Today is my late father's birthday. He was born on 15th April 1905 in Sialkot. He expired in 1982 in Chandigarh.
He he did have a Chandigarh connection. He was in the P.C.S. and was posted as Officer on Special Duty to assist Sardar Bahadur Narinder Singh, ICS, for organising the Inauguration of Chandigarh by Pt. Nehru.
During that period, he was advised by his friends to apply for allotment of a plot in Chandigarh. He refused saying that since he was posted at Chandigarh it would tantamount to taking advantage of his government posting for personal gain! Yes, he was stubbornly honest.
Here are some memories:
He was Captain of the Gymnastics Team of Government College, Lahore where he studied. He was fond of hills and this is a photo of him taken during his younger days, some where near Manali.
In 1946 he was conferred the title of 'Sardar Sahib' by the then British Viceroy of India.
Here he is, third from ritght, at a reception given to the M.C.C team that played a cricket match in Amritsar in the early Nineteen-Fifties. In the centre in a black suit and a bow tie is Lala Amarnath, the then Captain of the Indian Cricket Team.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
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Email: kjschatrath@yahoo.co.in; chatrath@gmail.com
