OBITUARY

Remembering Shri D B Shrestha, IFS (Retd)

T R POUDYAL
In a time of tumult, a soul has quietly passed away for his divine abode. Mr Dhan Bahadur Shrestha (Indian Forest Service) breathed his last in the evening of Friday, 10th July, 2020 after a recent illness. He was seventy five and is survived by a loving family.
He began his service career from a humble background as a teacher initially, then in the Customs Department in the erstwhile kingdom and moved on to the Forest Department ultimately rising to become its Head of the Department as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests – Secretary.
I knew him as ‘DB’ and was fortunate to share a friendship going back seven decades with him. We were contemporaries in age, attitude and approaches in life’s times--- both normal and turbulent. We were born in the village in West Sikkim, separated by a few months. We grew up together, schooled together, trained together as forest officers and entered the service of the Government of Sikkim together.
If DB was exemplary as a friend, he was outstanding as a professional. In his three decades of service to the Government of Sikkim as a forest officer and administrator, he stood out as firm and committed to producing perfect results in all the assignments that he handled. He never compromised, diluted or deviated from the actions and activities that promoted the conservation and development of forestry in Sikkim. He worked hard and relentlessly to update, streamline and codify rules and regulations with regard to the Forest Conservation Act of the Government of India so that the State of Sikkim today enjoys the benefits enshrined and incorporated in the Act.
He was also recognized as an able mentor to young officers, providing them with exposure and attuning them to the modes, manner and methods of traditional forest management. He blended old practices with new insights in forestry in the preparation of future working plans which are written prescriptions for a sound and sustainable forest management. He never wilted or withered, murmured or grumbled under adverse and exacting situations but he faced each challenge with a surge of renewed energy, vigour and fortitude. He was a classic example of a soul who unlocked his endemic potential to counter the vicissitudes of life.
While I jot down these lines of obituary, I cannot but reflect on my intimacy and friendship with DB for seven long decades. Friendship is such a sweet feeling: it endures, endears and enriches each other’s quality of living. That we had in plenty. This chain is now broken and his departure pains and hurts me immensely. However, our scriptures show the way forward. They tell us that life is an eternal journey that is divinely mandated. It does not end here and now. It transcends and transmits.
He was a loving husband, warm and caring father and a cheerful grandfather. He leaves behind his wife, a son and two daughters and a multitude of friends, relatives, neighbors who join me in chanting a chorus of rest in peace.