A Touching And Warm Send-Off
A Touching And Warm Send-Off
Ramesh Patange
Vivek (Marathi Weekly)
December 19, 1999
Title: A Touching And
Warm Send-Off
Author: Ramesh Patange
Publication: Vivek (Marathi
Weekly)
Date: December 19, 1999
It was the evening of
8th December in Pune. Damuanna asked me if I could accompany him to a Send-off
function to a Pracharak ( a full time worker). I thought it must be for
a new Pracharak leaving for his assignment. However, he clarified, 'No,
the function is for our Pracharak of Jalgaon District - Soumitra Gokhale
who would be leaving for Trinidad, South America as Pracharak for that
area'.
Shortly, we reached Garware
Hall on Karve Road and I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me. Five minutes
were left for the function to commence, but the hall was already overflowing
and continued to overspill. I was witnessing an unbelievable spectacle.
A huge crowd mainly consisting of upper middle class people had come to
give a send-off to a Pracharak and not to someone for going abroad on a
big promotion or anything like it. The surprise was many times more because,
to become a Pracharak was to leave one's home, family, career, all attractions
and lifelong bonds of love to sacrifice some years in the service of the
motherland. It also meant to embrace a life of frugality, austerity, self-discipline
and to work prabably in an unwelcome and difficult terrain and strange,
perhaps, hostile or indifferent, people. Since the memories of those days,
when parents, relatives and friends, all used to brand such an act as utterly
stupid, particularly after completing one's education and before launching
ones career, were yet fresh in my mind, observing such a crowd, I instinctively
felt that some extraordinarily different and unique phenomenon was overtaking
our society.
As regards Soumitra,
after passing B.E., he left for Canada where he earned his M.S. and wrote
to his parents that now that his education was complete, he wanted to spend
some years as a Pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. This too
after completing such high education? What must his parents have felt?
But they were worthy parents of this unusual boy. Soumitra's father's reaction
moved everybody in the hall. He said:
"As a father, I had hoped
that Soumitra would start his career, would eventually marry and become
a father etc. But when I got his e-mail, we thought, if he wants to go
as a Pracharak, let him go, since whatever decisions he had taken on his
own, not a single one had proved wrong. We had firm faith in and respect
for his decisions. We decided to say goodbye to our dreams and to abide
by his wish which we were sure, would be the best one."
On the whole, there are
very few parents in Hindu society who would think that their son should
devote some years for work in the service of society. Soumitra had been
a boy with independent and distinctly different thoughts from most young
people. Nearly all young people are in a hurry to go abroad in search of
the end of the rainbow after finishing their education. Their thinking
line is, "What is the use of living in India? Better to go abroad and earn
high income and higher standard of living." With this reasoning, they harness
the Indian intelligence in the service of foreign countries. Instead of
following this common route, Soumitra decided to go as a Sangh Pracharak
and his parents themselves were present for this "send-off ceremony", apparently
brimming with full pride. What a wonderful family! This could only be possible
because of a sea-change in the mindset of our society.
The audience who had
come to this poignant function, largely consisted of elite of the society
like professors, teachers, doctors, advocates, traders, industrialists
and many others. Dr Ashok Kukade, who was equally impressed by this spectacle
said:
"There was a time when
a young man was setting out as a Pracharak, there was strong opposition
by the people at home, and, to skip it, he had to run away secretly with
his little bedroll. Times have changed and now it is deemed a duty to publicly
welcome such a youth for choosing this path. This change in the mindset
of the society is of great importance. This is indeed a revival of the
tradition of the olden times, when hundreds of people used to leave their
homes to spread Hindu culture in the world. This tradition was discontinued
and it is now being revived after a hiatus of about 1000 years."
Dr Ashok Kukade, true
to the culture of the Sangh, conveniently forgot to mention that 25 years
ago, after earning a number of Gold Medals in his M.B.B.S. exam, instead
of launching his own dispensary in the rich Pune, he himself had chosen
to go to an undeveloped town like Latur starting his dispensary in the
service of poor people. Consequently, his own share in this transition
of the society was a large one.
Soumitra, the hero of
this function was calm and when he rose to speak, a pindrop silence ensued
as everybody was keen to hear what he had to say at this turning point
in his life. In his short speech, he spoke about himself but he spoke mostly
about the work of Sangh and about the reponsibility accepted by him. He
said,
"On this occasion of
felicitation, I am happy. However, after a little thought, I feel out that
I have not done anything worth felicitating. Those Pracharaks who set out
to work in extremely unfavourable circumstances, facing a hostile response
in society and with poor means except unwavering dedication to the Sangh,
had with their incessant efforts established the Sangh and its reputation.
If any felicitation is to be done, it has to be done of their toils and
dedication. I happen to be only a reason to remember it. "
Dr Ashokrao Modak concluded
this function which had made that cold evening a balmy one and overflowing
with emotions. Starting with Swatyantraveer Savarkar's famous lines from
his poem "To Sea" - 'I picked up these flowers of my achievements with
the feling that my mother (motherland) should enjoy their fragrance. If
they are not spent in that cause, all this is a useless burden'. (Gunasumane
mee vechiyali yaa bhave, ki tine sungadha ghyave, jari udharani vyaya na
tichya ho sacha, haa bhaar vyartha vidyecha), he said that it is important
to have the inspiration to harness one's own merits in the service of motherland.
Swami Vivekanand had given a clarion call for such sacrifice. Today, it
is getting a good and positive response. The mindset of society is coming
out of the shell in which it had enclosed itself. Indian youth which had
in olden times conquered the world by its valour and undaunted spirit,
was coming up again with a strong society behind it, rising up with a brilliant
aura on the horizon of the world."
All were silent and went
home in a sweet trance remembering every moment of this event.
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