Born in a very modest family in Rawal Pindi (now in Pakistan), on the 29th of September 1929, he was the seventh child among 7 brothers and 2 sisters. All of 11, this young schoolboy, Sahdev, was already an entrepreneur. He would bind old books for all his fellow students, and make kites and ‘manja’ (the string used for kite flying competitions) – This gave him a decent earning potential for funding his extracurricular activities like home-made firecrackers for Diwali and his other sundries.
Though he grew up to become a very successful dentist, Singing was his main childhood passion. K.L. Saigal, Pankaj Mallik and Jagmohan were his all-time favourites. He was a very active member of the music club ‘Sur Parivaar’ formed over 6 years back by Shri A.C. Goyal, a very old resident of DLF-1.
During his school days, every morning, he would reach his school much earlier to sing aloud in the empty classroom. Time passed, he grew up and like many other migrants, he too faced the exasperating turmoil while crossing the newly created borders and getting reunited with his family, that was lost during all that confusion.
Once he started his dental practice in Paharganj, near New Delhi Railway Station, he happened to meet a senior dentist, Dr Uday Singh, who had his clinic in Connaught Place. The latter was Dr. Sahdev Ratra’s mentor – more in singing and less as a dentist.
Dr. Ratra always narrated Dr. Uday Singh’s words before he would sing his favourit melodies. That is, tracks with romantic melancholy moods are like glowing incense that enamate their aroma throughout the environment and have a long-lasting impact. This, though, never put any limits to the genres his versatility was capable of.
His patients knew him as the ultimate dentist; but, he will always be remembered for his very lively, fun-filled and always entertaining nature.
On the 4th of April, 2024, he lost his ongoing battle with various comorbidities; left us with wonderful memories and took his talents to the dimension beyond the living.
