As I waved goodbye to Retired Admiral Sureesh Mehta, his wife Teresa and their daughter Sangeeta at the Auckland International Airport on December 7, I felt that I was seeing off a friend who I had known for decades.
He was returning home after completing a tour of duty of two years as India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand based in Wellington.
I had known him for less than that period but he is one of those who testify to the adage that proximity of thought and not time that determines friendship. How many of us can claim to be close even to our neighbours?
I was fortunate to have known Mr Mehta very well, transcending the short span of time that he spent with us in New Zealand.
As the Chair of India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) and as an individual, I worked with him closely on a number of occasions, at each of which I was struck by his passion for India, penchant for doing things methodically and swiftly and commitment for quality and efficiency.
Firm and confident
I have never known him to be vague, indirect or evasive. He was always forthright, seldom hesitating to express his thoughts and forever looking at ways and means of promoting India and Indians.
As the former Chief of Indian Navy, Chairman, Chiefs of the Staff Committee and a diplomat of the Republic of India, he was naturally a patriot, instilling a sense of pride in others as well. He is a thoroughbred of the post-Independent era and a doyen of its defence forces.
No one believed that he was a retired Admiral and that he was a sexagenarian. He was busier than many of his predecessors and set precedents on various bilateral and community issues.
Problem solver
Ever alert and always busy meeting people, advising them on matters and actions that would lift the bilateral relations, he was keen to seek solutions to problems rather than moaning over them.
His hands-on approach was a source of inspiration.
I have shared with him a number of platforms and forums in New Zealand and India, at each of which I would formulate points for my speeches based on his presentations, which were replete with empirical data, authentic information and facts and figures.
An excellent envoy
As well as explaining India’s stand on a number of issues to the business community, he went to great lengths to describe the Indian dichotomy –the co-existence of opulence and poverty, people of lore known internationally and the destitute and a host of other imponderables. He is a master orator adept at effective communication.
I was privileged to be a part of the delegation of Prime Minister John Key during his first state visit to India in June this year, during which I had several opportunities to interact with Mr Mehta.
Historic relationship
I deemed it a privilege when the Indian High Commission, under his leadership, agreed to co-sponsor a business seminar jointly organised with the INZBC on November 14, 2011 at Langham Hotel in Auckland. It was a unique event that brought together government officials and New Zealand businesses to explore the way forward with India as a trading and business partner.
Man of Heart
My association with him as the Chairman of the Mother Teresa Interfaith Committee was also eventful. Readily accepting our invitations, he attended the Mother Teresa anniversary lectures last year as a Guest of Honour and this year as the Chief Guest. Extolling the virtues of Mother Teresa, he hoped that human beings would work towards love and peace and not hatred and war.
Beyond the call of duty as a diplomat, he was a friend and showed excellence both as a host and guest in our homes. He would sing with us, sharing moments of fun and laughter, reinstating the fact that the top representative of a Government is also capable of lighter moments in life.
He extended a hand of friendship and I took it.
I hope that the friendship will continue to grow.
On behalf of the Indian community, I wished Mr Mehta and his family a happy, prosperous, peaceful and healthy retired life, with the promise that they had not heard the last of us!
That was because, as New Zealanders by adoption and as Indians by birth, we have a lot of work to do.
