I first met him in 1989. I was studying in K J Somaya college, Vidhya Vihar, a Mumbai eastern suburb. I was in the NCC, and we were planning a Mumbai-Darjeeling cycling expedition. One of the requirements was to collect letters from eminent public figures.

The letters would help us if we needed anything on the way to Darjeeling. It was a letter of introduction to the local police and government administration on the way.

At that time he was posted in Tilak Nagar police station as assistant commissioner of police. We went and met him. We were scared as it was our first visit to a police station. When we met him for the first time, his smile drove away all fears.

He asked us what we wanted. We told him about our expedition. He immediately told us to type a letter and he signed it. He wished us luck and we went on our way.

Reuben, a designer with rediff.com, spoke to A Ganesh Nadar | Photo: Arun Shitole

Image: Karkare breaking the coconut to flag off the Mumbai-Belgaum trekking expedition in 1990.

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