News of Shailender Dhawan's demise has come as a shock. He was 65. But he himself said he could have continued for many more years. He was closely associated with The Free Press Journal as its editor for almost two decades.
He recently relocated to Chandigarh following the retirement of his wife from the Reserve Bank. I told her this morning that his heart was still in Mumbai. She corrected me saying "his heart was in FPJ." Indeed it was.
Each afternoon his Man Friday Koli would drive him from his apartment in "Bank House" ensconced behind Mantralaya and drop him at the FPJ House at Nariman Point. Even before stepping into the news room Mr Dhawan, as he was respectfully called by all, would have updated himself with news from all over India and the rest of the world.
Before plonking into his chair, for some strange reason he would squeeze a toy placed on the window sill of his cabin and make a noise. The mystery of this daily ritual continues unravelled.
I met him first in the ancient TOI building several years ago when he was working for The Economic Times. He was a handsome, clean shaven journo and giggling girls would vie with each other to get his attention. He later sported a beard and a turban, but remained his charming self nevertheless.
Extremely soft spoken, he never wore his erudition on the sleeves of his Pathan dress. He had deep insights into issues of politics, economics and Hindi film music. He was justly famous for his headings which brightened up the front page and brought a smile to the lips of readers even as they were sipping their morning cuppa.
Once at the evening edit meeting we were discussing the grand victory of Gukesh over his Chinese rival. I remarked that it was the victory of sambar over chowmein. All of us had a good laugh and dispersed. To my most pleasant surprise Mr Dhawan actually made that the headline the following morning and that became a hot topic of discussion in newsrooms across the nation.
He was generous to a fault. The pressure of meeting the deadline rarely ruffled him. He was extremely well networked and often his old colleagues would drop in just to say hello and have ginger tea which he would graciously order from Chayos.
Good bye Mr Dhawan. May Waheguru keep you blessed wherever you are.
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