Page 182 - JyotipunjEng

219

Nathabhai, who left an indelible impression on the political
arena, was a man of a delicate heart and service-oriented nature.
If anybody from anywhere in Gujarat came to any hospital or
other doctor in Ahmedabad for treatment, then his volunteers
ensured his care and nursed him. Due to this spirit of service, a
large number of doctors were in constant touch with him.

Nathabhai was fond of seeing films. If a Jana Sangh leader
visited from the centre, he was sure to formulate a programme
to watch a film together with other programmes, and during
this, he was accompanied with his friends from the city.
Whatever the task, if all people did not come together, Nathabhai
did not feel himself complete and perfect.

Family Spirit
The unbroken energy that flowed in the Sangh, that was

acting as the cementing force, was the spirit of a family. In the
Sangh, if you are not related to the family, it is considered as a
grave shortcoming. Nathabhai possessed a unique family spirit.
He lived like a member in thousands of families in Gujarat.
During the days of emergency, the underground struggle was
underway. At this time, a great many volunteers, big and small,
went underground. At that time, they felt that the families and
homes that Nathabhai had created, proved to be impregnable
fortresses during this struggle against the emergency.

Unfathomable Self-Confidence
During the course of his working, Nathabhai never allowed

inferiority complex to raise its head in him. He was beyond such
things as his education or financial status and the like. He was
capable of presenting his views before the university professors
quite effectively, and he could present his rational views in a
gathering of advocates or doctors or journalists.

It was the occasion of Karnawati Municipal Corporation
elections in 1967-68. An effort was being made by the Jana Sangh
to search out an effective candidate. Nathabhai was sitting with
others in the teachers’ block of Saint Xavier’s College. The
teachers started to blame the politicians and attacked them in