Born into a family uprooted from Rawalpindi during Partition, Bhasin sahab never carried bitterness. If he ever referred to himself as a refugee, it was usually in humour — often as a light-hearted excuse when he didn’t want to discuss the finer details of a festival he wasn’t fully familiar with.
By Asif Ullah Khan / Sapan News
JAIPUR: Everything about the event was well-organised, yet something was missing at the Muskaan Foundation for Road Safety’s annual event to mark the UN World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims this year, 16 November.
The heart and driving spirit of Muskaan, Pramod Bhasin, was not there. He sat at home, repeatedly calling to ask how the programme was going.
He passed away barely two weeks later, on December 1, having fulfilled his life’s purpose — working tirelessly to make Indian roads safer and to save lives.
Muskaan (which means “smile” in Hindi/Urdu) was born out of a tragedy. On 3 May 1999, his 17-year-old daughter, Durva Bhasin, died after being hit by a rashly-driven school bus.
Instead of being crushed by grief, Bhasin sahab, an active member of the Congress party, and his wife, Mridul, a Fulbright scholar, who obtained her Ph.D. from Emory University, Atlanta, decided no other family should suffer the same pain.
On Durva’s birthday on 6 May, 1999, just three days after her death, they set up the Muskaan Foundation for Road Safety. The organisation has worked for more than two decades to improve road safety across the country, and also partnered with the Southasia Peace Action Network to campaign for road safety across the region.
Many talents
But Bhasin sahab was much more than a road-safety campaigner. He was a man of many talents. He played a key role in building Jaipur’s theatre culture.
Kavita Srivastava, president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Jaipur, recalls how he helped bring Pakistani theatre groups, such as Madeeha Gauhar’s Ajoka Theatre from Lahore to Jaipur for the first time in November, 2004.
As part of the nonprofit AMAAN group for culture and arts, Pramod Bhasin, along with Bina Kak, a prominent Indian politician, actress, and social activist known for her extensive philanthropic contributions in Rajasthan, Mrs. Deepak Kalra, co-founder Umang, a centre based in Jaipur dedicated to children with special needs and others worked together to bring quality theatre and music to the city.
He was also active in the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, recalls Kavita Srivastavas, “and helped run workshops/seminars on advocacy for education rights for students in Jaipur for many years.”
Writing his obituary feels difficult, because he was the very image of life, laughter, and warmth. How does one describe the loss of someone who brought joy to every person he met?
To me, he was not just a mentor. He became the elder brother I found late in life. My late brother Khalid, who was a senior journalist and Rajasthan bureau chief of the United News of India at the time of his death knew Bhasin sahab well. They met through a common friend and I met Bhasin by chance in the Press Club’s card room. That one meeting grew into a lifelong bond. Even now, I can still see his smiling face and feel his unwavering positivity. His absence hurts, but his presence feels alive within us.
Born 31 August ,1944, into a family uprooted from Rawalpindi during Partition, Bhasin sahab never carried bitterness. If he ever referred to himself as a refugee, it was usually in humour — often as a light-hearted excuse when he didn’t want to discuss the finer details of a festival he wasn’t fully familiar with. His charm lay in turning discomfort into laughter.
Theatre and Mehdi Hasan
Though he once tried his hand at student and even electoral politics, his true legacy lies in culture. Along with his social activists and theatre enthusiasts friends, the late Vijay Prabhakar and Ramadurai, he founded Trimurti, an organisation that shaped Jaipur’s art and theatre landscape. The cultural vibrancy the city enjoys today stands on the foundation they built.
Theatre veterans Ishwar Dutt Mathur and Raju Sharma often acknowledge that it was Bhasin Sahab who started theatre workshops in Jaipur. It was he who brought India’s finest performers to the city, and who showed Jaipur what theatre could truly be.
There were evenings when ticket lines looked like cinema crowds. Tickets sold in the black market. Police had to manage the overflowing audiences. Jaipur had never seen culture come alive like this before during the ‘80s and ‘90s.
I still remember the magical night in 1978 when the legendary Mehdi Hassan performed at Ravindra Manch. The story goes that someone mentioned in Kabul that his ancestral village was in Rajasthan, and he expressed a wish to visit. As soon as Bhai Sahab heard this, he moved mountains — paperwork, permissions, coordination — everything. And before long, Mehdi Hassan was on stage in Jaipur, performing before a packed hall. That was Bhasin Sahab — turning wishes into reality with sheer goodwill and determination
Even in his final months, when cancer weakened his body, his spirit remained as bright as ever. His home in Hathroi, a central, historic, and commercially significant area of Jaipur, would always be full of friends, conversation, and laughter. The illness slowed his movement but never his passion.
Every phone call from him began with: “Every day is a good day.” And he truly believed it.
Today, without Bhai Sahab, each day feels a little less bright. But to honour him, we will try — sincerely try — to make every day a good day. Because that was his lesson, his way of living, and the legacy he leaves behind.
Asif Ullah Khan is a 35-year veteran journalist in Jaipur. He began his career with The Times of India in 1986, and later worked with The Khaleej Times, Dubai for 15 years. He subsequently worked with Hindustan Times and was Deputy Managing Editor of The Brunei Times for a decade, then Consulting Editor with DNA, India.
Lead Image: Pramod Bhasin (seated) and Dr. Mridul Bhasin with members of Muskaan team.
This is a Sapan News syndicated feature available for republication with due credit http://www.sapannews.com.
Note on Southasia as one word: We use ‘Southasia’ as one word, “seeking to restore some of the historical unity of our common living space, without wishing any violence on the existing nation states” – Himal Southasian
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Thank You
Asifuddaula’s article is a wonderful tribute to Pramod Bhasin who thought beyond boundaries and tried to break barriers between nations! Kudos to the writer .