The thanks…
I never liked him; when we used to meet almost everyday! Discussing him has always been a favorite pass time for all of us. But during the end of first year, we the gals of CSRD 2005-07 batch thanked him like hell coz he threw us out from the “ancient stable shape” hostel! And we got the chance to breathe in Ahmednagar for the first time. His penalty for our protest before NAC committee showed up as the biggest bonus that any gal form CSRD could ever imagine!!
Let me introduce him….
Well, I am talking about Sudhir Sharma-the celebrated principal of Center for Studies of Rural Development, Ahmednagar….the man behind my admission in the college and for that I never got tired of cursing him during my days of CSRD!!
Marks bonanza…..
But he loved me or pretended to be so, as we knew that he was a genuine diplomat with perfect sense of bureaucracy. However, I never loved him, but given him the due respect or pretended to give so. But honestly, enjoyed the attention he used to pay towards me. I can still remember the day when I went to know the internal marks of Communication paper he taught: I peeped into his mighty office and merely said a word… ‘Marks’…
he smiled and replied 18!!
[18 out of 20 was a sheer miracle if consider the quality of my paper. I was smart enough to understand that ‘a preference’ is being bestowed upon me by him…..]
“Why Kafka?”
Then we left college. I can remember my last day of Ahmednagar. Me and my roomie Verna broke all possible rules and attempted every illicit to celebrate the last day and in the process I forget to say a good bye to the mighty principal. I can only remember that he was very busy with his new favorite student, (who happens to be my once upon a time best friend) and CNI delegates ……..I did not feel like bothering him either. So I really can’t remember our last meeting. But surely the first….the PI time of the admission process, when to my surprise he actually took interest in my favorite author Franz Kafka!!
The tech connection…….
Coming back to Kolkata, he was the only one from Ahmednagar faculty with whom I spoke. Be it Christmas wishing or confirmation of my University Topper Status, his was the only number I could dial. Surprisingly I never made a single communication attempt with any of my favorite faculties. I kind of used to avoid Nagar, but Sharma was an exception. So connection established through gmail. And we got in touch with each other. The once disliked principal became a reliable information source of CSRD and Pune University.
Going Pune……
January 1st week I visited Pune for that Gold Medal ceremony. Before that we exchanged thousand mails and planned my trip to Nagar. Then I did not go. Actually I could not. But I could have let him know that. (Alas!!) Came back with the medal, a month or so passed, but I never wrote him (I wish I would). Intended for thousand times, but then it never happened, partly due to my laziness and partly for some unknown reason. And then he is gone. Forever.
sharma.sudhir@gmail.com ……………
Dead person’s mail in the inbox was a kind of new experience. There’s lot still there afresh filled with information, warm exchanges….. and the last one contains the news of his Heart Attack, a sent to all sort behalf of his family!!!
Wish I could write a mail to sharma.sudhir@gmail.com once again, feel like sending a ping to that Sudhir Sharma available status at late nite ….feel like sending that photo, me taking medal from chancellor…..dial that number once again and say sorry that I could not make it this time, but will do surely for June…………….
Wish he is still there sitting in that office……..
Epilogue……….
The other day I went to Shantineketan for PhD entrance exam. I was the only outsider among thousand internal candidates. When all were busy in cramming up the formula of Central tendency and Chi square, the HOD came out and got engaged in the pet conversation with the ex students…pretty ordinary scene but some how I felt so damn left out and...
the college I never owned by heart, the principal for whom I possess no love ever, cling my heart….. for the first time in my life I missed CSRD……… I missed my campus…… I missed Sharma sir.
Well I can always get back to CSRD, I can always loiter in that campus…..but if only I could meet Sharma sir once again……………
And today while doing this write up, I feel like crying for him for the first time…..
I think, I have no other way to pay respect to him but to confess what I used to feel about him during those days…
The repentance of not meeting him in Jan will remain anchored in my heart, nonetheless!!
