My father's name is Surendra Mishra, and he is going to turn 70 on Jan 27. He lives in New Delhi, with Ma, my brother Rohit, and Rohit's wife, Meeta. Papa retired from the IAS in 1999, and has since worked for himself in the areas of management consultancy, and now, real-estate, housing finance, and so on. He loves cricket, with a depth of passion and intensity, seldom found even in cricket-crazy India. He also loves football, tennis, current events and reading on a vast variety of subjects. After Rohit met Meeta, Papa has become a big follower of Hindustani classical music. Meeta is a well-known exponent of the Gwalior gharana.
Most of all, Papa loves people. He doesn't always show it demonstrably, but he is a huge champion for humanity in general. He has no difficulty in putting himself in the other guy's shoes; in fact, his attitude could be called apologist. Whatever the label, there is no doubt that the world can use a lot more of his brand of understanding.
Papa grew up in Birapurushottampur village near Puri in Orissa. He was the third son/child, but might have been the eldest in terms of his own sensibilities. He was and still is extremely close to all his siblings; when we see them together, they are like a bunch of kids. It's just wonderful.
Papa is a great guy, and this is something I have heard all my life. From people he has worked with in Orissa and in Delhi, from neighbours, from the junta at large.
And believe me, my dad's no angel. He can nag like you won't believe, he just doesn't let things go at times. But people still love him, because he is polite, caring, kind and fair.
This post and the subsequent posts are my way of sharing my feelings towards Papa with the rest of you.
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