•  A TRIBUTE TO MAHENDER UNCLE (MAHENDER PRATAP MOHLLAJEE)

Uncle Mahender will be missed by all of us. He was our favorite uncle, the “cool” one, a man of great wisdom and knowledge, though short and diminutive but a tall man by his deeds

He took life a bit easier in the last few years and devoted to his passion, reading books that kept his mind afresh. He was fiercely loyal to his work, family and friends.

The family knew Mahender Uncle as a quiet, kind and very gentle person who would give you the shirt off his back…and he literally did to anyone in need. I fondly remember, as a teenager I often asked for gifts, his personal belongings like Omega watch, Minolta camera and Sinclair calculator to name a few, from him during his visits to India.

He was such a selfless man who touched so many lives. He was very attentive and would listen to everyone’s problems and offer solutions to them, when asked. Fortunately, he was remarkably intelligent and filled with wisdom, so his family, colleagues and friends could always count on him.

 

We remember his visits and various trips to some exotic places in Rajasthan (India). His reassuring presence will be so missed by family across the country and India. While life was considerably compromised by his health, Mahender Uncle never stopped living to the fullest.

His elephantine memory reconstructed Lahore and its famous bylanes, as an eleven-year-old boy, he last stayed in Lahore. A piece of well written graphic note of route from LAHORI GATE TO SUTTAR MANDI TO KUCHA BULO MAL –OUR HOUSE- in old city of LAHORE, now Pakistan. My Pakistani host was stunned when told that my Uncle Mahender was then 11 years old.

His first departure from India when I was around 5 years of age is vividly etched in my mind as he underwent long journey from New Delhi to Mumbai by train and then by a Steamer to New York. Though he looked very short and vulnerable, yet his reassuring demeanor won everyone’s belief in his ability to succeed in foreign land.

As a child I always thought that he was mine and only my Uncle, but later I realized that he had this endearing quality that made people and my other cousins, nieces believe, he was theirs.

He had done a lot for Mohlajee clan and made everyone proud of his achievements and effective contribution to almost all who got in touch with him.

 

As I write, sea of emotions flow through my mind, eyes go moist thinking that, you are gone but not forgotten. While I lament my absence on your last rites, the visual of your knowing and reassuring smile, rid me of the remorse.
Adieu Mahender Uncle!! A great Man.