Ode to my Dad

Smitashree Menon
Jun 15
5 min read

It seems like only yesterday, with tears streaming down my face, that my beloved Dad held my hand, when I was a little toddler, having fallen down, with a broken piece of glass accidentally slashing my palm — magically stitched together by my doctor grandad. I had looked up at him at that time and said “Bapa (Grandad) fixed it”. Till the very end it would remain the first thing he would tell me when he saw me “Bapa fixed it”

My dearest Dad, left for his heavenly abode a year ago, 10|06|2018, but his unbridled love for his wife and five daughters, will live on forever, in our hearts and mind.

A Self-made Man

Dad left the shores of India for London, to pursue his dreams with just Five Pounds in his pocket. After reaching London, he started practice after being called to the Bar from the Hon’ble Society of the Inner Temple.

To make ends meet, he applied for a vacant Maths Teacher’s job under the London County Council. He would narrate to us that at the time of being interviewed for the job, the Principal had said “You remind me of Mohammad Ali Jinnah — I see in your eyes the same look of determination that I had seen in one of Jinnah’s pictures”.

And determined he was — Dad worked really hard— teaching at Thomas Carlton School, Peckham, London, and then traveling daily to Central London to attend the afternoon and evening law classes. He went on to be a Barrister from the Inner Temple, London and also completed his Masters and PhD from the University of London.

From there on, there was no looking back, being handpicked to work as Research Assistant to Lord Denning (Alfred Thompson “Tom” Denning) before returning to India upon the demise of his mother.

In India, he would hold multiple positions in the Government and Judiciary (Acting Chief Justice, Orissa High Court), Senior Judge of Allahabad High Court, before retiring as Chief Justice of the High Court of Sikkim.

A family man

Since my childhood, have very vivid memories of dearest Dad, despite being extremely busy at work as well as many social commitments, always making time to have dinner with the entire family. Over the years, as kids, we would also be included as an integral part of his close friends circle and associated events — the numerous dinners, watching movies together, cricket matches at the famous local Stadium, vacations on the beach, et al. We would travel across the length and breadth of the country, many times as a part of his official entourage, see facets of India not seen before — truly an adventure every time!

He loved doing road trips, be it his younger days in England, where he would do numerous camping trips with the family, or the truly memorable one from Orissa to Chennai (more than 1000 Miles), in India, with the entire family of 7 in the car!!

His zeal for travel would take him to many parts of the world subsequently — that is where I have inherited my wanderlust genes from, I think!

His love for his wife, 5 daughters and grand children knew no bounds — from childhood to adulthood and beyond, Dad & Mum steadfastly stood by all our major life events, and were our emotional anchors at times of upheavals — absolutely rock solid.

A Super Special Bond

Being the youngest one in the family, I recollect the many extra special moments we shared — be it watching soccer matches on television together just before my 10th grade board exams (much to the chagrin of my mother), or the binge watching of all the Pink Panther & War Movies during my undergrad days in Allahabad, to not batting an eyelid when I mistakenly drove his brand new Fiat Car into a wall when I took to the wheel for the first time — he was an indulgent and doting Dad all through!!

In my later years, as I began working, he would be my morning alarm, waking me up on time to catch my early morning flights and staying up late in the night to check whether I had returned home safe and sound. Be it my summer project during my MBA school or during my first job off campus, he was there for the first few days, making sure that I had settled in well before going back to his super busy schedule.

Eloquence and Humor

Dad was a voracious reader and a walking and talking encyclopedia. He would remember quotable quotes that he used extensively in his many speeches, including humor in the otherwise very serious environment at courts while delivering judgements — something that he learnt from his days in England. His command over the English language was supreme and his repertoire of quotes / jokes and anecdotes aptly interspersed during normal conversations were truly amazing to hear. His knowledge of the national language, Hindi, was epitomized when he stood and delivered a speech amidst a packed audience of more than 300 Saints (Sadhus) in the holiest of Hindu congregations at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.

Integrity, Ethics and Discipline

That was my Dad — always treading on the path of righteousness, high morals and impeccable integrity — that was the reputation he had throughout his life. There would be politicians at the highest echelons of power, Chief Ministers, businessmen, childhood friends that would go on to occupy the highest position in the Judiciary of the Country, but none would be able to influence my Dad from his path of Integrity. His penchant for discipline was felt most by his students — be it while teaching high school students in London, or as a Professor or later on, as Vice Chancellor — no postponement of exams and acceding to student demands if it were not by the rule book….

Zeal and Passion for Life…

Dad always believed in living life to the fullest — be it his passion for flying planes to chasing his dreams to achieve the highest levels of education in the legal field in England..to his eternal love for music and songs — a connoisseur of Western Classical and Hindustani Classical Music — his beautiful renditions of songs in his rich baritone voice, the lyrics of which he would remember till the very end — will forever, be etched in my mind. He loved playing all kinds of sports and games — swimming, tennis, cricket, billiards, cards and chess.

Humane…

A flashback of memories makes me remember the supremely humane side of Dad. During my childhood, the brother of one of the top bureaucrats in the State, who was differently abled would come to our house at least three days a week, in a rickshaw and wait for Dad to return from the Court. Dad, would tirelessly lend him a patient ear as none from his family would do so. He would always lend a helping hand to those that needed it the most — including his loyal staff — many of whom got enrolled into the Government Service during his tenure — and who, till the very end, remained eternally loyal and would come and spend time with him when he visited those locations after his retirement.