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DILIP,MY FRIEND,1948-2001
Posted on Monday, September 07 @ 12:59:15 MST by gops
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I am writing this article as a memoir to my friend and batch-mate Dilip Kochhar. Born on 13th July 1948, Dilip passed away peacefully on 14th July 2001, a day after his 53rd birthday. But his memory lives on…
by Jagmohan Chopra
B.E.Chemical, Batch of 1970
The story has been published as Say Cheers to Life in Times Life,
The Times of India on 24 May 2009
I am writing this article as a memoir to my friend and batch-mate Dilip Kochhar. Born on 13th July 1948, Dilip passed away peacefully on 14th July 2001, a day after his 53rd birthday. But his memory lives on…
Ours was a unique batch. Never before in the history of Roorkee University had fifteen students made it to this prestigious institution from the same class and college. We were all studying together in St. John’s College, Agra and were lucky to find ourselves together again in Roorkee, including Dilip. For Dilip, Roorkee was not new. His father and brother-in-law had studied in this prestigious institution long time back.
Duuring our time, students were classified (by seniors) by their schooling. While students from government schools were called YDL’s or Young Dehati Loafers, those from public schools were called YBL’s or Young British Loafers. Being from Sherwood College, Nainital, Dilip was a natural YBL and among the most sought after freshers by seniors. Poor Dilip. While we used to dress up to begin our day, we could see him returning to the hostel after an all-night ragging session in Azad or Ravindra Bhawan.
Stories about Dilip are many, but among the most remembered and quoted ones is one where he was made to stand in the balcony of a room in Azad Bhawan, overlooking the road leading to the hangar and made to recite counting in Hindi ! “Suno, suno, suno. Bhaiyon aur behnon, mein aapko hindi mein ginti sunaunga”said Dilip. “Ek, do, teen ,chaar…,” Dilip started counting in Hindi. Everything was fine till he came to the 9’s . While he managed to say “nau” for 9 with some degree of difficulty, he didn’t have a clue for big ones like 19, 29, 39 and 49 . Even the best of prompting by seniors could not make him say “unnees” for 19 or “unnatees”for 29. And 39, 49 and 59 were ofcourse greek to him. Imagine all this happening with all the students walking on the road, ladies included. Whatever one may say, Dilip took the ragging sportingly and made a lot of friends with seniors. Never serious, Dilip took life as it came. Nothing in the world could make him look sombre , not even the exams.
Dilip was not great at studies,but he was good at sports, making it to the Roorkee cricket and squash teams. After graduation, he chose exports as a career and joined a reputed export house in Delhi. After working with them for a couple of years, he joined another export house in Chennai and rose to become its chief executive at the age of 45! Later he left his job and started his own business of carpet exports which took him to USA. It is in USA that an incident occurred which is remembered by all his friends.While driving along the seacoast in Miami, well past mid-night, Dilip felt like easing himself. He stopped his car, walked towards the sea and started peeing into the ocean, little knowing that his abandoned car had been noticed by patrol police and a burly six-foot black cop was tip-toeing his way towards him. Within seconds, the cop reached him, patted him on the shoulders and said
“Buddy, I bet this is going to be the most expensive piss of your life!”
“You mind if I finish ?” said Dilip, cool as cucumber.
“Sure” said the cop.
“Hundred dollars” said the cop with a wry smile on his face.
“You can’t do that to me, I am a poor Indian ”said Dilip.
“Who are you trying to fool man? Poor Indians don’t move around in cadillacs, do they ?” said the cop.
“What else could I have done? The urge was too strong.”said Dilip. “You didn’t expect me to pee in the car, did you?”
Never to give up, Dilip kept on arguing with the cop till he had no alternative left but to say,“O.K.Buddy,I am letting you go this time, but if I see you anywhere near this ocean or any other ocean for that matter, I’m gonna beat the hell out of you.”
Dilip’s stay in Roorkee was full of incidents and he often used to say “Yeh mere saath hi kyun hota hai ?”. Like the time he told his external examiner that the old compass being shown to him during the Survey viva voce could not be used because it had “urdu” markings and not because it did not have the hair-line required for using the compass. Or his insistence that he had indeed done the apmech practicals although the practicals had been replaced a year ago. Or after failing to balance the spirit level during the survey practicals at the starting point of an examination, he asked the khalasi to reach the finishing point and “managed” all the readings.Or the times he freely used his room-mate’s talc when the room-mate wasn’t around.
Dilip was fond of drinks, a habit that worried his family as well as friends. He was also a diabetic and every time he went to see his doctor, she would urge him to develop his will power and stop drinking.
“Doc, will power to hai, won’t power nahin hai”was Dilip’s prompt reply.
On 20th January2001,Dilip was admitted to a private hospital in Delhi for a series of tests and I went there to see him .
“Kya hua?”, I said referring to the results of the tests.
“Hona kya hai? Cancer hai. And that too of the worst kind”said Dilip.
“What have they decided to do” said I referring to the doctors.
“Who are they to decide? It is I who has to decide whether to go for surgery or stay on medicines”said Dilip. Imagine the confidence and courage of a person who had been told he had only six months to live! That was Dilip.
The last time I met Dilip was on the 11th of July 2001.Doctors had said the end could come anytime and I thought I should spend some time with him in the evening. As I entered his room, I could see the bar being laid.
“Kya lega Chopre’?”asked Dilip. Knowing the seriousness of his health, I declined politely.
“Pee ley, pee ley”said Dilip, “Phir kabhi mauka miley naa miley.” This time I could not say no to him.
Two days later Dilip went into coma and on the third day he passed away, leaving behind his wife, son , aged parents and a host of friends. Even till the last moment he did not tell anyone about the pain he was going through.
He lived life to the full- on his terms.
May his soul rest in peace.
END
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