Anshu Meshack
“We must have a sense of history”, was the last conversation a visibly-frail Shankar Ghose had with his daughter, Ela, in the intensive care unit of a Gurgaon hospital. The man who intended to retire at 80 lost a long, determined battle against cancer on the night of June 14, months short of his 79th birthday. And yet, his remarkable eight-decade long journey reflects a sense of historyas rich as the young India he saw evolve significantly during his lifetime.
Born in Patna to a senior Government Officer and a feisty young housewife who had been an active freedom fighter, Ghose was the eldest of four children. He studied at missionary schools, developing an affiliation towards Christianity that instilled in him a deep sense of spirituality that lent him courage in difficult times. His well-thumbed copy of The Bible, by his bedside since the early 1950s,is testimony to this faith. Indeed, the countless evenings spent singing hymns and Christmas carols are memories that elicit warm smiles from family and friends alike.
Former schoolmates recall fond memories of Shanks,as he was known to friends, in St. Stephen’s College – an institution that stayed close to his heart all his life. His respect for the institution reflected in the active role he played as head of the Old Boys Association of the College for an astounding 19 years. To him, nothing could mar the glory of the institution; it was simply “the College.”
He imbibed a sense of responsibility early on, taking charge as head of the family at the tender age of 18 while he was still in college, owing to his father’s sudden death. The family struggled duringthose difficult times together, cementing relationships that were to stay strong right to the end, with the three siblings by his side through his last ailing days.
Starting as a young management trainee at Caltex, right after graduation, Ghose moved up the ranks swiftly. His was a generation that was partaking of nation-building in a young India, brimming with promise and pride, eager to enjoy the fruits of the democracy their parents had fought for.
Ghose married Vijaya Rao, known to all as Viji, when he was barely 22 and she, 21. Together for 55 years, they were a much-loved couple to their culturally varied families, the meat-loving Ghose’s co-existing in perfect harmony with the strictly-vegetarian Rao’s. Their two children, Sanjoy and Ela, grew up in an environment of uncommon kindness, imbibing their father’s spirited enthusiasm for life and their mother’s pragmatic outlook and quiet courage. All beings were showered with equal affection in the Ghose household:pedigree and stray dogs, the occasional owl and parakeet, and the hundreds of people whose friendship they measured in decades, not years.
After a successful corporate career spanning four decades, Ghose retired from the Shriram Group in the mid-1990s.he had, by then, pioneered several philanthropic initiatives and was involved with a variety of social and development organizations. Hanging up his boots was simply not an option. He plunged headlong into the development sector fulltime, leading the prestigious National Foundationfor India for a successful five-year term.
Perhaps the most testing time came in 1997, when his son Sanjoy, then 39, was abducted by the ULFA while he was working in Assam’s Majuli Island as a development worker. All efforts to find him failed, and the void never quite filled. For many years after, the hope that he would return someday stayed alive. But it was not to be.
A devastated father could have chosen to let the anguish fester, but Ghose channelized it otherwise. The retirement plans were shelved once again. He took on the mantle of leading Charkha, an organization his son had launched three years ago, that had been floundering with little direction since the abduction.
For well over a dozen years thereafter, and till his last breath, Ghose dedicated his efforts to Charkha. Under his leadership, Charkha became an established name in the field of development communication, with Ghose personally leading his team to work in some of India’s most difficult areas, including places where conflict had sidelined development.
Well into his late 70s, he continued to travel extensively to remote locations, urging the youth to come forward and share in the challenging task of nation-building.Concerned about the growing fissures in a fractured society, he instilled in his team the urgent need for bringing congruence and harmony among faiths, making it an integral part of all programs he designed.
Corporate executive, philanthropist, development worker, environmentalist.Ghose was all these and more, with a spirited involvement in everything he did and a humane tenderness that touched lives, creating friendships that remained fresh even six decades after they were formed. It earned him the love and admiration of people everywhere.
The twinkle in his eyes and the warmth of his ready smile will remain with those whose lives he touched in countless ways.
Charkha Features
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