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Sunday, August 4, 2019

ARTICLE: I Lost a Mentor, a Friend. Goodbye Rahul Jalali

By Ravi Nitesh7:36 PM

Published:

Rising Kashmir | 30 July 2019
http://epaper.risingkashmir.com/EPaper.aspx?kH2sJU5b4AelS58q42sJzw_ep_ep 

A big smile, a polite voice and despite a thin pipe in his nose, he walked and sat on his dining table where I was waiting for him. During my few visits to meet him, just without any work, only for talks, I didn’t know that this visit would be last one. I had met him around two months ago and now, he suddenly left us.

Rahul Jalali, as the world know him, was a veteran journalist and has been an elected president of Press Club of India but more importantly, he was a man who was always filled with much love and compassion in his heart. Whenever I met him, I leaned from him, about being humble, being simple and being down to earth. In one of my meetings with him, he literally cried, filled with tears when he remembered his friendship with others of his generations. This cry was for Pandit-Muslim relations. He told me that youths in the valley, probably will never feel what people whether Pandits or Muslims of his generation still feel and how beautiful and strong bonds people of his generation still share with each other. He wished and told me to start informal sittings of Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims and desired to use his house for these sittings whether both sides can talk, can tell experiences, can say stories and can sit together. Sadly, I thought that I will do it soon after few months but now he departed. In the last meeting, he spoke to me about how some people Pandits and Muslims are meeting in a nearby center and told me a very good environment about in those sittings.



He was a strong advocate for India-Pakistan Peace and always supported us in Aaghaz-e-Dosti (An Indo-Pak Friendship Initiative) through his presence in its activities and his voice in the favor. He was someone to whom I found an extremely nice soul. I remember when he asked for few Indo-Pak peace calendars and I presented few with excuse that I could not give more due to financial constraint, to which he said to send me a note where he would try to get some help for printing of this calendar. I also remember how he was much concerned upon political situations, social equations and most importantly on the standard of present day journalism. He was too concerned that actually journalism is not a bookish subject that journalism institutes try to teach, instead it is something else. As he was also going to prestigious IIMC (Indian Institute of Mass Communication), he told me that he goes there because he has freedom there to teach journalism in his own way. I don’t know whether students of IIMC experienced it or not, but I can guess that his approach to subject would be pure, full of practical sessions, interactions and informal sittings and providing them opportunities to know narratives, to know root causes and to have a view without bias. While he was sad on present situation of media and ethos, the shouting anchors and all; I remember that during one of our program when someone asked him about the need on restriction upon media, he immediately told that restriction upon media is not good as Media must be free and self-controlled. In this program, he also brought many beautifully crafted sentences as humor even on serious issues and made the discussion interesting for audience. On the other hand, he was also active on social media and told me that he express his thoughts there and also analyse reaction of people there. He believed that social media is also a good platform where people may share their notes.     

He also spoke about his visit to Jammu and where he travelled to border areas and met with people. He used to speak with me on phone whenever he felt like. He told that Delhi’s pollution creates problem for him and he takes oxygen sometimes and he doesn’t prefer going out.

As now, he departed, I feel that I lost a mentor, a friend and a person whom I admired as one of the finest persons I ever know. His smile will remain in our memories and his teachings will shine in our actions for peace. I also see that everyone who knew him and who love him, may take small steps for peace at individual, group levels in the areas of Pandit-Muslim Friendship, India-Pakistan Peace and Media and journalism.  

His messages that was published in Indo-Pak Peace Calendar of Aaghaz-e-Dosti, reads:

“When countries are in pain, it is only peace and understanding that provides the healing balm. In India and Pakistan, we urgently need this balm. Let us come together to heal each other.”

By:
Ravi Nitesh

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About Me

->Indo-Pak Peace Will Bring Prosperity To South Asia

->Last Leg of Voting & Real Agenda of Eastern Uttar Pradesh

->India-Pakistan: Shared Heritage, Shared Future for a hatred free-violence free subcontinent

->Educational Innovations through effective governance would be key to Sustainable Development Goals

->Indo-Pak Dialogue for Ceasefire Can Save Lives and Future of Subcontinent

->Dialogue a must to prevent escalations along volatile India-Pakistan border

->Ceasefire agreements can help save Indo-Pak relations

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