I met RC Sahni after decades. I had an official engagement in Bhopal so I contrived to meet both RC Sahni and Ghai separately.
At a very short notice, RC found a slot for me in his crowded calendar.
As I got ushered into his official lair, I could see the lanky lean boy moulded by intense life-experiences into a distinguished looking statesman. Public high achievements and Private pains add gravitas to ones personality. The well appointed and book-lined mahogany panelled stadium-sized chamber (as the offices of senior bureaucrats are called) could put anybody in awe - if it was not a friend occupying it. His chamber overlooks the Charles Correa designed Vidhan-Sabha - which RC showed me like an owner showing-off his pet jewel - since this project was executed under his stewardship.
Like in such gatherings after decades - we exchanged what have we been upto all these years. Being fellow government-wallahs we also had lot of career things to gossip about. RC has unstintingly helped me a lot in such matters.
The talks as usual accompanied by tea and things. Children are a topics close to heart when we meet like this. Besides our own successes/failures - paths that children take or don't take - affects us the most. We exchanged what our children are doing now. When I left after the overextended meeting - there was a large gathering of visitors waiting fretfully in the waiting room.
I then squeezed in a visit to an anthropological site 45 KMs away called Bhimbetka (= where Bheem Sat) which has ancient cave-paintings of Neolithic Man. Read about it in detail at my blog Bhimbetka.
Ghai is Director Purchasing for a Medical College start-up. He also set aside all his Purchase Orders - and selected the meeting point as a "Police Thana" near his Railway DRM's office. We went off to an Udipi-joint in view of my dietary restrictions. I had idli and he - wada/sambhar with cold-"Kaapi". Discussions were also as varied as idli-wada. It was nice to hear that his son has gone to Denton, TX for PhD - very near my son who is in Austin TX. We then talked of past. He has boldly experimented and has taken some reverses in attempted "Businesses" in his stride with aplomb. All these have not changed one bit his irreverent and bold outlook on life. I came away with a feeling of respect about the unspoken family support he must have had during such reverses - which is rare. My camera failed at this instance and the photo with him is from a mobile-phone without flash in the late evening.
