The Golden Thread

The first storybook I ever read was ‘Sonyache Sut’—The Golden Thread. I was in the fourth standard when my father gifted it to me. He was a social worker and activist, a man whose life was devoted to helping others. That book didn’t just entertain me—it transported me. I found myself immersed in a world so different, so vivid, that I forgot the boundaries of my own.

Soon, I was drawn to other books—'Veer Dhaval’ by Nath Madhav, and many more fantastic, historical, and biographical novels. Most of these books had come to my father as gifts from his friends and colleagues, fellow travelers in the world of social and political work. They were not just books—they were tokens of shared ideals, silent witnesses to meaningful conversations.

Among them were biographies of great world leaders—narratives that stirred something deep within me. One such biography was of Henry David Thoreau. His words still whirl in my mind like a distant echo:

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. "

The line became a quiet anthem for my inner rhythm—a reminder that it’s worthwhile to walk a path less followed, if it’s the one that calls your soul.

My father’s influence on me was profound. Though he didn’t come from a wealthy or privileged background, he was rich in the truest sense. He worked with great minds, read great books, and performed noble deeds. He helped people solve their problems—not as a duty, but as a calling. People were his strength, his inspiration, and his lifelong companions.

I observed him closely. His life was a living textbook. Once, he told me something that shaped my understanding of service forever:

“When people come to us with their problems, we should be thankful to them—for they give us an opportunity to learn many things through the process of solving those problems.”    

That sentence became a compass for my life. It taught me that service is not sacrifice, it is a privilege. It is a form of learning, a quiet engineering of the heart.

That ‘Golden Thread’ still runs through me, stitching memory to meaning!

Dr. Mahendra Ingale @ Jalgaon on October 5, 2025

(Engineering Heart Beats, Publishing in October 2025)