August was bittersweet for Pankaj Tripathi, who lost his father, Pandit Benaras Tiwari on August 21 and just three days later, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Mimi (2021). “Life aisi hi hai; ups and downs chalte rehte hain. Babuji baahar nahin dikhenge par meri yaadon mein hain. Unke values hamesha saath hain. We have to live by them,” he gets emotional.

While the loss is still fresh, work doesn’t stop and the actor has got back to his professional commitments. But, to keep his father’s memory alive, the actor and his family have started a library at a higher secondary school in his home town, Gopalganj, Bihar.

The 46-year-old says, “This was a family decision. We have adopted a school in our village and helped improve its infrastructure. My elder brother and I asked the kids, who said they were eager to read more. My father placed a lot of importance on education and we wanted to build a library in his name.”

The OMG 2 actor recalls how his father sent him and his siblings to Patna for their higher education: “He was progressive and believed that change only happens with education. Inaugurating a library in his memory is the perfect tribute to babuji.”

For Tripathi, this library, is his contribution to the future generation. He says, “I hope to instil a lifelong love for knowledge and literature in the hearts of the students. Education is the greatest gift we can give to our future generations.”