Just a few months ago, on 2 March last, while my family and friends were were busy celebrating the marriage of my son and I was busy greeting guests, I saw a stately person, looking a little stressed yet composed, gracefully walking towards me holding a stick in hand. It took me no time to recognise and feel elated at seeing the great Naresh Chandra. But I was saddened to see him, a pale shadow of his previous vibrant self.

We were meeting after a long gap and I was delighted that a man I had always admired was present to bless the newly-weds.

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I silently prayed for his good health. That great soul is no more. I first met Naresh Chandra in 1986. A Rajasthan cadre IAS officer of the 1956 batch, he was proactive and self-driven.

He emitted energy yet bore a strong, grounded look with grace. Such were the vibes between us that our first meeting of a few minutes turned into an association of decades. Through the years, we met many times, interacted closely and developed a close relationship based on respect and admiration. In all my interactions, I experienced the warmth in his behaviour and a concern for people and society.

A man with an exceptional sense of integrity, Naresh Chandra always impressed me. Indeed I was not alone, for he was respected equally by civil servants, diplomats, politicians, world leaders and top industrialists of this country and the world who knew him. Naresh Chandra worked in many important positions at the national and international levels.

He had been Defence Secretary, Home Secretary, Industry Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, adviser to PM, Governor of Gujarat and Indian Ambassador to the USA. He played many key roles – in realising the nuclear vision of the nation and in establishing the liberalised economy in the country. In fact, the blue print of liberalisation though prepared earlier was finalised when he was Cabinet Secretary in the Chandrasekhar government.

He was also the ambassador to the USA and played a key role when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided to test nuclear weapons. In all, he worked under four prime ministers. When in 1989, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi looked for a man to play the critical and confidential role of supervising our nuclear programme, the responsibility was entrusted to then defence secretary, Naresh Chandra. I always believed Naresh Chandra was the best possible example for young civil servants. In fact, I once asked him to name bureaucrats who had impressed him a lot.

He named two. One was R C Bhargava, who is presently the Chairman of Maruti and the other was Shailaja Chandra, a 1966 batch UT cadre IAS officer who was the chief secretary of Delhi. Meeting him was always an honour. The same can be said about his brother Girish Chandra Saxena who served as Secretary, RAW and was former governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He passed away a few months ago.

Ethics are reason. And man’s greatest weapon is his reason. I always thought that Naresh Chandra always conducted himself with the strength of his exemplary character. Let me narrate an incident. During a conversation when he was ambassador to the USA, he mentioned that he was looking for a silver candle stand to gift to the then US President, Mr Bill Clinton. I found a piece and gave it to him the next day.

When he asked me for the bill, I hesitated as I felt awkward being reimbursed for a friendly gesture to a man who never demands anything in a country where taking gifts is an everyday practice. However, he insisted and said it was to be charged to the embassy. When I kept demurring, he did not press me.

Days passed and one fine moment I received a letter. To my surprise it was a letter of thanks from the then President and first lady of USA, Mr and Mrs Clinton, for the gift they had received. “My goodness!”, I said to myself, “Naresh Chandra would never take credit that does not belong to him. And he will give everyone his due. Such remarkable judiciousness and sense of fairness are indeed rare. What an ethical man he is.’’

Out of pride, I talked about this incident to everyone around and showed the letter. My son, then a school-going kid, was so thrilled that he took the letter of appreciation and pinned it on the school notice board. Even today when I think of the incident, tears come to my eyes.

There are no words that can express the loss I feel at Naresh Chandra’s passing. Here was a man who left an indelible mark on the sands of time.

(The writer is Chairman, Paras Foundation and can be reached at praveshjain@parasdyes.com)