By Ajay Jha
Had Dr Dinesh some premonition of his coming death-the question has haunted me again and again. A good friend for more than five years he was not available to me for last 6-7 months no matter how hard I tried to get him. And then suddenly two days before his demise he phoned me.
There was strange freshness and zest in his voice. He said sorry for the long absence and promised to meet regularly. “We promised to meet next week along with our gang which included two more senior cooperators- naming whom would not be proper.”
I used to meet three of them regularly in various bars of Delhi and would discuss cooperative politics. Such sessions would give me fodder for my stories. Of all the four of us Dr Dinesh was the most frank speaker; he would not mince his words and will always have a fresh angle on issues.
I remember meeting Dr Dinesh for the first time when he took over as the Chief Executive of the apex body five years ago. Primarily a man of education he had little exposure to media and displayed a noticeable disinterest in me. I insisted on explaining his plans for the apex body and he talked of first beautifying the campus with plants and greeneries.
Next day, there was a report in Indian Cooperative saying” Dr Dinesh wishes to beatify the NCUI campus”. After reading the report Dr Dinesh phoned me; he was caught unawares as he did not realize an informal discussions could lead to a news item (he thanked me for the same). We became friends and our relationship got deeper with every passing day. But he would never divulge NCUI secrets and would give me more of interpretations than information.
Dinesh had probably some premonition of his nearing end at the time of his farewell from NCUI. He was uncommonly emotional and was almost crying. With choked throat he had problem finding words to speak. He said at last his five year tenure at the NCUI passed without him realizing it. It was fast-paced and full of action, he added.
In fact Dr Dinesh was not happy quitting NCUI at all. He was extremely loyal to NCUI President Chandra Pal Singh Yadav and would sing the praises of him even in his absence. He is a true leader who always allows freedom to act and take decisions, Dinesh would say referring to Yadav. Chandra Pal perhaps also wanted to retain him but he could do nothing before Ministerial pressure.
“I know I am not very popular; I am harsh in words; even my wife says I do not know how to speak; but believe me I always want everybody’ good”, aware of his unpopularity Dinesh would often say.
Sharp and articulate Dinesh was not equally gifted when it came to facing the opposition. He was weak and would often knuckle under opposition. He was kind of a peacenik who wanted a friendly atmosphere to exist around him even if it meant sacrificing some of his own cherished values.
The sudden death of Dr Dinesh has stunned the cooperative fraternity and his friends and family members are still struggling to come to terms with their grief. He was originally not from the cooperative field but he learnt the ropes so well that his performance was widely admired. It is no wonder that Indian Cooperative desk is inundated with condolence messages.