A Remembrance

Browsing through the H.P. Govt. website the other day , I came across a Black Border notification uploaded , informing about the  sad demise of  a  service colleague , Mr. Baldev Ram Thakur after a prolonged  terminal illness. Shocked beyond words , this once again  took me some 14-15 years back in timeline to refresh  the memory of our first  meeting .

I was posted in Kinnaur  and was required to  appear for  Govt. evidence in some court case at Nahan . Since Mr. Baldev Thakur  was posted as Assistant Commissioner, I made  him a  telephonic request to book accommodation for a night’s  stay  at the  Circuit House  in  Nahan. I reached  on  a day before the appointed day and    went straight to him . He had a set   booked in my name as requested .When after having a cup of tea  with him, as I rose to take leave, he   at once extended  an invitation to have dinner with him. I went to his residence  at the  appointed time and was  entertained with a nice   satisfying dinner. Though this was our first meeting, we talked and talked as if   we had known  each other  for years. His hospitality did not end there as again he   asked me to have lunch at  his place the next day , even though he had to go  out  for  some official work. He  actually deputed a  junior officer to  be an escort and accompany  me  at lunch. This was his human side  where he came across as a thorough  gentleman, rather a gem of a man. On the official side, he was a dedicated   and  efficient  officer   with exemplary  devotion to  duty. A photograph of his with the  then President  Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma  giving him an award  bears ample testimony  to this. He had already sought premature retirement  on health grounds w.e.f.  March 2013, but  bade adieu even  earlier. !

R.I.P. Mr. Thakur  !  There are only a few like you .