Advertisements
May 27, 2017  

Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s First Prime Minister, Died This Day 53-Years Ago; May 27, 1964.

by Anura Guruge

23 October 1962, in Ceylon, with ‘Aunty’ Bandaranaike, the world’s FIRST ever elected Head of State. [Yes, I knew her, well, and, yes, I did call her ‘Aunty’.] Quite the picture. Next to ‘Aunty’ B., on the right in Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi who would also go on to be a Prime Minister. The young man, I am sure, is my namesake Anura B. — while the two young ladies are Mrs. B’s daughters — and one of them would go onto be President. QUITE THE PICTURE.

Click to ENLARGE and read here. Wikipedia link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru

He was quite the man. So pivotal a figure.

I got to meet him, in October 1962. See picture above. He came to our house for dinner! Kid you not. Yes, my adoptive father was a VIP and a ‘big shot’ in the Government. I think he (my adoptive father), as one of Mrs. Bandaranaike’s most trusted collaborators, might have been in charge of organizing that visit.

I still remember it in my mind’s eye. He was late coming. The house was packed with guests. There was an excited hum of anticipation.

He was tall, v. tall. I was 9 years old, so not that tall. He HAD PRESENCE. He glowed white! Yes, he, per his trademark, was dressed head-to-toe in brilliant, white. He bent down to shake my hand. He autographed a brand new autograph book (that had been made for me, for the occasion, by my adoptive father’s brother, Edward, a very talented bookbinder). I still have it.

OK, I will confess. Meeting and shaking Yuri Gagarin’s hand, also in Ceylon, thanks to my adoptive father, was a bigger thrill. BUT, Nehru, I still recall had this ethereal presence.

Wow. I never realized he died so soon afterwards.

What a legacy. What a man. My type of guy. {SMILE}

Related Posts:
 ++++ Check Categories ‘Think’ & ‘Events’ for other related posts >>>>

by Anura Guruge

Advertisements

Tags: adoptive father, Anura, , , , Jawaharlal Nehru, president, Prime Minister, Yuri Gagarin

About Anura Guruge

See 'The Blogger' on my https://nhlifefree.com/ blog.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: