A whole part of my past is in your name, you will be remembered: Shashi Shekhar

It was the afternoon of February, 2000. I was sitting in my office at the 'Aaj' newspaper in Agra. Suddenly the phone rang. Late Satyaprakash 'Asim' was on my direct phone line. He was the political editor of 'Aaj' in New Delhi in those days. He said in Bhojpuri- 'I know, now I will give such news that you will be very jealous.'

His next sentence was- 'Ajay is joining 'Hindustan'.' I asked, 'Bureau Chief'? Asim's answer was- No, as an editor. I was also shocked for a second. Ajay i.e. Ajay Upadhyay was the bureau chief of Dainik Jagran at that time. The leap was big but the next moment I thought, he has worked hard he should be congratulated.

Anyway, I never get jealous of anyone's progress. In such a big world, there is enough space for everyone's progress and development. Later I went to meet Ajay. His personal secretary asked me to sit down. I was a little surprised. Ajay was an old friend. He used to visit my house in Kashi Hindu University. He was fond of drinking and eating well. He would sit for long and would sleep there. Later he stayed at my house many times in Agra and Allahabad. If you make 'arrangements', Ajay i.e. Ajay Upadhyay would prove to be an excellent guest. Full of affection, warm, polite, sociable, soft-spoken and would talk about whatever you wanted. He was intelligent and knowledgeable too.

I first met him in 1983. After studying engineering from Bhopal, he had returned to Banaras and had started teaching tuition to Bhaiya's children through some medium. There he would sometimes meet Bhaiya and he had come close to his heart. I did not read much of what he wrote but he was unmatched in speaking. Bhaiya had put him in the management of the newspaper. For those who don't know, let me tell you again, Bhaiya i.e. Shardul Vikram Gupta, director of 'Aaj'.

In those days I used to be the head of Allahabad bureau and whenever I went to Banaras, I used to meet him. One day I got a call from him that now I will look after the editorial page. I was a little surprised because he had not done active journalism till then. During that time my column had started and we started talking on the phone once or twice a week. Slowly we became friends and we used to discuss various topics for hours.

I was made to sit outside Ajay's office, for the next one and a half or two hours I sat in front of his secretary. The secretary kept smoking beedi, people kept coming to meet him and kept abusing his mother and sister in Haryanvi style. During that time I asked who is the sahab inside? He was also shocked by the name he told. Ajay's friend from Kashi Hindu University days was sitting with him. He had become an MP by that time. I am being made to wait so long for him!

I shook my head again, wondering what the circumstances were that he was keeping me here? Anyway, we met. He met me with deep affection, we had a nice chat and I left without regret. After that I also came to Delhi. Sometimes we would meet, and the old memories would come alive. His tenure in 'Hindustan' did not last long and I also went to 'Amar Ujala'. This time his absence from daily work was long.

I took him as a consultant in 'Amar Ujala'. It was the kindness of late Atul Maheshwari that he agreed. Later, before joining 'Hindustan', I went to his house and told him everything. I had proposed to keep him in my place in 'Amar Ujala'. His tenure lasted for a few months. Before this, I had recommended him to Prabhu Chawla in 'Aaj Tak' in my place. That tenure was also short.

We had not met for a few years but we were friends. Yesterday I suddenly got the news of his passing away. I was aware of his illnesses but even the thought of my friend's death seems like a heavy omen. Ajay, you are gone but there is one thing that never goes away and that is the past. A whole part of my past is in your name. You will be remembered!