87 and still going strong.
I saw 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗹𝗷𝗶 yesterday in the hospital—he had come for his routine check-up. After the consultation, we sat down for a long chat.
The moment MGIMS is mentioned, his eyes light up. Tea. 𝘈𝘭𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢. His hot, cardamom-flavoured tea and crisp, spicy aloo bondas were more than just snacks.
And the quiet generosity. Lending money to students and never asking for it back. He just forgot.
To over a thousand MGIMS students from the ’70s and ’80s, Babulalji was more than a tea vendor. He was their doting mother, elder brother, chacha—all in one.
But for Babulalji, Sevagram would not have been what it is today. And but for him, many students simply wouldn’t have survived the early MGIMS years.
Even today, at 87, he carries that same warmth.