With best wishes, Navin Chawla!

The roads were not as busy as they usually are. The fog had delayed life in Delhi. It was eerily quiet for a metropolis, a sense of calm could be felt in the heart of an expanding city. The fog shadowed the sunlight. The temperature was chilly but forgiving. That was the day I met Mr Navin Chawla. He served as the country’s Chief Election Commissioner. A glamorous, now-retired, IAS officer.

A few weeks prior, I had received a big white box. It was addressed to me, even though most packages carry my father’s name. I opened the box to see books, books that withstood the test of time. I picked up the first book I see. Flipping the cover, on the first page, there is an inscription in red ink- “Navin Chawla, LSE.”

A student of humanities would immediately blush when he hears the name LSE. So did I. The excitement took over me, and I discovered a plethora of knowledge inside the white box. It was from Mr Chawla. He was passing on his pool of wisdom.

One fine day, I had the privilege to meet him. Entering his home, I could feel the warmth. The warmth gently drapes the foggy chill as the door closes. On the right, a big wooden shelf with little engravings of statues. The shelf held many books, new and old. And on the corner, a picture of young Mr Chawla with Mother Teresa. Mr Chawla, in a cosy seat at the opposite corner, greets me.

The first thing to notice was the way he spoke. Soft-spoken and gentle. A welcoming voice. He told me to look around and see for myself the books he had. It was a proper library, with books ranging from history to anatomy. Mr Chawla was a history enthusiast, but that did not mean he only read history. The meaning of the phrase knowledge is power became clear to me. One has to expand one’s horizons to achieve great feats. Mr Chawla had a calm demeanour. His reliability and warmth can be felt across the room. He was patient with things that would be enough to annoy anyone, even me. His patience could be heard in his words and seen in his manners. He was one polished gentleman.

Mr Chawla faced a fair share of problems, specifically in his career in the election commission. He faced multiple backlashes from political parties and peers. Many attempts were made to sabotage his professional life. Yet, he fought them all. He became the Chief Election Commissioner of India in 2009. The 2009 General Elections were conducted under his supervision. He vouched for the voting rights of third-gender individuals, individuals undergoing trials and for leprosy patients.

His life was influenced by Mother Teresa, an important figure in Indian social contexts. Navin Chawla was not only an IAS officer, but a writer. He penned the official biography of Mother Teresa. He worked for the welfare of disabled students across India and for leprosy patients. He was considerate of lepers and the visually or hearing-impaired population of the country.

In 2019, Mr Chawla wrote a book on his experience and work as the Chief Election Commissioner. It was his resurgence in writing. Mr Chawla became an important part of the literary community. Apart from that, Mr Chawla received various awards for his work in the government and also for social welfare. After having a good conversation, I had a glass of water, said my goodbyes, and ventured out into the fog. Nothing had changed. The quiet still persisted. Two weeks later, I get a notification. The new month had just started and the conversation with Mr Chawla was still fresh in my mind. The notification read Former chief election commissioner Navin Chawla passes away at 79.

The books are now on my shelf. I still have the white box. It has a message written with a black marker that says, ‘With best wishes, Navin Chawla!’

(The author is a student of Humanities at DPS Srinagar)