Friday, July 24, 2020

Sad Incident

In the aftermath of  Indo- China war of 1962, there was a spurt of patriotic fervour, with the entire country stood united as  this was the need of the hour in those crucial times. Poets and lyricists penned patriotic poems and songs to instil patriotic feelings at the same time preaching unity.There were liberal contributions to the National Defence Fund in cash and kind. The Government on their part had documentaries made which were shown far and wide across the country.
A senior officer of the Publicity department, GOI, who lived in the neighbourhood arranged to show the documentaries twice or thrice in the locality. The projector operator , a jovial , good natured  young  man endeared himself to all . The documentaries featured songs like Watan ki abroo khatre mein hai .....&  Aawaaz do Hum Ek Hain .
After some days the team accompanied by the officer made a tour to the tribal area. We were told the name of the place Chini. Though Kinnaur district had been formed in 1960, the name had not got so much known and the present day Kalpa was known as Chini . 
The tour ended on a sad note as the team returned sans the operator. The operators had died , only his clothes were found near the river side. It is not known whether he had committed suicide or had an accidental fall into the river. The sad news sent shock waves in the locality. I faintly remember his face and appearance as this happened  57 years back.
The memory makes me sad even today.

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