B G Verghese: a man of substance

In the journey of life, we sometimes meet certain people , even though for a pretty little time,who leave some indelible mark in our memory that is difficult to erase . I had the opportunity of meeting such a person, who was no other than a Magsaysay award winner journalist sometime in the nineteen eighties when I was heading the Press Information Bureau’s Shillong unit. One day, while going through the teleprinter roll, I suddenly glanced at a message from our Chief of the Bureau in New Delhi that an eminent journalist would visit
Shillong on the way to Aizawl in Mizoram on some very important assignment . During his stay, he was also to visit the North Eastern Council in the Meghalaya Capital and I had to see that his programme goes unhindered. That was an Order of the first category importance. Accordingly , I made arrangements for his stay at the Assam Rifles Guest House in Shillong on the particular day and left for home from the office, sending the needed information to my Head quarters. But the moment I reached home, there was a phone call from the Assam Rifles regarding the arrival of the guest. I immediately started for the Guest House and found a handsome gentleman with a smiling face sitting comfortably on a sofa. Wishing him a happy stay in Shillong I ordered for coffee and snacks. In fact, it was he who initially asked me what I would prefer, tea or coffee, but I said “Sir, you are our guest.”
The next day he came to our PIB office, made some enquiries on phone and wanted us to help him getting someone to sponsor his visit to Mizoram the next day. Since our
Steno was a Mizo lady, she sponsored his visit by filling the required form accordingly. After a couple of days, he returned from Mizoram and visited our office again to get some work done. He thanked us profusely and left saying a hearty “ bye “ to finish his other engagements at the North Eastern Council in Shillong itself. All said and done, our duty was over. It was a great relief for us that we could do our duty well and give farewell to the honoured guest fully satisfied. The most important part of his visit was that he also sent me a letter separately with a deep personal touch from the Guwahati Circuit House before starting to the airport. 
But I have not told yet as to who he was , about whom I have written so much and what was so special about it since it was part of an official duty only . Yes. But then he was a
special person with the heart of a child and a mind as wide as the Pacific. He was the late B G Verghese, the widely known Ramon Magsaysay Award winner journalist besides being a prolific political writer. He was also the editor of the Hindustan Times and the Indian Express for some time besides being the Information Advisor to the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for sometime.
It is really something very much worth noting to get a few lines of appreciation from a person of such a stature. It was also surprising that such a busy person of national standing could manage a little time to write a letter just before leaving for the airport. It was really great. By the way, I must tell you what was actually in that letter. The letter which I am preserving carefully goes like ,” Dear Shri Baruah, A delayed word of thanks for your kind help. I really do appreciate…….your trouble…. I got the Mizoram pass…..In gratitude, Yours sincerely, B G Verghese ( some letters are not legible now )॥Born on 21 June, 1926, Shri Verghese died on December 30, 2014.