Uttarakhand’s pride Manglesh Dabral, the literary writer and journalist who through his writings was able to put forth the pain of the mountain people before the country and the world breathed his last on Wednesday. He passed away due to covid linked complications. He was 72.
Manglesh Dabral wanted to come back to the ancestral village of Kafalpani in Tehri in Uttarakhand in the last days of life. He had also planned to repair the dilapidated house of the village. But perhaps the god had different plan for him.
Born in Kafalpani in Tehri district, Manglesh Dabral spent his childhood in the village.His early education was from the village school. He completed his class eight to twelfth from Pratap Inter College which was in Old Tehri town that was submerged to give way to Tehri dam later.
Manglesh Dabral was fond of poetry and music since childhood. In fact, his father. Late Mitrananda was an Ayurvedic physician and his grandfather late Amba Dutt was a priest who performed rituals. At the same time, both father and grandfather also wrote poems. The book ‘ Fyonli ‘, written on the idioms of father and grandfather, is still inscribed on the minds of the people.
It would not be wrong to say that Manglesh Dabral received the literary boost during his childhood. Manglesh Dabral carried forward the literary heritage. Manglesh Dabral’s uncle’s son Rajender Dabral, 67, recalls the days of his childhood, saying that Manglesh was very attracted to his father and grandfather’s poems. He also paid attention to bookish knowledge as well as reading poetry. After passing intermediate studies from the old Tehri, Manglesh went to Dehradun to take up higher education. Dabral says that a few days before the Corona period, Manglesh had planned to repair the dilapidated house of the village by phone. He wished to be in the village in the last days of life. 67 year old son of Manglesh’s Uncle Rajender Dabral says “ Manglesh was attracted towards the poems and writing of his father and grandfather .” He loved the school books along with the poems. Manglesh left for Dehradun for higher education. Manglesh Dabral was planning to repair his old house in the village and planned to spent his last days In the village.
Friday, 11 December 2020 | Vinod Chamoli | New Tehri
