My Fellow-BootanMandian – Seth Thakur Dass Suman

 

My Fellow-BootanMandian – Seth Thakur Dass Suman

Seth Thakur Dass Suman

I did not know Seth Thakur Dass very well till my return to my native place Bootan Mandi in Jalandhar on my retirement from diplomatic career. Before I left Jalandhar for Delhi in March, 1970, I had heard of the leather business family of Narain Dass and his clan
belonging to Jalowal Abadi, an extension of Bootan Mandi. Later, on occasional visits on home-leave, I came to know that one of the scions of Narain Dass’s family, Ram Aasra made good in politics and remained a Municipal Councilor for a couple of successive terms. On his demise, his wife Surinder Kaur took the gauntlet and filled the gap. She is now the Senior Deputy Mayor of Jalandhar and rightly so. Narain Dass was doing well along with his elder son Mehnga Ram who was addressed as Gora Mehnga

Senior Dy. Mayor Surinder Kaur

as one of the brothers/cousins of Narain Dass, Mehnga Ram who was also in the same business from the same premises, was of little dark complexion and was called Kala Mehnga.  With a view to shoulder the business of father Narain Dass, Thakur Dass who was serving in the BSF took voluntary retirement and joined the family business of leather in their company Narain Dass Menga Ram sometime in 1977-78, I understand. Here starts the phase of phenomenal success of the family under the nomenclature of Modern Group of Companies.

They came, arrived and reached and fortified their position and status as sons of the soil with sheer business acumen and grit. While concentrating on leather business, they spread their operations from Bootan Mandi to the new facilities at the Leather Complex in Jalandhar with technologically upgraded tanneries and show making units at Jalowal Abadi, their native place. The worthy sons of Seth Thakur Dass – Goldy, Ravi and Balwinder, after their College eduction, joined the family business and also diversified their operations. I was told that they did well in real estate business not only for making quick bucks but also adding to their fortunes in agricultural land in and around nearby villages and also urban real estate by way of shopping malls and residential villas in posh localities of Jalandhar. I gathered some of these details only recently when I visited and met Goldy Suman to condole the sudden death of Seth Thakur Dass some two months ago.

On my return to Bootan Mandi and in pursuit of my social and community activism, I met Seth Thakur Dass occasionally and found him a calm and quiet man with unpretentious dignity. He was genuinely involved in community matters with a view to seek the welfare of the needy and weaker sections of the society. Seth Sahib

With Thakur Dass at Guru Ravidass Jyanti

also remained the President of Guru Ravidass Educational and Charitable Trust of Bootan Mandi for couple of consecutive terms and as such contributed considerably towards the development of Guru Ravidass Dham, a nerve centre of community activities in the region.  I was told that at the nearby Jalowal Abadi too, Seth Thakur Dass and their extended family were actively involved in the development and running the Government school and Guru Ravidass Gurudawara and also helping the poor of the locality.

As I said that I did not know Seth Thakur Dass as it should be till his demise a couple of months ago. I joined the family at Seth ji’s ‘Antim Ardas’ at Guru Ravidass Dham, a ceremony which impressed me further. It was a huge and well hosted congregation participated by the different shades and hues of political, social and economic life of the area. Speaker after speaker spoke very high of Seth Thakur Dass and paid glowing tributes to the worthy son of the soil led by MP Santokh Singh, MLA Sushil Rinku, Former MP and Minister Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Former MLA and CPS Avinash Chander, Dr. Ram Lal Jassi in the presence of high-ups in the business, bureaucratic and spiritual circles viz. IAS Bhagwati Prasad, IAS Santosh Sandhu and CEO’s representing big business houses in leather and real estate sector. Sudden departure of Seth Thakur Dass has left a wide gap which would be difficult to fill. This I write as a humble tribute to the departed soul and a gesture of standing with the bereaved family as a fellow BootanMandian.

Postscript:- Not that I have had some deeper association with  Seth Thakur Dass and his family yet I decided to write as my usual trait to appreciate and recognize my fellow BootanMandians who did well in life by their sheer grit and dedication and were self made. I thought of appending this as postscript to justify my out of the blue pick, as I please.