Sitting in a wheelchair at her residence in South Kolkata’s Tollygunge, Gobind Kaur, sister of late former prime minister Manmohan Singh, cannot believe that Papaji (as she fondly called her eldest brother) is no more. Her eyes moist, she shakes her head and is at a loss for words.
Singh’s sisters Pritam Kaur and Gobind Kaur live in Kolkata with their families. Whenever he fell sick, the two – along with their family members – would hold prayers at the local gurdwara.
On Thursday night, Singh was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he lost consciousness and was later declared dead at the hospital. He was 92.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Gobind’s daughter-in-law Kuljit Kaur said, “We still cannot believe that he is no more. We had not broken the news to my mother-in-law last night. Since we told her this morning, all she has been saying is that she wants to see her brother for one last time, but her health is such that she can’t travel.”
Sharing memories of the late Congress leader, Kuljit said he was the eldest of his siblings and a fatherly figure to all of them. “He always enquired about the children, their studies. He was a man of few words, but very caring and very emotional,” she recalled.
They last met Manmohan Singh at his residence when the family visited Delhi to attend a function in February last year. “He was unwell but he sat with us and had tea,” Kuljit said.
“He had visited our flat when he came to Kolkata. We had also been to the Raj Bhavan to visit him. Ever since I married into this family, I saw him as a concerned family man. Never once in so many years have we ever felt that he held such a big position,” she added.
The family members, who are now preparing to leave for Delhi, said the economist-turned-politician’s biggest asset was his humility. Having climbed the ladder of success, he was still down-to-earth and never let his success go to his head, they stressed.
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