This is story of a man, my grandpa Sh. G. L. Sharma Sahib as told by me.....
21st August 1924, my grandfather was born in extremely poor circumstances, with a thatched roof on top and barely one meal a day. His father expired when he was all but 4yrs and his mom passed away soon too. Before she passed away she ensured that he was set onto a never ending journey of perseverance, effort and commitment towards his work. This is his story as I have known him ever since I was a kid.
Born in a very humble family Sh. G.L. Sharma (Sh. Ghansi Lal Sharma) was all set to become the first ever man to achieve the heights which was so far only read or heard. He made it all possible by his sheer ability to work hard. Though some might debate on his intelligence levels and his smartness, none doubt his ability to work non-stop like a machine.
Early days: -
Since he was born in a very poor family and a very small village, “gagchana” in “Cheepabadood” tehsil in Baran district of Rajasthan, he had no option but to rely on mercy of people to help him complete his education. Now, here is a catch, he could’ve decided not to work hard and stay in that small village, earn whatever little and cry out to destiny (finding a connect!! Most of us often happily and easily blame our destiny for not having opportunity). But he decided instead to take on the world. He first moved to another, but slightly bigger, village called Seesvaali. There the schools were till matriculation or 10th as we know it now. He completed his matriculation and was always brightest student of his class. Such was his ability to strive that he used to study till he could keep his eyes no longer open. People used to look at his window to see if the lamp is still on and anyone who said that I would study longer than him, lost to him everytime.
Job marriage and kids: -
Those days it was very rare for one to complete the education even till this level and hence jobs were easy. He took the job of a third level school teacher to feed his family. He studied hard and built a very strong foundation in grammar, both hindi and English. Such was his command that whenever his school teachers used to debate about any confusion, they used to take his word as final on the matter.
He got married to a rather humble lady, Pushpa devi Sharma from another very poor background and a very small village. She was illiterate, and had no basic education. She was from another very small village called “Setkolu”. I don’t remember her ever talking to him directly or loud. She used to address him by “Sahab”. Despite being illiterate and having no clue of what education could bring in, she complemented him well by taking complete control of his house and leaving him with what he liked the most, reading and study.
They had 7 kids,( 4 boys and 3 girls). A big family with so many kids meant that my grandpa had to work even hard to feed them all, needless to mention, he did much better than that.
Further studies: -
He never stopped at a third level teaching job, he soon found out that in order to grow more and rise higher, he needs to study further. He did his B.A.(Bachelor of Arts), M.A.(Master of Arts - English), L.L.B.(Bachelor of Law). While he was in teaching, he realized that it’s impossible with this, so he strived further. He did his B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) and then M.Ed (Master of Education). He continued to study till all his kids were born, which necessarily meant that he studied till 1971, a whooping 47 yrs of his life.
He always dreamt big and worked very hard towards achieving his goal. He never looked at time while studying, this ensured that he could only sleep for couple of hours a day. This took toll on his health and he went down with severe fever. His efforts didn’t stopped, he decided to put more efforts, such was his perseverance that once when the fever was not going away, he decided to take bath in open. It was winters and people who know Rajasthan can tell you that it really becomes very cold during winters. He went out, sat down and took bath in open.
If you are already thinking that this is maximum that a man can do to achieve his goals, wait till I tell you more….
Career growth: -
Most of the people of his age became comfortable with a job of a teacher and continued their life. He couldn’t stay in there, so he started climbing the ladder. People who knew him tell us, never was the case when he bowed down to pressures and never was the case when he took a lesser path. He always moved with truth and nothing short. This ensured that he had to struggle twice the normal effort, but so be it!!
He became principal, Inspector of school and then went even further to become Joint Director of Education, Rajasthan. There has been no second example like him, no one could put in so much of effort!!
He continued to work even after his retirement, primarily because he had to feed a big family.
Family and relationships: -
Not all men are perfect, he wasn’t either. In his pursuit of success, he started getting extremely busy and they by the distance between him and his family kept on becoming wider. Here, I can vouch for the fact that he loved all his kids like a father would do and have always wanted best for them; just the he had his priorities well placed. Two of his kids could live up to the perseverance that he had and therefore became near best in their lives, the rest, decided to live a chilled life and ended up in shackles. The only wrong that he did was to consider them all equal and push them hard.
He had three basic and very strong values: -
1. Be polite to all
2. Get up early and do your own chores
3. Respect comes with efforts
He was polite to even 6 months old great grand niece leave apart anyone else. No one who met him could believe that despite being such a strong personality, he was extremely humble to people around him. This made him extremely popular amongst people and left such an impression that who so ever met him once, could never forget him.
For his entire life, he woke up at 5am, washed his own clothes by hand, cleaned up his room and made his bed. Yes, for a whooping 80 yrs in life!! He did it every single day. He used to wear customary white shirt and a black pant when he used to step out of house, the toe of his shoes was always shining and yes, he used to polish them every-time he wore them. He dressing sense was impeccable and he was always dressed to the occasion.
My memories of him are confined to him working, I have never in my life seen him whiling away time, or sitting idle. So much so, that I have never seen him taking a nap in afternoon. He always used to say, “early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”, needless to mention, he followed it till this April 2011….. from 1924 to 2011, a massive discipline!!
Religious: -
I could never forget the call that he made to me when I was packing my bags to go to USA on an assignment. He said “son, never forget that you are son and grandson of a brahmin, all our lives we have been vegetarians, it would break my heart and faith if I hear anything otherwise for you. Please ensure that even if it comes to stay hungry, so be it, you would never cross the line”. I returned the call when I came back to him, and when I said, “Baba, I lived up to your expectations and followed the procedures”, I could sense a pride in his voice when he said “good boy” (his famous phrase for us).
Most people in India read either Shreemad bhagwat geeta, or Ramayana. He was regular at both and remembered them like it was imprinted in him. He always insisted on all the ceremonies to be done by the book, no shortcuts allowed, most of the time, he did them by his own hands.
My grandpa was the man who ensured that we have a better life, that we see the world, and that we could stand amongst most learned of the world and earn some respect for ourselves. Hence if today we are appreciated, it because of one man who left the comforts of life and struggled almost entire life to ensure that his sons and grandsons have something better for themselves.
Baba, we will try to keep your legacy alive, a legacy where efforts are not counted, where we don’t wait for awards, where we just work and do more work, for we always will believe in your words “There is no substitute to hard work”.
