Today, the oldest advocate at the Bombay High Court fell victim to a massive heart attack and passed away rather dramatically while he was delivering his arguments in court. Mr. V. T. Walawalkar was the senior most advocate who practiced predominantly on the Appellate Side of the Bombay High Court. I regret that I never had the opportunity to work with him. In fact, I didn’t know who he was until I heard of him today. From what I hear, he was a thorough gentleman who had mastered the art of advocacy. Advocacy is not always about winning cases… it’s about using every skill that you have for the sake of your client. It’s about grit and determination and giving your 100% till the very end. It’s about boundless patience and humility, all of which I could see on this man’s face when I paid homage to his body. The body was brought into room no.36 where judges & fellow lawyers paid their respects to his departing soul. Although I didn’t know this man, I felt drawn to the room. Soon enough I knew why... When they brought in his body, I saw the most loving eye(lid)s in the world! It was the first time I was seeing a dead body but the experience was not quite what I thought it would be. The brief that he was arguing when he suddenly collapsed was kept by his side (yea yea, we're a dramatic lot!:)) His face reflected the sheer passion with which he advocated his cause (he looked like someone who would take up a cause; not a case). Around him were keen faces all of whom suddenly seemed like family to me. I saw a humanness in lawyers that I had never seen before. For the first time, I was PROUD to be a part of the Bombay Bar Association. For the first time it felt like we were all on the same side! I felt a rush of ambition and passion for my profession. I was reminded of how important it is to be a part of a family… the larger the family the greater the pride! Like Guruji says, we are all part of an ocean and when we recognize and cherish this, we become the Ocean (Vasudeva Kutumbakam). I became the ocean today thanks to Mr. Walawalkar.May his soul rest in love and peace! जय गुरुदेव :)
4 comments:
Wow, Pooja! Thats so beautifully written.. really touched my heart..
aarty
Hi, This is an old entry on your blog which i happened to visit a little after mr. Walawalkar: my grandfather died. I am sorry to just barge in without knowing you! That too so late, but when i first read it, i was not in a mental condition to say anything. your blog really touched my mind, especially the 'most loving eye(lids)' part. I am thankful to you because i could take his antyadarshan only through your eyes. His death was so sudden, and me being in the US and four months pregnant, i did not come to know about it till long after he was cremated. But i must say, you must have special powers to understand what he was just by looking at his parthiv. He is by far the most loving soul i could ever meet in my life. The only good part is, i see many traits of him in my daughter that came 5 months later, may be because i thought so much about him before she was born :)
Apt writing about someone special. Never met him, saw him directly but sometimes you tend to feel for someone!!
I read about his demise in a local Marathi newspaper and wondered "how come someone at his age could fight in court for a cause (yes...you are right...it can't merely be a case)!! Immediately I thought of my friend in US ("Anamika" :-)) without knowing that he was her grandfather. Later on came to know more things about him and respect just grew!
Thanks for this nice article!
Best wishes!
My little cousin sister a devotee forwarded this to us this morning 8 years after Ajoba passed on. I read it out to my mother in law the eldest daughter of Mr. Walavalkar. We all were carried away by your words your love. Such beauty in your expressions. Thank you! Jai Gurudev
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