Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #IndiaRemembers
Most recents (4)
Thread: (1/8) After working rigorously for nearly two decades on cancer research, my father, Dr Pankaj Khanna, had to discontinue due to insufficient funding. It was very heartbreaking for him but a few days later I saw him enjoying his new teaching job. 
(2/8) That’s how papa was. Haar maan ke baithna unhe nahi aata tha [He never knew what it was to give up].
So when he was admitted to a Delhi hospital, away from our home in Agra, he assured us it was not going to end just yet.
So when he was admitted to a Delhi hospital, away from our home in Agra, he assured us it was not going to end just yet.
(3/8) On 18 December 2020 my hero, my friend and our family’s heartbeat passed away around 4 am. There is a papa-shaped hole in our hearts that I don’t know how to fill.
He was the jolliest and most pure soul I have encountered.
He was the jolliest and most pure soul I have encountered.
Thread: (1/7) Swarup Sir loved history and storytelling. He spent his life serving in the Indian Army and began teaching after his retirement. I was one of his students but he was so much more than a tution teacher.
(2/7) He groomed me as a person. Both my parents often kept busy due to work, so in my formative years, he was my guide in both academics as well as in shaping me into the person I am today.
(3/7) I’d never met my own grandfather as he had passed away before I was born. Swarup Sir filled those shoes with ease. I’d spend hours listening to his elaborate stories. He’s one of the reasons why I am inclined towards history and politics.
Thread: (1/7) Even at 56, papa's heart was as innocent as that of a 6-year-old. We used to call him the ‘big baby' of the house.
My father left life as he knew it in Delhi and moved to Bengaluru, all alone, to make something of himself.
My father left life as he knew it in Delhi and moved to Bengaluru, all alone, to make something of himself.
(2/7) After he lost his job in Bengaluru, he chose to stay back and continue working hard.
He wanted to become a pilot, but couldn't for lack of opportunities. He still learned how to fly glider planes and indulged in the world of travel and heights, which he so loved.
He wanted to become a pilot, but couldn't for lack of opportunities. He still learned how to fly glider planes and indulged in the world of travel and heights, which he so loved.
(3/7) But the closest he could come to his dream was becoming a travel agent. He invested everything into his now 22-year-old company, named after me — Simran Travels.
Thread: (1/8) Like every kid, I would eagerly look forward to summer vacations so that I could gorge on ice creams, chips and chocolates. I would excitedly make a list of games I wanted to play, food I wanted to eat.
(2/8) And places I wanted to visit while travelling from my hometown in Chandigarh to Delhi where my Nanu (maternal grandfather), Ram Rattan Singh Namdhari, lived. He always spoiled me with his love and gifts.
(3/8) When he succumbed to COVID-19 and cancer this year, all I could remember was the bench where the two of us would sit eating our ice creams and talking endlessly.
