Parivaar Bengal Update and a unique Calcuttan.
16 children (from backgrounds like ragpickers / child labour and even child beggars) from Tiljala area of Kolkata admitted into Parivaar Residential Institutions where a new future awaits them.
The groundwork was done in Tiljala field by our friend and dedicated humanitarian worker Shafkat Alam who was first introduced to me by a very remarkable person I have been privileged to know for more than 12 years – Mudar Patherya Describing Mudar is no easy a task. He was once a leading cricket journalist, then a stock broker appearing on CNBC with regularity, a social activist especially championing communal harmony and urban environmental issues in several practical ways, a great mobiliser of people in civil society and in his latest Avatar, running a Corporate Communications firm with elan. He is a brilliant writer, lover of Kolkata, and one who while still perhaps in College was sent by a sports magazine to cover the ’83 World Cup where (if my memory deceives me not) he did a scoop by getting hold of a relaxing Viv Richards and publishing his interview. He has an envious stock of old cricket literature (there is no new cricket literature anyway now) but once I, in my vanity, tried to get one up on him by showing our collection at Parivaar, from which he picked one book – Rajan Bala’s ‘The Covers are off’ to take home. Usually one is not too fond of lending books but I must say I felt honoured then.
I wonder why Mudar does not write more with the kind of talent he has. Two of his best recent writings (one can scroll down his timeline to locate them) are on ‘The Dalhousie Institute’ and ‘The lost tradition of Hockey at St. Xavier’s College.’ He is one of the few people with whom one can discuss at length questions like whether Keith Miller or Garfield Sobers had been the greatest allrounder in history of cricket, in these times when one does not usually come across people who know of Clarrie Grimmet, Herbert Sutcliff, Victor Trumper, or even our own Subhash Gupte.
But like most great men Mudar Patherya is not without flaws. A major problem with him is his driving speed of which I had an absolutely bally experience, when about 9 years back, I was struck with him for some 10 km on a narrow countryside road. Every single moment I regretted why I had never taken a ‘Double Indemnity.’ I still remember my feeling when the ordeal had ended. I should also mention that somewhere along that drive he gently told me that he had a blind spot for speed breakers and that I should forewarn him should we approach one.
Meanwhile great to have these kids at Parivaar.
PS : I forgot to add that my profile picture one sees was taken more than 8 years back at Mudar’s place by his colleague and selected after several rejected attempts only after Mudar ensured that I have a passable smile which does not come naturally to me. Needless to say, at the end of all that both his colleague and I felt relieved.
16 children (from backgrounds like ragpickers / child labour and even child beggars) from Tiljala area of Kolkata admitted into Parivaar Residential Institutions where a new future awaits them.
The groundwork was done in Tiljala field by our friend and dedicated humanitarian worker Shafkat Alam who was first introduced to me by a very remarkable person I have been privileged to know for more than 12 years – Mudar Patherya Describing Mudar is no easy a task. He was once a leading cricket journalist, then a stock broker appearing on CNBC with regularity, a social activist especially championing communal harmony and urban environmental issues in several practical ways, a great mobiliser of people in civil society and in his latest Avatar, running a Corporate Communications firm with elan. He is a brilliant writer, lover of Kolkata, and one who while still perhaps in College was sent by a sports magazine to cover the ’83 World Cup where (if my memory deceives me not) he did a scoop by getting hold of a relaxing Viv Richards and publishing his interview. He has an envious stock of old cricket literature (there is no new cricket literature anyway now) but once I, in my vanity, tried to get one up on him by showing our collection at Parivaar, from which he picked one book – Rajan Bala’s ‘The Covers are off’ to take home. Usually one is not too fond of lending books but I must say I felt honoured then.
I wonder why Mudar does not write more with the kind of talent he has. Two of his best recent writings (one can scroll down his timeline to locate them) are on ‘The Dalhousie Institute’ and ‘The lost tradition of Hockey at St. Xavier’s College.’ He is one of the few people with whom one can discuss at length questions like whether Keith Miller or Garfield Sobers had been the greatest allrounder in history of cricket, in these times when one does not usually come across people who know of Clarrie Grimmet, Herbert Sutcliff, Victor Trumper, or even our own Subhash Gupte.
But like most great men Mudar Patherya is not without flaws. A major problem with him is his driving speed of which I had an absolutely bally experience, when about 9 years back, I was struck with him for some 10 km on a narrow countryside road. Every single moment I regretted why I had never taken a ‘Double Indemnity.’ I still remember my feeling when the ordeal had ended. I should also mention that somewhere along that drive he gently told me that he had a blind spot for speed breakers and that I should forewarn him should we approach one.
Meanwhile great to have these kids at Parivaar.
PS : I forgot to add that my profile picture one sees was taken more than 8 years back at Mudar’s place by his colleague and selected after several rejected attempts only after Mudar ensured that I have a passable smile which does not come naturally to me. Needless to say, at the end of all that both his colleague and I felt relieved.
