My father Gouri Shankar Rajhans toiled hard day and night to see through his challenges

My father Gouri Shankar Rajhans toiled hard day and night to see through his challenges

My father Gouri Shankar Rajhans toiled hard day and night to see through his challenges. In Safdarjung Enclave where we live he was an early riser something after 4 in the morning and after listening to AIR (All India Radio) news he would step out to take fruits from vendor Kalu. He would sift through pages of leading newspapers of Delhi Hindustan Times, Times Of India and Dainik Jagran keeping in mind who were the Doyen and Doyenne of Delhi. Then he would get on with the job of penning stories on varied fields courtesy dictation to assistants. He would essay thoughts on vivid areas with an attempt to sensitise public on issues that were close to his heart. Narrating tales of journey that he went through in Sultanganj in Bhagalpur in Bihar State he was keen the challenges he faced, the accomplishments he cherished and buoyancy index that he inherited from his parents were told in entirety. Resting on laurels he received from Bihar on articles he weaved were an inspiration to say the least. 

My father's odyssey in life has been with its share of ups and downs, the quantum of trials and tribulations knocking at the door every now and then. In 1968 a little after three years after return from Chapel Hill he fell sick and the turnaround in his health was much due to the perseverance that he and my mother were bestowed with. On July 20, 1970  my father noted it has been a while since his article was published in The Statesman. Taking a learned view my father Gouri Shankar Rajhans in 1970 wrote on Sino-India relations. This was followed by a write up on India-Nepal relations. The first was returned on the pretext that it was too historical and not contemporary and second was returned on the ground that the context had changed. Not deterred by these setbacks my father vowed to pen a piece a week and send it for publication with the hope that it would earn him Rs 150 to Rs 200 a week. This was the sum total of a contribution to a publication that time almost 50 years ago. My father believed there was no short cut to success and with hard labour and constant practice one could hit the target. Apart from remuneration the sole intention of writing these pieces for different publications was he could show these to prospective employees who were beneath a surface that was rocky. He noted that he should fix his goal and start moving towards that goal with single minded devotion. Off and on he could come across sermons that in today's India ( in the '60s and '70s) it was difficult to secure a good job without some pull. But he was not interested in none of that. While in Delhi he tried to tread cautiously with the goal of getting a good job and if that did not happen explore options of settling down in Canada. That country was on his radar but he left that option as time progressed.