Activist, scientist, lawyer, cook, poet, singer, lover, father, comrade…, Mukul, unlike most intellectuals, communicated straight from heart and without any complications; let us celebrate his life today

 

Pravin Mishra

 

Posted On Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 02:23:59 AM

Unlike most intellectuals, Mukul communicated straight from heart

Author Anaïs Nin had said, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Mukul Sinha painted on a large canvas of life and with multiple hues. He was an activist, scientist, lawyer, cook, poet, singer, lover, father, comrade and a great human who cared for every fellow human but cared very little when people misunderstood him. Unlike most intellectuals, Mukul communicated straight from heart, and without any complications. His chose his words carefully and could strike a fantastic conversation at ease equally with an illiterate as well a highly learned person. He could explain the same concept with extreme simplicity to one kind of audience and with extreme sophistication to another. Mukul loved perfection in the smallest of things around. He was a passionate cook.

He’d often take me to the kitchen and explain the ingredients and what they do to the food items. He’ll ensure that not just the taste, but the look, aroma and the temperature was right. He would often give me ideas to paint and write. Even on the last day of his life, when oxygen was being given to him, he was passionately teaching the nurse the correct technique to break a tablet into two equal halves. On multiple occasions, explaining that it’s time we started taking more responsibilities he would say that leaders should not create crisis when they leave. “The best leadership is the one that withers away.” Mukul did what he said. He withered away in a matter of eight months after being detected with lung cancer. He breathed his last on the afternoon of May 12 after a long battle with cancer. His body was donated for research to BJ Medical College, Civil Hospital as he wished. In death, as in life, he was a scientist and a rationalist.

His was a life well lived, before and after! Mukul will continue to live in the struggles of all selfless people fighting for justice. Ahmedabad Heroes felicitation event on March 8 this year was Mukul’s last appearance in a public event. Enhancing the significance of preserving our constitution, he said, “Our constitution is perhaps the best legal document anybody has ever prepared in this world and we must do everything to preserve it. Our struggle is essentially in that direction. Yes, we do pick all sorts of tags but that doesn’t deter us. Because we know that if the marginalised sections like the workers and the minorities lose faith in this rule of law then we’re going to have a very very dangerous society to live in. So it is our duty, whatever people may call us, whether we become very unpopular or not, is to preserve that rule of law. I shall continue working in this conflict zone and continue to work as long as our heritage and constitution needs to be preserved.”

In an interview to filmmaker sisters Sheena and Sonum Sumaria, Mukul talked about his hopes for India: “We are supposed to be incorrigible optimists, who we are and we believe that the Indian democracy has deep roots and it is not easy to pull them out. Merely because you can make a temporary divide, it will not destroy a system that has been created for quite some time. I am not suggesting that it is a perfect democratic system or that it gives justice to the marginalised. It doesn’t. But whatever we have is still a very important achievement and development in human history and my feeling is that the Indian people will once again rise and defend its democratic voice and defeat every method that tries to destroy this foundation of democracy including communal methods. We shall win.” Mukul was my mentor, my inspiration, my guardian, my leader and a fighter like no other. He was holding beacon of hope against communalism and tyranny. I pledge to take his pursuit for truth and justice forward.

Mukul Sinhas don’t die. A social gathering to celebrate his life has been organised from 9 am to 1 pm today (May 15), at Samarpan Vidyapith at Ramdev Nagar on Satellite Road in Ahmedabad.

No mourning, no prayers, only celebration of a life well lived, before and after!

Please do come.

 

Read mor ehere — http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/78/20140515201405150225388129fe76e04/Mukul-Sinhas-don%E2%80%99t-die.html