Professor Srichand
I also was taught by Professor Shrichand. He was probably one of the best teachers I’ve learnt from. This article brought back memories of the man - thought it was inspirational and worth sharing.
The (literal) translation below is for those of you who do not know Kannada. If possible, do read the original.
The engineering professor who taught anatomy
He was a medical student. Finding anatomy incomprehensible, he decided to give it up and join BSc. His parents were heartbroken that their son wouldn’t be becoming a doctor. This news reached a professor in an engineering college. What transpired next is almost like the script of a movie.
The engineering professor asked the boy to come home and spoke to him. He asked for the anatomy textbook and read it. In a few days, anatomy classes started. The student was dumb struck. A subject that seemed impossible only a few days earlier now seemed easy. Within a few days, the news spread and more medical students joined the home tuition. The medical student went on to become a well respected doctor in the US. The other students also did well in their studies. Who was this anatomy lecturer?
On July 23rd Mysore’s Bannimantap was home to a large crowd. Eminent engineers from all over the country were here to pay their respects to Professor Shrichand who had passed away after suffering a heart attack. Shrichand was born in Sindh in Pakistan in 1942. This was during the separation.
It was a time of pain and turmoil in both countries. Several thousand people staked their lives and futures on the train to India. Caught in these turbulent times, the boy Shrichand found himself in Mysore. A poor family here accepted him into their home.
Despite growing up in poverty, Shrichand studied well and got an undergraduate degree. Though he knew that he could not afford a seat in an Engineering college, he was passionate about studying Engineering. Shrichand went door-to-door and taught tuition until he’d earned enough to pay his college fees at the National Institute of Engineering (NIE). What was left was given to his other friends to help them pay their fees. In 1967 he passed out as a Civil Engineer and joined Shri Jayachamarajendra college of Engineering (JCE) as a lecturer. Within a few years, he had made a name for himself.
Students who for any number of reasons found themselves disinterested in Engineering found an oasis in Shrichand. He became famous in Mysore, Mandya, Chikamagalur, Hassan, Tumkur and other parts of the state as the professor who could coach even students who had failed earlier and make them excel. Not just civil engineering, even students from Mechanical, Electronics, Computer Science started to approach the professor for tuition and were accepted. Students were offered food and refreshments at the professor’s home. Shrichand would only take 50 Rupees a month as tuition. If the student failed to clear his exams, Shrichand would call him home, give the money back and say “I will not touch this money until you pass”.
20 years ago, Shrichand was admitted to a nursing home complaining of ill health. His family did not have money to afford the treatment necessary. Hearing of the professor’s need, his students from all over the country came down to Mysore. When the hospital announced that he needed blood, there were so many donors queuing up that police had to get involved and added crowd control barricades. A sum of 10 lakh was collected in just one day. The treatment was paid for by his students and what was left over was credited to an account in the professor’s name.
One of Shrichand’s dreams was to see Austria. One of his students arranged for flight tickets to several countries for Shrichand and his wife. Travel arrangements and money for expenditure were made available by other students.
Despite being a senior professor, Shrichand did not own even a scooter. He would travel to college everyday by an auto-rickshaw. On reaching his destination, he would invariably reach into his pocket, fish out money and give it to the auto driver without counting and would not even wait for the change. Noticing that Shrichand was overpaying, an honest auto driver volunteered to drive him everyday to college and back. Shrichand, in turn, taught him to read and write and ensured that his son also studied, earned a degree and a well paying job.
Shrichand’s marriage is another interesting story. He fell in love with a girl as a youth. But his adoptive parents were against the match. Not wanting to hurt the couple who had sheltered and brought him up, Shrichand decided not to marry the woman he loved. The girl also decided to remain unmarried rather than marry anyone else. Shrichand’s family finally accepted the girl after 12 years. Ajuri Begum thus became Shrichand’s wife. They have a cherished daughter Rubina. Professor Shrichand is no more. But his students are all over the world. Shrichand lives on through the lives and deeds of his students.