ustaads in full glow and glory.

In sharp contrast, is the incident of Eklavya , whom Dronacharya had refused to take as a disciple and , who by dint of sheer grit and determination himself practised and mastered archery , keeping alongside a small statue of Dronacharya , made of straw treating and revering it as a Guru.

It is common knowledge that seeing in Eklavya , a possible threat to number one position that his favourite disciple Arjun enjoyed in archery, Dronacharya had demanded Eklavya’s thumb as guru dakshina and the latter had obliged . Again the same Dronacharya , taking sides with the Kauravas had fought against the Pandavas , in the Mahabharat war.