Peon at BMC, never said no to anyone

Govind Solanki could never say no for anything to anyone. That won him many admirers, but that8217;s also the only thing about his father Mahesh, 21, didn8217;t like.

Govind Solanki could never say no for anything to anyone. That won him many admirers, but that8217;s also the only thing about his father Mahesh, 21, didn8217;t like.

8220;It8217;s nice to be kind to others but my father would go out of his way to bring a smile on someone8217;s face. Often, we felt that people expected more than what they should from him. We got angry with him on several occasions when he gave up his plans for someone else8217;s work,8221; says Mahesh with a faint smile.

Solanki worked as a peon for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC. He was popular at office and at the housing society where he lived in Bhayander. Residents had made him their chairman. 8220;My father would organise everything8212;from garba during Navaratri to Diwali melas,8221; says Mahesh, eldest of three brothers.

At office, Solanki8217;s colleagues called him Tilakdhari 8212; a devotee of Chamunda Devi, he would never leave home without the tilak on his forehead. 8220;They always told us 8216;your father and his tilak are inseparable8217;,8221; says Mahesh, who8217;s now working at the municipal corporation.

Usually, Solanki returned home around 8 pm. But on July 11, he left his office in Kandivali early. It was Gurupurnima that day and his wife had kept a fast. She was waiting for him to break it. The bomb went off at 6.29 pm, when the train was between Mira Road and Bhayander stations.

8220;My mother keeps crying and saying that had she not kept the fast, my father would have come home as usual and would have been alive today,8221; says Mahesh.

Solanki was a home bird, and he loved to cook for his children. 8220;Often, he treated us to Gujarati sweets. Sheera was his favourite,8221; says Mahesh. 8220;On my last birthday, he made paneer bhaji, bhajia pau, baigan ka bharta and what not. We got the birthday cake from outside, but he spent hours decorating it with cream and we fought over who would eat the cherry,8221; says Mahesh.

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Solanki8217;s wife Lila, 40, has gone into a shell. Presently, she8217;s with her parents in Ahmedabad. 8220;She finds it difficult being here, around so many things connected to my father,8221; says Mahesh.

Mahesh has preserved his father8217;s wallet found at the blast site. Inside, there8217;s a blood-stained two-rupee note. 8220;No money on this earth is worth more than this for me,8221; says Mahesh as he wipes away his tears.

8220;But we don8217;t discuss July 11 in our house anymore,8221; he says. 8220;What we have lost we will never get back.8221;