Blog # 45 Dated: 15 June 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

Dear,................, 

Namaskar. More of the details on the incident that I wrote yesterday, I am here writing the rest of the happenings. A few days after the sad death, some of Mr. Sham Lal's relatives came to help with the rituals and processes associated with death. But none of them paid any money. I think that they thought that he had died during duty, therefore all expenses should be borne by the office. I do not know whether they helped the family in any other manner. The relatives had learned that we were collecting some money for the family. They appeared only to plan for expending that amount. An elderly gentleman came to me on the eighth or ninth day after the death, asking for money for the religious functions and for feeding multiple gurujee’s on 12^th day. Although I was a very young man at that time, I firmly refused money for extraneous expenses. We paid every penny for all essential rituals only. I said that it was the duty of the family, not us to pay for dubious practices. I said that we would help the family to support themselves to stand on their feet. Mr. Krishnamurthy was very much happy with me over this. We continued with the monetary help till Mr. Sham Lal’s son got the job.     

 A good number of our community was appreciative of my involvement in ensuring the welfare of the family of the deceased. Many people started complimenting me for this. The community was generally steeped in rituals and showmanship. Here I was stressing more on rehabilitating the grief stricken immediate family. Earlier our community looked at ensuring highest position in life after death for any person than helping him in bettering life when alive. I tried to change that. Charity was (and it still continues to a large extent) almost non existent during that time in our community. I showed the way then. I was able to help in supporting the family for full two years after the incident.  My grand mother's sister-in-law had heard this story of our help to the family and my involvement thereof. Probably one of the Sham Lal family was known to her. Whenever I would go to their house, (I would always visit their house at Safa Kadal on Rup Bhavani Jayanti and Shradh twice a year at least) she would always have very flattering words for me and lecture everyone around to look at me and follow my way of life. She would always say that she would get a very nice feelings when I would be around. She would say that I was distributing positive energy around me.  

I mentioned Mr. Sham Lal Dullu in my last post as the one who got rice from his own home on that unfortunate day for the deceased family. About 15 years after this incident, there was a post of Technician vacant at Radio Kashmir. That time, Mr. Sham Lal Dullu was already dead. Now his son was appearing for the interview. Mr. Pajnoo (who was with me all the time when we were arranging for funeral arrangements) was taking the selection interview. I reminded him about the day when senior Dullu had done a very humanitarian job. I told him to see if he could help his son. The son was selected. He got employed in Radio Kashmir. After migration I found that he (Sham Lal Dullu's son) was living in a house that was adjacent to Mr. Hira Lal Fotedar’s house in Jammu. He met me there and narrated his problems. His old mother was still alive and so was his aunt also old and widow. But he had been posted to Srinagar. He requested a Jammu posting. I got his posting to Jammu immediately through my influence in Delhi.

The narration of the days when I was young, gives a account of my character and approach in life. Since then I am the same person. I have tried to help as many people as possible. 

Bye more tomorrow.