A tribute to my dearest friend….

A tribute to my dearest friend….

The Walker between the Flowers and Sunshine

Fifty nine is no age to die. Not for the handsome, youthful, and spirited Surender Singh whose religion was fitness and vigour. Not for the one who had mocked at the natural ageing process and had defied his body clock.

No fifty nine was no age for Surender Singh to die.

But death came to him swift and sure when his chopper nose-dived into a field near Saharanpur on a grim Thursday morning in the last week of March, leaving a nation in shock and his family and friends inconsolable.

Surender Singh was a permanent fixture in Lodhi gardens where you could find him in the latest branded t-shirts and top of the line sports shoes whenever he was in Delhi, which was at least 20 days a month. His fresh wit, which all his associates and most Lodhi-walkers frequently sampled, is immortal.

An early riser, frugal eater, vegetarian and teetotaler Surender Singh lived life on a high, driving his spanking new jeep between Delhi and his home town, Bhiwani, where a huge constituency of supporters had elected him to parliament and the assembly twice over. He was a tough fighter and a survivor and most viewed him as the dashing future chief minister of Haryana, a legacy that his father Bansi lal was gladly bequeathing to him. A keen cricketer and astute politician, he had an image of being untiring and timeless.

No fifty nine was no age for him to die.

But death be not proud, for he has outwitted you.

Surrender Singh lives on.

He lives in the blades of grass, the trees, the flowers, the birds, the bushes, the stones, and every nook and cranny of his favorite Lodhi Gardens. He lives in the minds and souls of all those who knew and loved him; in the hearts of scores of walkers whom he whizzed past and those who often saw him sitting on the parapet at the entrance with his unending stock of crisp one liners that had become his signature stamp.

We mourn you my friend. Lodhi gardens will never be the same without you.

Death be not proud…

For Surender Singh shall live on.