Yash Goyal

JAIPUR/NEW YORK (TIP): Anonagenarian’s exemplary life that inspired many and his value system that shaped lives in the family and society has left for heavenly abode. The legacy of his vision guided all of us to the new frontiers every day but sadly to say that Anandi Lal Sharma, retiree IFS (Indian Forest Service), has passed away after a protracted illness in Pink City on December 5. Popularly called as Anandilal “Bauji” was the father of Dr Samin K Sharma, renowned interventional cardiologist and Chairman of Eternal Hospital, and father-in-law of Mrs Manju Sharma, Co-Chairperson of MD of EHCC in Jaipur. Out of a number of memorable events and incidents of his life, in one winter season, an elderly couple were out for a morning walk when they saw a poor man shivering from the cold on the side of the road, whose feet were also swollen due to the cold. When he saw the condition of that person, he took off his recently bought shoes and gave it to that person. This elderly man was none other than Bauji who had told his wife, “I will buy more, but if this man had stayed barefoot for some more time this winter, his condition would have deteriorated. At least now he will be able to walk on cold ground”.Bauji was always ready to help others, even if he had to use his personal resources for this. Punctuality is such that it lasts for life – Bauji had crossed 90 decades of life and was always strictly punctual. His priority was to complete the work on time. Even after retirement, he did not leave the habit of punctuality in his daily routine. If breakfast time was left in his routine, he would not have breakfast that day. He maintained his discipline and self-reliance throughout his life. His principle of honesty, grounding and big thinking was also unique. It has always been the principle of Bauji that whatever work you do, complete it honestly and on time. Stay connected to the ground and keep your thinking big. He passed the same principles to his children as well.  At the end of his life, when he was told that he was being put on ventilator support, he listed some tasks that were related to helping the needy. He loved being completely honest towards his work and he also liked people who had similar habits. Recalling an incident, his son Dr Samin said that in the initial days when I was in Jaipur, a patient came to the house for consultation on one day. I examined him and prescribed the necessary medicines. When the patient told that he was unable to pay the fee, I did not take the fee from him. While leaving, he was stopped by Bauji and started talking to him. When he came to know that the patient did not pay my fees, he asked him “Does there have money for some food or not?” When the patient expressed his inability for this too, he gave him some money from his pocket and said that “If you eat something and drink it, if you take medicine without eating it will not work.” He also made many efforts for the empowerment of women. The ‘Kamla Sharma Memorial Charitable Trust’ created by her for social upliftment, provided free sewing machines and free courses to women so that they could become self-reliant. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bauji distributed free ration every month to many needy families. During this epidemic, he also took care of the marriage expenses of many girls, provided free medical facilities to the disabled girls. He always used to emphasize progressive ideology. He had also adopted this ideology in his normal routine. If he used to walk two thousand steps during the morning walk, then his effort was to walk a few steps more than the previous day, but he should be better than yesterday. About 75 years of continuous fasting on every Tuesday, He always had faith in God. Indeed, he left the family and friends on physical land, nevertheless Bauji is with the heavenly god now and will rest in peace.