गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।
गुरुः साक्षात् परब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः ॥
Guru is the Creator, Guru is
the Preserver, Guru is Destroyer
Guru is the absolute god,
Salutations to the Guru
Close
to 3 decades ago my first brush as a FY Engineering student at VJTI with Dr.
Murthy wasn’t positive. We had an industrial visit in our first or second month
and being the first such visit we were experiencing, it was just like a picnic
at least for me! I wasn’t paying too much attention to what was being shown,
the machine specifications, mechanical aspects that we had been taught in class
were all being practically demonstrated and Dr. Murthy would point out, explain
and see if we had any doubts. The free snacks and the fun of going out with new
friends, being out during the class time could have been too exciting for me to
pay much attention to the real purpose of the industrial visit, I guess. The
following week we were given a short test by Dr. Murthy and all the questions
were from the practical aspects we were supposed to have observed during the
visit. I knew the theory, but had not been paying much attention during the
visit, the result was disastrous, I think I got 5 or 7 marks out of 20! I was angry
and felt the evaluation could have been done better. J At 17 I was fearless as well as naïve of course. The
discussion with Dr. Murthy not only brought home the point of how important it
is to focus but also made me realize the core purpose why we were there in an institute
of repute. It changed the manner in which I looked at knowledge, I began to pay
more attention to the practice of what was covered in the classroom and it has
reaped rich dividends for an ordinary student like me.
The
qualities of a teacher and their character can play a significant role in
shaping the lives of countless students that they touch. As I was to find over
the next few years, Dr. Murthy was one of the most positive persons you could
come across anywhere, he was brimming with ideas, he was extremely resourceful
and always ahead on Academia-Industry collaboration, his ability to drive home
a point, provide equal impetus on the theory as well as practice were just incredible.
Dr. Murthy was one of the most friendly teachers one could find, he was not
only a wonderful communicator but also a great listener. The way he treated the
juniors, rest of the staff etc. and collaborated with everyone in spite of the
usual bureaucracy and back stage politics that might have been going on in the
background was commendable to say the least.
There
are several students he would help financially thru various scholarships and
assistance schemes. If one door closed, he would find another and so on. Once
he knew some one was in trouble, he would go all out to support those students.
I remember he tried and got scholarships for some students from an external
community based organization and we were amazed as to how he was able to
convince them. Hundreds of needy students would go on to benefit from this resourcefulness
of Dr. Murthy.
I
am one of the many beneficiaries of his network, connect and influence in the
corporates, when he got me to do my final year project in Ahmedabad and that
experience truly got me ready for my stint in the professional world. There are
many qualities of Dr. Murthy that I can recollect, but his positive attitude to
life and his ability to help others in need is something I have always tried to
emulate!
Heartfelt Gratitude and Kudos
to you Dr. Murthy! I wish more teachers learn to do even at a smaller scale
what Dr. Murthy did in his 3 decades at VJTI!
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