Page 15 - Digital Cornice Grade 9

DESCRIBING A PERSON
D E S C R I B I N G A P E R S O N

Someone I know

By: Savar Dixit

Throughout our lives we encounter thousands of people. Such interactions carry the potential to
change the course of our lives to great extents. However, most of our exchanges with others only
last a moment. Even so, there are some we meet and hold dear to us; for me my grandfather fills
that role.

Prof. Dr. Hemang Mani Dixit is a pediatrician of Nepal. He obtained his education and extensive
knowledge from outside Nepal and was the first pediatrician to do so. However, this is just how
most people know him; being his grandson, I know him as more than just a doctor. Dr. Hemang,
or Baba to me, carries his degree and honor always second to family. He may be short in stature

but is big at heart and though his thinning gray hair is telling of his age, his fun-loving and pure
personality is one that is not dissimilar to one of a child's. My grandfather is the kind person who
believes you must help whoever you can, whenever you can. But as they say, “No good deed
goes unpunished.” And my grandfather's experience is one good example for that very metaphor.

It was early in the morning, Baba got ready for work by
wearing his favorite shirt for a special day. He got on
board his golden-bronze suzuki zen with his driver and
left for his brother's house before getting to work. As they
took a left from outside the alley, he saw some suspicious
men having a scuffle right in the corner. He didn't think
much of it at the time but little did he know that those
men would change his life forever. They carried on
driving and turned the corner to the slope of Baneshwor

when he heard two ear-splitting bangs and shatters. Baba,
looking as cool as a cucumber, asked his driver, "Ram,
did something happen? What was that sound?" Ram
looked at him with a pale face and started driving at crazy
speed. Baba looked down to see his shirt stained with his
blood and was a bit sad for a meager couple of seconds until the severity of the situation hit him.
He had been shot! He finally understood why Ram was driving like a madman, why they missed
the turn to their destination, why they were now heading to the hospital. “Everything else was a
blur," he said later. He woke up in the ICU with his wife, my grandmother, by his side. He had
survived.

Baba found out it was a planned and organized attack. The man wished to collect 3 crore rupees
from the college and made the decision to target a high ranking staff member to accomplish this.
Unfortunately, that person was my grandfather. But despite all attempts, I am happy that my
grandfather defied death with bravery and strong will power. He even wrote a book about it but
regrettably, he still lost his favorite shirt that day.