Seth Sat Pal Mal – An obituary

 

Seth Sat Pal Mal – An obituary

Seth Pal Mal, 71, of Bootan Mandi Jalandhar passed away on February 15 after hospitalization for a week or so for age related ills. He was not keeping well for some time but his sheer spirit of living every bit of life and involvement in the community matters kept him going. It was clearly visible from his participation in the Guru

Ravidass Gurpurab just a fortnight ago; he led the Shoba Yatra, as usual, on January 31 in an open jeep with his family, paid obeisance at the Bhog ceremony with full dedication in the forenoon and presided over the Musical Programme in the evening which lasted till the bee hours on February 1 to celebrate of the great Guru at our native place, Bootan Mandi – a nerve center of dalit chetna to which, in the process, he contributed considerably as Seth Sat Pal Mal in his formative years.

I wrote about Seth Sat Pal Mal several times in my blogs on My Fellow BootanMandians with a good sense of belonging; we both were born in one of the narrow streets in poor and ordinary families. By the time, I left for Delhi in pursuits of my livelihood in early 1970; Sat Pal was still studying in the final years of his schooling. Sat Pal’s grand-father, Milkhi Ram who was called Milkhi Sheikh was a shrewd leather businessman. He initiated Sat Pal into leather business in the early years of 1970s. Sat Pal showed promise and business acumen and in short span of time did well. He was an established man by the mid-1970s, a self-made and successful businessman.  Meanwhile he got married to Kamlesh a said to be lady luck for Sat Pal who brought all success and prosperity in her dowry as it is said that every successful man has women at his back. Sat Pal’s family, father, Seth Bishan Dass and brothers, shifted to Ambala City and did well in leather business. His brother, Ramesh Mal even rose to become Mayor of the city in mid-2010.

In the pursuit of my diplomatic career, I lost in-depth touch with the community back home and as such did not know much about Sat Pal expect the fact that he did well and became a known and renowned personality of Jalandhar and beyond with considerable clout and say in the community and the society at large. I may call it, in the jargon of John Milton as ‘Paradise Gained’. Some of my interlocutors told me that Sat Pal, in spite of all success, did not shed his inherited touch with the local community, poor and rich. He was easily accessible for support in all socio-cultural activities in around Jalandhar. With a view to cater to the needs of his  Muslim business counterparts from Tamil Nadu, J&K and UP, he even donated land and built a mosque in Bootan Mandi. He was a son of the soil with characteristic humility. One anecdote which is vivid in my mind comes handy to share here. It was mid-1990s, if memory does not fail me; I was in Bootan Mandi with my family on home leave from Sweden. On the day of my return, I went to see Sat Pal at his home in our neighborhood. Sat Pal’s elder daughter was getting married on the same day. In the course of our conversation, I enquired about the boy and his family of their new relations (Ashok Kultham). He told me in all humility that it was a well-established business family of Kultham - Phagwara) and added “Apne ton changge aa” (They were better than us). He also insisted that he would be happy if I could stay and join them at the marriage.  I expressed my inability because I was to fly the next day. Sat Pal was so good and considerate that he said immediately after the marriage his own car would drop me at the IGI Airport in Delhi. I was touched by the gesture. I also came to know that Sat Pal highly respected my father, Sodhi Ram who was an expert and professional Munim (Accounts Keeper) in Bootan Mandi. Sat Pal utilized his services in his business as a trouble-shooter in handling his accounts and  tax returns etc. My father told me once. Off hand,  that Sat Pal knew how to earn and spent money but did not know how to save and retain. Ultimately, it proved to be slide down of Seth Sat Pal. On the other hand, he could not diversify and transform his business with the changing times. It may be termed as ‘Paradise Lost’. In the recent years, he tried his best to arrest the decline in his fortunes; efforts to ‘Regain the Lost Paradise’ by

joining politics but it was an attempt in vain. He became a party hopper in frustration from SAD to Congress Party and then BJP. It goes to his credit that in spite all this, he remained steadfast as regards his involvement in the community matters with the spirit of ‘never say die’ till the last. Seth Sat Pal’s funeral on February 16 and the flow of condolence messages in the social media fully justified his status in the community.

As regards my personal relations and interaction with Seth Sat Pal, as I mentioned earlier, it was of mutual respect and regard. Not that we did not have differences of opinion and approach particularly with regard to his handling of the issues of the Management of Guru

Ravidass Bhawan and Guru Ravidass Educational and Charitable Trust, which I oversaw informally as a humble member of the community after my return to my roots in Bootan Mandi by sitting on the fence, but I always found Sat Pal reverential and respectful towards me; I must add in haste to ward off any misgivings in this regard. Sat Pal lived a King’s life and that too at his own terms. In his demise, he has left a wide void in the community.  I always tended to advise him –

Tum Hi Tum Ho To Kya Tum Ho;

Hum Hi Hum Hai To Kya Hum Hain

Seth Sat Pal Mal, it seems, subscribed to poetic dictum:-

Marna To Lazim Hai Ik Din

Lekin Maut Se Pehle Mar Jana

Mere Bas Ki Baat Nahin