“The knights of Nagpur”

"I was most interested in and happy to read your article ‘The knights of Nagpur,’” (Parsiana, August 7, 2016) said C. K. Khushaldas, erstwhile Income Tax Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh. "The particular line that carried me back to my family and my young days in Nagpur was when you wrote about Dhun Mehta who said ‘A new dress was brought for me every day by Khushaldas tailor, who stitched for the British memsahibs.’ Khushaldas tailor was my father,” he exclaimed with pride and joy.
Khushaldas was most happy to talk about Nagpur and the many Parsi friends he had there. Referring to Dr Jamshed Irani (K.B.E.) he said, "We were in the same college together. In your article you mention Irani graduating as a gold medalist from the Science College, Nagpur. He got the gold medal in science, the same time that I got the gold medal in math,” he recalled.
Khushaldas mentioned how hard his father and mother had worked to send their sons to the best schools and colleges and how indebted he was for their love, toil, vision and the goals they set for their children. His younger brother, an engineer, worked for 42 years in the USA before returning to settle down in India.
I was overcome by the man who took such unabashed pride in his family and profession. It reinforced my belief that those who remember their antecedents and never forget the inputs of their family, teachers and others in the molding of their character and their lives, are great and worthy of respect.
DILNAVAZ E. BHAGWAGAR
Nagpur
diledul@yahoo.com