Dagger Drawn

Through the Brickbats to the BouquetsThrough the twists, turns and turnstile of life, when one man steadfastly keeps to the pace, through...

Through the Brickbats to the BouquetsThrough the twists, turns and turnstile of life, when one man steadfastly keeps to the pace, through pain and joy with true grit and determination, history will say quot;He conqueredquot;. Meet a conqueror of life 8212; my real life hero 8212; Sunil Dutt, MP.

If humanity emanates as a quality it does from Dutt Saheb. In his silence is the eloquence of experience, in his more open gestures 8212; a cause for the less fortunate, all encompassing with warmth, love and an endless devotion to truth. In the despairing days after Rajan8217;s demise, when I was painfully reticent in a phobic gloom of self-flagellation, I was quietly yet persistently pressed for a private meeting of condolence from the Dutt family. When Sunil Dutt came home with Anju, Priya, Rhea and Kaajal, I remembered, thinking, looking at the warmth and twinkling of his eyes, set in a craggy, weather-beaten Clint Eastwood mould handsomeness, that if he could bear as much pain as he had and still bring a smile to his eyes, Icould too! His son Sanjay was in prison. Yet he came to offer solace. In his personal loss of a loved spouse he carried that unbearable cross, the burden of a lost love and through it flowed an empathy not expressed in words as much as in the quiet of respect and sharing. In my temporary spurt, of a will to life, while he was in my home, I enthused on how we could try to get Sanjay out of prison, on hindsight perhaps it was to try and share his family8217;s pain in reciprocation for his commiseration to my loss.

In the intervening years I have only met my hero on a couple of occasions 8212; the last at the Canadian Vice Consul Sanjeev Chowdhury8217;s cancer benefit last year, the fire of life still burned bright not just in his eyes but in his actions. His tireless defence of the poor, the downtrodden, the sick and the underdog 8212; the media has tabulated 8212; but his true popularity can be gauged by the respect he commands amongst his peers.

On Friday night I was privileged to be invited to a small but selectgathering of his loved ones and peers at a felicitation at The Club. Nishi and Dinesh Khanna, the owners of The Club, with Rajpal Choudhary were the charming hosts to this delightful evening honouring Dutt Saheb for his impeccable win in a quadrangular contest for which he was to win, not just in his constituency, but as the sole Congress survivor MP of the polls in the city. His gorgeous family were there 8212; daughter Anju, Bunty, his son-in-law, his two granddaughters and daughter Priya 8212; another rising star on the political horizon? She handled her father8217;s campaign as astutely and stoically as she had his padyatra years ago. Son Sanjay was in Kashmir and was missed but Dutt Saheb8217;s constituents, admirers and peers were there a plenty. Noted film directors and filmstars 8212; Yash Chopra, Yash Johar, Prakash Mehra, Prem Chopra, Ranjeet, Kiron and Anupam Kher, Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapuri were some of the more familiar famous faces, I greeted. A clutch of khadi kurta-clad politico8217;s showed their justelected enthusiasm by openly hero worshipping their MP, who had helped them win their assembly seats in the tidal wave of his popularity.

Sunita and Pradeep Saxena, Sanjeev Chowdhury with Mr and Mrs Chowdhury 8212; his wonderful parents, Dr Pandya and Meena Hingorani were some of the other friends I chin-wagged with through the evening. In all it was a warm close circle of well wishers who were all there to share in the joy of a true democratic, deserving candidate Mr Sunil Dutt. Sir! You have my vote now and forever, for being the fine human being you are. We know we can expect a lot from Dutt Saheb and he will deliver. However, Utopian the thought perhaps one day all our elected MPs will be like Dutt Saheb, totally devoted to a cause called India.