Published:
Rising Kashmir | 30 July 2019
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
