<p class="bodytext">My father took me to Chandigarh’s Sector-19 on Madhya Marg when I was just three years old, and the memory is still vivid. We went to see our beloved first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was visiting the newly built city. As the pilot car passed by, the excited crowd started chanting Nehru’s name and shouting slogans. My father lifted me onto his shoulders so I could see clearly. I saw Nehru in an open car, moving slowly and waving to the crowds. Marigold garlands completely covered the handlebar of his car, and he was throwing them to the crowd one by one along the Marg.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When Nehru passed away a few years later, I was in Class 4. Our school distributed copies of his will, printed on both sides of the paper in Hindi and English, to every child in my class. Our school headmaster, Moola Ram, spoke to us about the will, and his moving description of Nehru’s love and attachment to River Ganga and his countrymen brought tears to my eyes twice. Since then, I have tried to read every article or write-up about Nehru that I could get my hands on.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nehru was a voracious reader and author of several books, including The <span class="italic">Discovery of India</span>, which is perhaps his most well-known work. Shyam Benegal, a reputed film director, turned this book into a sensitive and beautiful serial <span class="italic">Bharat ek Khoj</span> for Doordarshan. </p>.<p class="bodytext">I could not read any of his books except the paperback edition of <span class="italic">An Autobiography</span>, which I bought in a second-hand bookshop in Sector 15 about 7-8 years ago. I found this book to be remarkably perceptive, though it mainly tells about Nehru’s role in the freedom struggle until circa 1936. For example, when speaking about animals as symbols of ambition or character of various countries, he sums it up as: “Nor is it surprising that the Hindu should be mild and non-violent, for his patron animal is the cow.” The book was written in various jails where Nehru was confined by the British from time to time. </p>.<p class="bodytext">About 12 years ago, while I was still in service, I attended a seminar about upgrading the Bhakra Hydro Station under the auspices of the Central Board of Irrigation and Power. An engineer from the Bhakra Beas Management Board ended his lecture with Nehru’s words: “These are the temples of modern India.” I was deeply moved as my entire career was spent in the hydro-energy sector. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a self-proclaimed agnostic who was an able and secular to the core, above all communal prejudice. He led the nascent nation in the right direction for almost 17 years, notwithstanding a few mistakes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I consider it my duty to pay homage to him, especially when the current political environment does not view our first prime minister favourably.</p>
<p class="bodytext">My father took me to Chandigarh’s Sector-19 on Madhya Marg when I was just three years old, and the memory is still vivid. We went to see our beloved first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was visiting the newly built city. As the pilot car passed by, the excited crowd started chanting Nehru’s name and shouting slogans. My father lifted me onto his shoulders so I could see clearly. I saw Nehru in an open car, moving slowly and waving to the crowds. Marigold garlands completely covered the handlebar of his car, and he was throwing them to the crowd one by one along the Marg.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When Nehru passed away a few years later, I was in Class 4. Our school distributed copies of his will, printed on both sides of the paper in Hindi and English, to every child in my class. Our school headmaster, Moola Ram, spoke to us about the will, and his moving description of Nehru’s love and attachment to River Ganga and his countrymen brought tears to my eyes twice. Since then, I have tried to read every article or write-up about Nehru that I could get my hands on.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nehru was a voracious reader and author of several books, including The <span class="italic">Discovery of India</span>, which is perhaps his most well-known work. Shyam Benegal, a reputed film director, turned this book into a sensitive and beautiful serial <span class="italic">Bharat ek Khoj</span> for Doordarshan. </p>.<p class="bodytext">I could not read any of his books except the paperback edition of <span class="italic">An Autobiography</span>, which I bought in a second-hand bookshop in Sector 15 about 7-8 years ago. I found this book to be remarkably perceptive, though it mainly tells about Nehru’s role in the freedom struggle until circa 1936. For example, when speaking about animals as symbols of ambition or character of various countries, he sums it up as: “Nor is it surprising that the Hindu should be mild and non-violent, for his patron animal is the cow.” The book was written in various jails where Nehru was confined by the British from time to time. </p>.<p class="bodytext">About 12 years ago, while I was still in service, I attended a seminar about upgrading the Bhakra Hydro Station under the auspices of the Central Board of Irrigation and Power. An engineer from the Bhakra Beas Management Board ended his lecture with Nehru’s words: “These are the temples of modern India.” I was deeply moved as my entire career was spent in the hydro-energy sector. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a self-proclaimed agnostic who was an able and secular to the core, above all communal prejudice. He led the nascent nation in the right direction for almost 17 years, notwithstanding a few mistakes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I consider it my duty to pay homage to him, especially when the current political environment does not view our first prime minister favourably.</p>
