Part 7 of life story of noted criminal lawyer Ramesh Gupta. How time spent in Moti Bagh government quarters shaped his life….


Once, the children asked me to celebrate the festival of Dussehra. I asked all of them to go and ask for funds from people. Around 100 rupees were collected and materials like bamboo were bought to make Ravana. However, we would often not have the complete material. So, I used to tell those children to go on the terraces and bring the bamboo that was used to support aerials. And that’s how we made Ravana for the celebration of the festival.

From the year 1974 to 2019, before the pandemic, every year, the organization celebrated Dussehra and I was invited as a chief guest every time. They used to make their own Ravanas, but in recent years, they started purchasing ones. Our B Block in Moti Bagh got famous for its celebrations.

In my college, two professors, Dr. Narinder Kohli and Mr. Kailash Bajpayee were well-known educationists. So Dr. Kohli used to teach us stories of Premchand. I used to bring my books from the Delhi Public Library, located near Old Delhi Railway Station in Chandini Chowk. I was so intrigued by the stories that I read almost all the books of Premchand.

I also had debates with Dr. Kohli. We used to discuss the characters and there were several varying opinions. And thus, I developed a habit of reading. This helped me become part of many college societies and in every society, I was either the secretary or the president. Dr. Bhan, our principal at that time even issued me a two-page extended certificate accrediting my activities. I didn’t use to focus much on law. The entire college period was a time of learning and having new experiences. I was also involved in politics for a brief period. I remember that in the year 1977, after the emergency, Congress lost the elections in Delhi.


To be continued……