Bhapa Gurcharan Singhji nodded and said, ‘Randhawa was a dulha.’ Both of us were reminiscing about (MS) Randhawa Sahib. The word dulha instead of larra seemed more suitable from the mouth of Gurcharanji.

***

I met Randhawa Sahib for the first time through the novelist Sardar Nanak Singhji, who took me to meet him. Randhawa Sahib had written a letter to me about some land issue. I had thrown it away. I had no prior acquaintance with him. I just knew from hearsay that he was an influential, respected, and refined man; some high-ranking officer, nothing more. That’s all.

It was a huge government room! It was a clean room, unlike the typical dull and shabby office rooms. There was a flower vase on the table with flowers in it. The chairs and tables — everything was clean and gleaming. And on the other side of the table was Randhawa Sahib, the (deputy) commissioner of Delhi. One rarely encounters such a magnetic and fascinating personality. A fair complexion with a hint of pink, almost as if saffron had been kneaded into white butter. A glistening forehead! Sparkling eyes! Divine features and a carved face! He seemed to be some Greek god sculpted by Michelangelo.

***

Randhawa Sahib said, ‘You did not respond to my letter. I told you that I am developing a new colony in Hauz Khas. Plots are being sold. It’s my heartfelt desire for all writers, artists, and musicians to buy plots in Hauz Khas. The plots are being sold at a very reasonable and affordable rate now — a 500-yard plot costs Rs 5,000. But in the future, it will be worth lakhs.’

I replied, ‘Randhawa Sahib, I’m strictly against owning land and property. Why would I need land? Renting a couple of rooms somewhere is enough to make a home.’ ‘You are such a silly girl. You have no gumption,’ he scolded me affectionately.

‘Randhawa Sahib, it’s true. I am not at all wise. What can I do?’ He said, ‘If you have any financial problems, I can pay for it now. And you can just pay me back in small instalments, each month.’

What kind of person was he? I was sitting before someone of a magnanimous temperament! I felt immense affection for him.

‘Randhawa Sahib, please give me some time to think.’ ‘Yes, take your time. Amrita Pritam has already bought a plot. So have Kartar Singh Duggal and Bhapa Pritam Singh. Shanti Hiranand, the disciple of Begum Akhtar, has also bought a plot. They are not fools, you know.’ He bade me farewell after offering his advice.

***

Randhawa Sahib was born on 2 February 1909, and we cannot deny the fact that he displayed great maturity in his thinking and wisdom, even in his youth. He was a government official who had held very high-ranking posts. He was an expert in agricultural innovations and was one of the initiators of the Green Revolution. He even worked to rehabilitate the people who had been displaced from Pakistan to this side of Punjab.

***

An avid historian, his love for art was more than just a hobby. He was always ready to make sacrifices for artistic pursuits. He used to roam around the villages in the hills in search of miniature paintings from the Punjab school in order to buy them. He wrote various books about the miniature paintings.

When he became the commissioner of Chandigarh, he marked every leaf and plant with his name by personally taking care of the green development of the city. The lanes of Chandigarh are known even today because of the lakhs of trees that were planted by him. Similar trees planted along every lane, and the leaves and blossoms of those trees, all seem to whisper the name of Randhawa Sahib. Different types of flowers scattered across different roads! The entire city is decorated with different blossoms.

Randhawa Sahib was unusually, and quite wonderfully, prudent. He was so fond of flora and fauna that he had an almost familial bond with plants — as if they were his close associates. The groom of Punjab decorated Chandigarh like a bride with his own hands.

He built two grand museums in Chandigarh. One was for contemporary art and another for miniature paintings and old sculptures as well as modern art collected by him. Who else would have created these? Whatever he has built is the pride of Punjab.