When I was new to the capital city of New Delhi, one of my earliest acquaintance in 1996 was the late O.P. Vaish who later became one of my closest friends. Much senior to me he somehow took a liking for me and whenever we were in any gatherings, he will rush towards me and spend time. He mentioned to me that I should study law little knowing then that my father was a successful lawyer and I had once tried to take up law but gave it up. OP as I used to call him was very fond of food and he would encourage me to try the north Indian fares from which I used to distance myself and look for my staple diet – the curd rice! 

​OP in 1971 founded the boutique law firm called Vaish Associates, a well-known and successful Tax firm. As one of the top tax lawyers of the country, he made significant contributions to both domestic and international taxation. He was nominated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as member of the J J Irani Committee for rewriting the Indian Company Law. He was a Government nominee on the Central Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. As a Rotarian, OP was deeply involved in the polio eradication campaign in India. His contributions to this cause was significant. 

OP passed away at the age of 82 in September 2013. I lost a good friend and a benevolent father like figure in a strange city. He truly cared for me. I don’t know why.  I wanted to attend his funeral and so prepared to go to the Lodhi road facility. Then I discovered that OP’s mortal remains were at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. As per his wish, his body was donated to AIIMS.