Ratilal Shah

In Honour of My Father:
My father, Ratilal Shah was born on Feb 4th 1919 to parents Maganlal and Diwaliben in the town of Godhra, Gujarat.
We (my siblings and I) used to call my father, initially as Babuji & then Daddyji.
He passed his matriculation exam which was a big achievement in a time when most children would only study up to primary or middle school. As a young man he played cricket for a local team in Godhra.
He continued his pursuit for knowledge and education, even after having family, by attending evening college to become an Electrical Engineer. He believed in the value of education and instilled in us the same values.
As an adolescent, he participated in “Shakha” under parent organization of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He was also a follower of Swami Vivekanand who was also a guiding light for him.
He was amongst the thousands of volunteers to join the Quit India movements against British rule in India and served six month of rigorous prison sentence in 1942 and that’s where, I believe, he learned the detailed philosophy of the Bhagwat Geeta and followed its teaching.
These events had a great influence in molding his life and character.
He saw ups and down in his business enterprise and eventually worked as Supervisor for State Electricity department until he retired. He was one of Eight Officials in the State of MP, qualified and certified to do repair and maintenance of live high voltage electric transmission line.
He was a simple man who worked hard and diligently all his life.
He was a man of few words and always gave advice when asked, which saved many married couples’ families from disintegrating.
Growing up we missed him a lot as he was mostly working away from Indore city where we lived, and I realized that instead of relocating family frequently, he made sure that his children had the best education which was possible only in big cities.
He was always calm and composed. But he always raised his voice against what he thought was wrong.
My parents came to America in the 1980s and started a life in New York city. My parents volunteered daily for many hours in the Geeta Mandir and even stayed there for more than a month to manage daily affairs when chief priest was away in India.
He devoted a lot of time, energy and resources towards his grandchildren. He used to take my children to India almost every year for more than twenty years which enriched them in Indian culture, way of life in India, family dynamics and the Hindu religion.
He used to drive my children to school for activities and volunteered in school.
He also volunteered for Prince William County Police Department’s Senior Academy to know how the system works.
He regularly went to senior citizen activity center for many years and played cards, specifically the game of bridge.
He was keen to learn the American ways of administration and watched all the presidential debates and voted in every US election. He enjoyed watching the News many times during the day and also enjoyed watching Cricket and American Football games.
He donated money for the wellbeing of society at large. He donated regularly to many charitable organizations in USA like the Red cross, American Heart Association, Wounded War Veterans, Arthritis Foundation, USO to name a few.
He donated large sums of money to start a charitable Eye Care unit in honor of his late daughter in Indore city run by the Vaishnav Mandir Trust. A few years later, he gave a donation to start a physical therapy unit for the same organization.
He was a progressive thinker and believed in traditions that are relevant.
He was a romantic till the end, even in his last moments he gave my mother and his wife of 71 years a loving hug!