REMEMBERING AN OLD FRIEND: RABI DASH WHO WAS SO CLOSE TO MY HEART

Rabi Dash was very close to me since 1960 while he was a student of Christ college and I was a student of Ravenshaw College. He had much respect for my father Raghunath Patnaik, who was one of the few founder members of the Odisha but of the Communist Party of India under the leadership of Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi and met him at our Cuttack residence to discuss Marxism. He had a tremendous interest for literature and was keen to initiate social revolution through literature for which he started a small office at Dolamundai Square to popularise leftist literature. Subsequently he imassociatedself with Prof. dr Radhanatha Rath of Psychology Department of Ravenshaw College and started publishing SAMUKHYA in the pattern of English Quarterly the ENCIUNTER.

Rabi Babu and myself were meeting very frequently at his ioffice wch was also close to the office of Adhunik a publishing unit floated by Prif. Abani Kumar Boral.

Rabi Babu who was a native of Taladanda village was a determined social activist guided by Marxist philosophy. He was very selfless and carefree. He loved to travel a lot and meet people. He was a great fan of Communist leader Manmohan Mishra and published the collected writings of Manmohan Mishra in Manmohan Granthabali taking the pain of collecting all his writings from his personal funds.

Rabi Babu joined the Naxal Movement with few friends of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal and was hounded by police. A number of false and fabricated cases were filed against him as a result he as forced go underground

Subsequently, he was arrested and lodged in Tihar Jail . He was tried for murder cases as well as cases of sedation. I had the opportunity to meet him while he was in Tihar Jail . He was very much determe=ined that as soon as he would out of the Jail he would organise the exploited and deprived tribals of Kalahandi and Koraput districts and would enable them to earn respectively by bringing them under Sarvodaya Movement.

As all the cases against him were dropped during Jayaprakash Narayan movement, Rabi Bauu shifted his activities to Kalahandi and worked for engaging the tribals in weaving, farming and tiny irrigation projects to kae them sausainable.

Rabi Bbau was frequenting my Bhubaneswar home and was very close to my wife Chandraprava who was also working for providing employment to the poor ladies. Under the banner of Utkal Mahila Samiti, which was an affiliated unit of All Indian Women Federation founded by Aruna Asaf Ali by proving them with training in Applique and Terracota work. She suggested Rabi Babu to manufacture colourful Khadi clothes which she could use in the manufacturing of Applique bed sheets, decoration materials etc Finally this successfully worked and Rabi Babu faced no problem in marketing the Khadi products manufactured by tribal weavers. Rabibabu hired shopping outlets in Bhubaneswar Hat to market some products including dress materials and khadar dressed.

Rabi Babu also worked for educating people of his native rea area to avoid from getting deadly diseases like AIDS while working as bonded labourers in Gaujrat and other areas. He was helping them financially and was using his contacts with the media persons to highlight their cases for prevention and cure.

Whenever Rabibabu was visiting Bhubaneswar he was preferring TO have his lunch with me cooked by Chandraprava and my daughter-in-law Pooja.

After the sad demise of Chandraprava and during my stay at Delhi, Rabi bau had promised to meet me at the Vasant Kunj residence of my son Partha along with his daughter but it could not materialise as he breathed his last during the pandemic.

He was a true friend committed for the betterment of the poorest of the poor and was a very honest friend whom I would miss always,