P.N. Girdher

…AND A TEAR ROLLED DOWN MY CHEEK
-A TRIBUTE

Something disturbed me. I woke up and threw a glance at the clock, it struck 4. I dozed off again. After about 5 mins. I was disturbed by a sound, this time I was sure something had wakened me up. It was the sound of cries; there was no second opinion about the reason. My grandfather sh. PARAM ANAND GIRDHER had passed away. “About a month of pain and suffering had finally ended with his last breath.” I thought, and jumped to my feet. About 2 hrs. of sleep had left me ruffled.
The sun rose and the preparations for the funerals were made. The “ANTIM YATRA” started. The last journey had begun. At the crematorium the body was surrendered to the holy fire. The body would be transformed into the 5 basic elements of which it constituted, ‘agni’, ‘prithvi’, ‘jal’, ‘aakash’, ‘pawan’.
I had to return to the college the very same day as my exams started the day after. I was all alone in the bus. With no one beside me my mind wandered into the world of super humanity, all the memories of that departed soul came to me in leaps and bounds.
A very well known figures among his family and friends sh. P.N.GIRDHER often referred to, as ‘Pradhan Ji’ by his friends was a man to look up to. Modesty, simplicity and justice came naturally to him. He was a man of principles, as every one around him knew, he always used to work for the society. Hard work was his companion and compassion was his friend.
A man made for justice, his judgments raised neither brows nor fingers just settled hearts. He was known as one of the most dedicated and adamant person around to his family and friends. These two traits of that great soul were clear to everyone who came in contact with this pleasing personality.
Work meant a lot to him. May be that’s the reason he decided to keep himself engaged in some kind of activity all his life. Sitting idle was something he would never accept.
“An idle being is attacked by diseases.”
He used to say
“I move my body so that it keeps moving”
was another of his regularly used sentenced when questioned on the physical exertion he used to impose on himself.
His planning and vision were simply too advanced for us to understand. His ability to plan huge events with minutest of detailing left everyone awestruck. A true visionary, his ways of doing things were noble.
The impressive dimension he used to add to an issue made him one of the most dynamic and enigmatic of speakers. His views towards life were revolutionary, he could have written books but he preferred to physically work towards the improvisation of society.
“KARMA KAR PHAL KI ICCHA MAT KAR”
seemed to be his motto in life. A soul so great that scaled the unscaled heights of popularity and justice. A soul so sensitive, as to be unable to tolerate a tear in an eye. A soul so humble, as to give away his everything without expecting credit. A soul so dynamic, so as to deject every single tear had left hundreds of people with millions of tears and billions of memories.
The soul had left the world for his heavenly adobe. It continued on it’s path towards ‘nirvana’, moving as step closer to the ‘moksha’.
He had led the life of a saint, experiencing happiness as a social return for service to the society. He was a delight to work with as he used to work selflessly, truly signifying his name “PARAM ANAND GIRDHER”, my grandfather.
“will we never be able to see him again?”, “will we never be able to seek his advice?” “will he never again be there to help us out?” “will he never again guide us?” “will he never again provide solace when we are sad?” “will we never again see him shed tears in times of our achievements?” all these thoughts occupied my mind, …….. and a tear rolled down my cheek.
- a berieved grandson

EIGHTY HOURS A DAY @ OASIS 2K7

I woke up unaware of the day and date. Went through the daily routine of dressing up & left for the class. I entered the boring classroom, with it’s weary students and the equally disinterested lecturer going through his dry lessons…
… Then, suddenly out of the blue some filled the classroom. It grew louder and louder & suddenly I opened my staring at the still ceiling fan of my room. My sleep had been shattered by that monotonous alarm clock at 5 in the morning. I strained my half open eyes to see the date. October 16th it said, the day we were to leave for BITS Pilani. I opened the door of my room only to be welcomed by the deserted corridor. The day had started.
So, finally at 7, we left for a 7 hr journey to Pilani and with friends around the ride was a memorable one.
We, lagged by two hrs & at 4 were right outside the gate of BITS Pilani. The first day of OASIS 2k7 was approaching conclusion.
At 10, after a rather lengthy security procedure the team gathered in the D lawns for a quick briefing and there I was standing right in front of the giant SKULL-CASTLE sculpture mesmerized by it’s finesse and impressed by the name, PSYCHEDELIA, it read.
An hour long talk to Adi ( a guy involved in its construction) was quite enlightening about what had gone into making such a nice sculpture, and we set out to have dinner at a place lovingly called connaught (inspired by CP) by the BITSians!
The ROCKTAVES elims were to start at 3 in the morning, and with sleepy eyes and fired brains at war the brain finally won. It went on till morning and then the usual ordeal of events, elims and practice dawned onto us. The main attraction for the day was the choreography competition which left us awestruck and demanding for more.
That night witnessed the ROCKTAVES finals. A late night visit backstage yielded two more acquaintances (Sid and Daaki) who introduced me to the organizational structure over there.
The finals were fun and DE INNOVATORZ a band 4m chandigarh deserve a special mention for their rock version of A.R.Rehman’s Vande Mataram. Hypnosis was good as well.
The sun invaded the dark campus of BITS Pilani. The stage plays started early in the morning & most of them were good except for “KHARASHEIN”, whose thought still gives me Goosebumps.
When the day moved on the preps for the Fash P elims began. The air of speculation filled our practice hall. Elims done over to JAM. The 4 hr session left us exhausted & the results were announced. Trepidation took over, the night was lost to practice.
Thus, approached the final day at OASIS 2k7. The day was lost to preparing dresses and dressing up models. The evening witnessed the event and after the event we missed JAM. But no problems at all, ‘Adventure is within us not outside’, they say. So the night sky saw us at the central circle of the BITS campus having a Dumb-C session.
An hour passed and dawn greeted us for the fourth time. We needed to rush but the weary legs had taken on too much. Life seemed to roll in slow motion as we left the Pilani campus.
Today, as I sit through the evening, the images come to me in leaps and bounds. The gate, De innovatorz, Madhukar, Hypnosis and Kharashein all shall occupy a special place in my heart.
The chants of the milling crowd seems to fade away from the backdrop of my mind as I recount the experiences at OASIS 2k7. The kaleidoscope of emotion, drama and energy all packed in 4 days. I, Thus surrender myself to the soul reaper and descend into the trance of Psychedelia. 80 hours into the day and the dusk takes me to dreams…