Virag Pachpore
Nagpur: “Sureshrao Ketkar was a sparkling example of a perfectly dedicated life. He relentlessly worked for the nation and the society. He accepted, adopted and imbibed the RSS in his personality and lived for it all through his life to maintain a flow of its tradition. A firm resolve to continue with that tradition will be the true tribute to this great soul,” said RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat on July 22 while speaking at a condolence meeting at Dr Hedgewar Smriti Mandir premises. Sureshrao Ketkar passed away in Latur on July 16.
Recalling the virtues and qualities of Sureshrao, Shri Bhagwat said though he left this mortal world, he would never cease to exist through his works, and the mission he worked for. He was so dedicated to his mission, that even after suffering for Parkinson’s disease, he, in spite of memory loss, would recall his ‘Bouddhik’ correctly point by point in the perfect order. This continued till he breathed his last. Ketkarji was forced to take rest by the doctors attending him because he was very much eager to carry on with his work in spite of this falling health.
Shri Bhagwat narrated some incidents that spoke about his qualities as a Pracharak and a nice individual. When Ketkarji imbibed the values he used to tell the swayamsevaks to follow. He would take excessive labour for imbibing those qualities in his person. He was a self-disciplined swayamsevak who would always ensure perfection in his actions and works, be it delivering a bouddhik to the swayamsevaks or making his uniform perfect as Akhil Bharatiya Sharirik Pramukh. His endeavour was aimed at perfection and excellence, Shri Bhagwat recalled.
He was very strict in maintaining discipline, careful about the qualities of each and every swayamsevak and made efforts to hone them with motherly affection and concern. Shri Bhagwat also recalled Sureshrao’s style of careful scrutiny of facts and events while working on several projects that included among others making a film on RSS founder Dr Hedgewar's life. Those who came in contact with Ketkarji even for a brief period cannot forget him. He left a permanent imprint of his character, work and personality on everybody's mind and heart. He was a true Sangh volunteer by his body, mind and soul.
Condolence Messages from Abroad
Scores of condolences messages were received from abroad also. Shri Shyam Gokhale, a swayamsevak in California recalled an incident of March 1988 when they had organised an Ekatrikaran of Tarun swayamsevaks. “Sureshji while travelling from Nagpur to Pune had decided to visit Akola just to see my grandfather who was seriously ill. We requested him to guide the swayamseaks during the Ekatrikaran. He happily agreed and spoke for 45 minutes on a song—Aami bi ghadalo, tumi bi ghadana – (gramin dialect).” Shri Gokhale said.
Shri Khanderao Kand, Karyakarini member of HSS in the US said, “First time I met him in 1985 when I completed my engineering diploma and our then Vibhag Pracharak Shri Yashwantrao Khedkar took me to meet Sureshji. He asked me whether I wanted to start as a full timer. I said I wanted to pursue my education. He said meet me after the completion of degree. His baudhiks were so precise that they could have been used directly to print as articles. Very thorough, point wise and clear.”
Similar condolence messages have been received from HSS Karyavah in Kenya Shri Prakash Pamar, HongKong HSS Karyavah Dr Manoj Motwani, Shri Manoj Motwani from Guyana, Shri Prabhakar Rao Talluri from Sweden, Shri Ombir Upadhyay from Norway, Shri Amith Singh from South Africa, Shri Bajrang Sharma from Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh, Myanmar Shri Prakash Nandha from Europe, Shri Prakash Nandha from UK, Shri TM Ramchandran from Malaysia, former Vishwa Vibhag Samyojak Dr Shankarrao Tatwawadi, Shrikant Bhave from New Zealand, Shri Surendra Shah from UK, Swami Aksharananda from Guyana.
