Issue :   
December 2017 Edition of Power Politics is updated.         December 2017 Edition of Power Politics is updated.
Issue:Dec' 2017

TRIBUTE

A well-known Sindhi in Africa

Narain Shahdadpuri In 1969, Narain S h a h d a d p u r i ' s depressions turned into a blessing in disguise. He realised that his twin missions—spiritualism and establishing business—were more than possible. He developed rich contacts with saints. He, along with brother Ghanshyam, succeeded in building a Gita Ashram in Lagos. Saints visited it regularly. They delivered their sermons. Many Sindhi members from the US, Britain and other centres attended these.
Similarly, he bought a house in Mathura where they have their congregations.
From small jobs as refrigeration technician, Narain worked in the National Science Foundation (USA) in Delhi in early 1970s, Narain (Nari), 73, rose as a mighty successful business man in all Nigeria and Kenya. His phenomenal success was dependent on a good hard kennel of common-sense and his shrewd business mind. He wore happy disposition in all conditions, no matter how exacting.
The life was intensely rough and tough in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, but he translated it to comfort with relaxed attitude and coolness. He was firm to the extent of being stubborn. He did not accept his defeat. He succeeded in changing his detractors carefully and subtly to his point of view. He seldom lost a friend.
Despite open heart surgery in Max some years ago, he was hale and heart when he suddenly fell ill. The doctors gave him about six months as he had brain haemorrhage in Nairobi. Then he suffered from a Dengue fever. He was rushed to Delhi Max hospital. He was born in Hyderabad (Sind) on April 14, 1944 and died on October 31, 2017. He leaves behind his wife, Jayanti (of Jaipur), two sons, Mahesh and Prem settled in Dubai and a daughter,Deepdhikha lives in England with her husband.
Robbers gained an entrance once in Narain's bunglow, surrounded from three sides by sea. His mind worked. He made them comfortable. He served them drinks and food. He presented them his purse. They became friends. They left without harming any one. From a lonely surroundings, he shifted to a multistoried colony which, he and wife, felt was much safer than a single house. Narain was driven to Sindhi culture and Sindhi language after all Sind fell in the territory of Pakistan. Sindhi is a very rich language. The Shah Abdul Latif book is equivalent to any religious or literary book.
Narain's father, Choithram, was a leader of the first group of Sindhis to have migrated to Delhi where the group was given a shelter in Kicha hostel. He was allotted a small house in Lajpat Nagar-II against his property in Hyderabad (Sind).

K.R.Wadhwaney