In 1978, Khushwant Singh wrote an article in the Illustrated Weekly of India, whose eminently successful editor he was, on the passing away of his father Sobha Singh. In 'On Losing a Parent' Khushwant Singh celebrated the fact that his father died nursing a scotch.
I was 20 and drawn to every word he wrote. I penned him a short letter of condolence and posted the Inland letter care of the Times of India address on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi. I ended the letter with a suggestion that since I could visualise how busy he must be, the letter need not be replied. In any event, given the state of postal service and the perception I had of 'celebrities' I was sure that no mail was ever likely to arrive in return.
I promptly received a reply that ended with the exhortation for the Guru to shower his blessings upon me. After this, we exchanged a couple of mails and I finally met him in Delhi when he was the editor of 'New Delhi', a magazine that subsequently failed to respond to his Weekly magic. A little earlier, the management of the Weekly had ejected him and handed its reins over to the anti-septic M V Kamath, a move that drowned the iconic magazine without a trace.
He was courteous and direct. We spent 15 minutes discussing this and that - surely completely inconsequential talk for him. A sample: "Which is the main tribe where you are in NEFA?" "Sir, Mishmi." Änd which religion do they follow?", he asked. I was stumped. "I don't think they follow any religion Sir." "That is very healthy.", he said very seriously.
He saw me off at the door of his office and left an indelible mark on my young mind.
I met him again in 1999 and when I reminded him of that meeting, though he hesitatingly claimed to recall, I suspect he was only being nice.
Khushwant Singh has moved on. He was 99. He missed a century but I am certain a century or more will miss him. To me he was one of the most delightful human beings of our times, a real character who spoke his mind, courted controversy without fear and lived his life to the fullest.
Light has just gone out of the Bulb.
RIP Khushwant Singh (02 Feb 1915 - 20 Mar 2014).
I was 20 and drawn to every word he wrote. I penned him a short letter of condolence and posted the Inland letter care of the Times of India address on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi. I ended the letter with a suggestion that since I could visualise how busy he must be, the letter need not be replied. In any event, given the state of postal service and the perception I had of 'celebrities' I was sure that no mail was ever likely to arrive in return.
I promptly received a reply that ended with the exhortation for the Guru to shower his blessings upon me. After this, we exchanged a couple of mails and I finally met him in Delhi when he was the editor of 'New Delhi', a magazine that subsequently failed to respond to his Weekly magic. A little earlier, the management of the Weekly had ejected him and handed its reins over to the anti-septic M V Kamath, a move that drowned the iconic magazine without a trace.
He was courteous and direct. We spent 15 minutes discussing this and that - surely completely inconsequential talk for him. A sample: "Which is the main tribe where you are in NEFA?" "Sir, Mishmi." Änd which religion do they follow?", he asked. I was stumped. "I don't think they follow any religion Sir." "That is very healthy.", he said very seriously.
He saw me off at the door of his office and left an indelible mark on my young mind.
I met him again in 1999 and when I reminded him of that meeting, though he hesitatingly claimed to recall, I suspect he was only being nice.
Khushwant Singh has moved on. He was 99. He missed a century but I am certain a century or more will miss him. To me he was one of the most delightful human beings of our times, a real character who spoke his mind, courted controversy without fear and lived his life to the fullest.
Light has just gone out of the Bulb.
RIP Khushwant Singh (02 Feb 1915 - 20 Mar 2014).
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