I was a young Captain in 1994 and we were on our way back to Nagaon after attending a marriage in Jorhat......He had served his time in the Army and then was a Doctor practicing in Nagaon......we got talking in this little wayside tea stall at Bokakhat,,,,,he was an impressive man ,immaculately turned out as befitting a military man in shining black shoes...... infact that was his trademark,,,..his polished black shoes......in about a years time I got married to his elder daughter....Namrata.....and he became Papa.....and so grew an indivisible bond ,as if we had known each other all our lives....... Papa became a massive anchor in my life,a huge, huge pillar of support in all the ups and downs that are natural corrolaries to lifes journey,moreso after my own father passed away........He was larger than life,a born optimist,a wonderful Doctor literally worshipped in his hometown Nagaon.....he never turned anyone away, even at the dead of night,.....he was from the old school and never thought twice before making a house call and Ma used to worry for his safety in those troubled violence torn times in Assam...... He was an outdoors man in his younger days,a keen hunter and angler and his two double barrels were his most prized possesions ......He was an wonderful cook and I spent many memorable evenings listening to his old hunting stories over a drink and enjoying his barbecue...... Life has been good to Papa.....his three daughters, married and settled ,his son, an engineer doing well abroad,his joy multiplied manifold by the arrival of lovely grandchildren at whose birthdays he always made it a point to get the most lovely cakes delivered......yet he kept a punishing schedule for himself working long hours at the Mercy Hospital ,Nagaon.....we asked him to slow down......he said he did not need the money but he owed it to his patients who came from far and wide to meet him........ For us, it came as a bolt from the blue when Papa was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in June this year and had to be operated upon at the MEDANTA MEDICITY ,Gurgaon on the 11th July 2014......He passed away on 14 July at the same hospital owing to complications arising after the surgery........Life for my two daughters, Barnika and Ushani will never be the same again......infact life will never be the same again for all of us who knew him......for all his patients who eulogized him...... DR RAMESH CHANDRA HAZARIKA (1942-2014) RIP.......
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 08:58:20 +0000