Accolades for the great film personality

I accompanied him as a full-time member on two major international motoring expeditions: the 10,000-km Azad Hind Expedition in 1996 and Hands Across The Borders in 1999. The Azad Hind Expedition refreshed the national memory with the sacrifices made by the soldiers of the INA. Hands Across The Borders was a mass contact programme to promote peace and development in South Asia.

In every corner of South Asia from Galle in Sri Lanka to Cox's Bazar in easternmost Bangladesh, from the boondocks of Bumthang in Bhutan to Maoist-affected Pokhara in Nepal, people showered him with their love and affection. The common man idolised him. Thousands flocked to have a glimpse of him and touch him. STD phone operators would refuse to accept money for the calls he made. In restaurants, unknown persons would walk up to him to say how much they admired his work. Soldiers in Bangladesh remembered his visit to entertain them soon after Independence. Dutt Sahib evoked genuine love and respect.

He had tremendous energy. During the Hands Across The Borders expedition, after weeks of strenuous driving in the searing summer heat of South Asia, we had taken an extended break in Pokhara. Instead of resting and lounging around, like the rest of us, he would pack a knapsack and go on long treks, returning late in the evening. In Jim Corbett Park, he was up early morning and washed all the five expedition jeeps single-handedly.

During the expedition, he was always cautioning his teammates to be careful about getting a heat stroke. It was a blazing May. He would ask us to keep our heads covered and to switch off the jeep air-conditioning a few minutes before getting out of the vehicles. It is strange that it was a heat stroke that led to his end.

Dutt Sahib was like a mountain that transmitted peace and tranquillity to everything that was around him. He inspired all NGOs, youth organisations and individuals that came into contact with him. I am sure they will carry forward his ideal of selfless service.

The author is the President of Bharatiya Yuva Shakti, New Delhi