Life has many shades and it keeps changing like the weather, depending upon the circumstances and the surroundings. Each shade teaches you something important which leaves great impact on us. It was year 2004, my friend who was associated with me was given a task to find a lawyer to file a Company Appeal in the High Court of Uttaranchal at Nainital (Now Uttarakhand). It was a new High Court, established after reorganization of a new state, and a very handful of lawyers in the High Court were available. The jurisdiction being Company law, it was really a challenge for my friend to find a lawyer who was conversant with this branch of law.

Finally, on his return my friend he informed that he was unable to find a senior lawyer having much knowledge of law in the particular branch, and he was very happy about having identified a relatively young lawyer, claiming “mere ko pure high court main ek ladka upright and smart laga, maine usi ko brief de diya” (In the entire High Court I could find one upright and smart lawyer whom I assigned the brief).

This was first ever Company Appeal filed in the said High Court, after its establishment and at that time Justice Late S.H. Kapadia, was the Chief Justice and he use to take up Company’s matter sitting singly. The day the matter was listed, I was informed about it and had visited Nainital, when I met this young, upright and smart lawyer from Banbasa, a small town in Champawat district, more famous for its border post with Nepal.

The very first interaction with this person was memorable, very down to earth, hunger to learn new areas of law and very co-operative. At that time being a struggling lawyer, he had just a small two room rented accommodation, one exclusively dedicated to his first wife (advocacy) and second to his real wife and two small daughters.

We stayed for couple of hours and then went to court and thereafter the bonding between us developed so strong that we gave our relation a name “natural allies”.

In 2006 first set-back came when he lost his mother, he took his father, sisters and his younger brother along. As mother was very close to him, she wanted him to look after his younger brother, whom he brought to Nainital from Banbasa and introduced him to his fraternity, extending all support like a father figure to him. However, he had his own way to go and since he was not getting along, he moved into another field.

I recollect year 2010, when he was blessed with a son, this brought great joy in the family, especially to the two young ones, who had been looking forward for a brother who they can tie rakhi and celebrate one of India’s most auspicious festival of “Rakshabandhan”, the bond of love between a sister and brother. However, this joy was temporary, when the sweet infant had been diagnosed with a rare disease and was advised to move from Bareilly to Delhi, at Gangaram Hospital. Unfortunately, the infant could not survive and finally gave up after a week of his birth. This was another set-back and a moment very tough for the entire family, especially for the two small little angels and in particular their mother. We had no words to console, but as he is a real fighter, he took this with the same spirit and got his family out of this trauma.

His success story continued, he cracked several tough cases and in the year 2011, he contested bar elections for Naintial High Court Bar Association and was elected as President of the Bar.

Year 2019, was a glorious year for him as his reverend Senior Mr Kalia completed his 50 years in bar, he was designated as a Senior Advocate.

His father an eight-five year old hale and hearty person, though is proud for his elder son, but as every parent while he was happy for his elder son, he felt very insecure for his younger son. One fine day he asked his elder son to visit him and told him that he is thinking of giving everything to his younger son, to which he (elder) had no reservation, but while saying so he said “as you have two daughters and the younger one has son” this really hurt him.

Even, in today’s era we still have discrimination between son and daughter/boy and girl. Hope things will change and we will not be clothed with this mind set.

But the most interesting part of him, is he took this as another challenge as he believes that his two little angles are in no manner less than a boy, as one who is pursuing her studies in DPS, R K Puram, New Delhi and is a great orator and has already achieved several miles stones, a lawyer in the making. The younger one has a very sharp acumen and great critic of Mr Modi,  and is a politician in the making.

Life as I have said has various shades; it’s how we see them. I am very lucky to have a friend like him, a true and real “natural allies”.