In the unfortunate and untimely passing away of Shri Raghunath Behura on 15th April 2012, following a road accident in Gauhati a few days back, the country has lost an outstanding officer of the Indian Police Service and a great worshipper of art and music.
Belonging to the Tripura cadre he showed excellence in handling his professional responsibilities and made a mark as a senior police officer serving the Intelligence Bureau delling with sensitive cases.
With his proven record as a serious and bright student he always established his reputation by his many splendoured accomplishments in academic field. Well acclaimed for his broad outlook and pleasing personality he always disarmed others with his warmth, sense of humour and friendly desposition.
He was exceptional in every sense of the term. Apart from his enviable achievements for which he earned respect from the police fraternity, he remained in the forefront for spreading art and culture of Odisha and popularising them across India. It was a herculean task and he could effortlessly do it in the company of his charming wife Shrimati Ipsita Behura. In his sad demise the wider world of art and culture has suffered irreparable loss.
I have had the opportunity of meeting and knowing Raghubhai way back in 1980 when he used to stay in the room of Jinendra Mohanaty in Jhelum hostel in JNU. What struck me most was his grasp on many aspects of sociology which he could explain so fluently and convincingly. It used to be so educative and absorbing and quite often many of his friends recorded what he used to say for their benefit. It testified to his sharp mind, brilliance, eloquence and comprehensive understanding of the subject.
A winsome personality he endeared himself to one and all by his decency, graceful conduct and pleasing manners. Counted by his wide circle of friends and admirers as a loveable person committed to values and high standards of life, he was always held high for his strength of character and practical idealism. I recall his visit to the Prime Minister’s office in response to the call of duty during 2004 and 2010 when I was serving there as a Director. He always used to make it a point to visit me and find out my research work on Mahatma Gandhi and Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das. I found it very rewarding and encouraging to interact with him. He used to persuade, rather insist that I should write an article for the souvenir he used to bring out annually coinciding the dance drama programmes featuring his talented wife who has distinguished herself as a Odisi dancer.
Truly he was a shining example of a person who passionately pursued finer aspects of life and at the same time awakened consciousness of the larger public to anchor their way of life on those values for greater enrichment and fulfilment. It is truly remarkable that a police officer with a punishing schedule of work had so willingly devoted time to preserve our precious culture and popularise our cultural and musical tradition at the national level.
It was Mahatma Gandhi who used to lament that people of India lacked music in their life and therefore they never displayed unity of purpose in pursuing national goals . Explaining that music represented rhythm, harmony and order he stated that without music India would not get Swaraj. He wanted music lessons for school children and popularisation of music across the nation. In fact what Raghubhai was doing was to realise the vision of Mahatma Gandhi. Truly in his own life there was rhythm, harmony and order due to the love he cultivated for music. His wife’s contributions in this regard are immeasurable.
One of the dance programmes organised by Raghubhai in the Kamani auditorium, woven around the theme of terrorism and the method to counter it, had cast a spell on the audience. It very powerfully conveyed the theme of unity of all religions to give a constructive but firm response to terrorist menace. In portraying the social and national themes through his cultural programmes he remained tuned to larger issues which dominated the minds of the citizens and stirred the whole country for appropriate action.In doing so he demonstrated a degree of sensitivity and finer understanding which are sadly lacking in the present generation.
It is fascinating to note that he chose the medium of art, culture and music to respond to the challenges of our time. People are now talking of soft power to change the minds of others and attract them to certain goals and propositions which would create a win win situation for all.
In this context India represents a reservoir of soft power the potentiality of which has hardly been tapped. Many sensitive minds from the western world say in so many words that apart from assessing India in terms of its economic strength it is important to fathom India’s real strength which lies in its artistic and cultural heritage.
Raghubhai in his own way was tapping the soft power and the real strength of India. In doing so he was discharging his national responsibilities as an enlightened citizen of our country. Truly he was a fine example of a man who combined in himself the qualities of an outstanding police officer and ardent lover of art, music and dance. His physical body has been disintegrated. But his spirit representing the finest tradition of Indian civilisation will always guide us.
Long Live Raghubhai.
# The author was OSD and Press Secretary to the late President of India Shri K.R.Narayanan and served as Director in the Prime Minister's Office. He is currently Joint Secretary in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The views expressed by the author are his personal views.
