Obituary
By SD Srivastava
I entered the portals of Welham Boys’ School in 1967 – a young boy, seven years old – rather unsure, hesitant and nervous since I was leaving home for the first time to join boarding school -away from my dear mother’s doting, fussing protective care and homely comforts.
However, as I was introduced to our Principal Mr Arthur Hughes – a fair, well built, balding Welshman with a shock of silver hair still left whose warm genial smile and relaxed demeanour brightened me up – I felt at ease with his affectionate welcome. Next to him stood our Vice Principal Shri NK Gaur – smartly suited and every bit the stern disciplinarian with sharp piercing eyes – sizing me up to convey his no-nonsense approach, to be on his right side and be obeyed always. Next was a tall, broad shouldered, athletic gentleman with a firm jaw, imposing yet natural and looking every bit the proverbial Teacher – Mr JK Sharma – Maths teacher and Cricket in-charge. Sir exuded confidence, grace and that bold charm of an extremely caring, ever willing, helpful guide, a mentor to his students in the formative years of their schooling – discipline and dedication writ large on his face.
Welham Boys School my new ‘Alma Mater’ – situated in the lush green, sylvan, verdant litchi and mango orchards of ‘Dalanwala’ locality of Dehradun with the magnificent Shivalik hills as a backdrop and Mussoorie hill station with beautiful cottages perched atop the ridge – spun a charm on me as I soaked in the importance of becoming a part of the Welhams legacy – created and nurtured by Miss Oliphant, its founder.
Soon I settled down in school – marvelling at the spic’ n span, clean, shining classrooms, lush green playing fields, striking arts school – full of watercolours, Batik work, tie and dye (Bandini) work, swimming pool, spacious Dining Hall and commodious Hostel – I was overwhelmed and my joy knew no bounds when I came to know that Mr JK Sharma (‘Jaggi’ to his colleagues and friends) was to be my Maths teacher.
JK Sir’s maths classes were a lesson in methodical analysis of the problem and its resultant answer – each step he explained painstakingly and so meticulously that we students comprehended it to perfection. The most difficult math problems or intricate algebra questions fell on his razor sharp mind with such precision that, hey presto! – the exact answer was there in a trice!
Sir’s classes were like a well-tuned ‘Mathematical Orchestra’ in full swing – figures rolling out as melodious notes as he paced the class room with his long confident strides keeping us spellbound with his total mastery of the subject. Sir being adept at both Maths and Cricket – he juggled figures with the same ease as his tantalizing off spins on the cricket pitch that motivated us no end in gaining both confidence and accuracy to solve math equations, etc.
His ability to draw out the best from his students enabled him to groom them into well-developed ‘all round personalities’ – balanced individuals with the right mix of mental, physical, social and emotional traits that make a ‘gentleman’.
Mathematics was not only JK Sir’s forte but a passion borne out of a labour of love – and it was his ‘vocation’ – teaching for him was not a profession but a natural extension of his persona – patience, tolerance, discipline tempered with kindness.
This made his classes that rare experience- opening of young curious minds to a scientific temper & mathematical exactitude that inculcates a true spirit of enquiry in young impressionable minds- laying strong foundations for further education.
I benefited from his teachings immensely, so much so that taking the ‘Common Entrance Examination’ for The Doon School was a ‘cake walk‘ – the Maths paper being solved with practiced perfection – I scored 90%.
The ease with which I scored so high was because of Sir’s sweat, toil and perseverance in honing my talent and imparting knowledge for optimal results – a debt that I can never repay in life for it catapulted me into my next phase of education at The Doon School for a life making experience.
JK Sir’s genius was not limited to the class room – as In-charge for Cricket – he devised effective methods for improving batting skills of our cricket players – cricket balls strung on cords from branches of a tree on the edge of the playing field were used to perfect stroke play and footwork of the batsmen. Further, JK Sir himself was an attacking batsman and an excellent off spin bowler and it was a treat to watch him play – although I dreaded facing his ‘off breaks‘ on the pitch – he deceived you with the guile of his wrists and the sound of shattering stumps spelt the end of your innings!
Welham Boys’ School cricket team was easily one of the best cricket teams amongst all schools in Dehradun.
Also, JK Sir captained the School Staff XI and Sundays had us all children witnessing cricket matches on our playing field against Senior Teams – cheering at every hit to the fence or fall of wicket.
Even our evening ‘recreation time‘, during which we students sang songs, cracked jokes, shared anecdotes had JK Sir actively participating and always telling us important bits of information – Indian Cricket team’s first overseas series win against New Zealand in 1967-68 – especially that ‘Tiger Pataudi’, the Captain, had studied at Welham Boy’s School. This victory instilled great pride in us and JK Sir‘s beaming face said it all.
The years flew by and in July 1970 the time came to pack up and leave for The Doon School to continue and progress on the path of learning on which JK Sir had initiated me as a young child and would be the bedrock for my life – discipline, dedication, hard work and commitment to values of fairness and truthfulness.
I walked slowly into his room to bid ‘adieu‘ and take his autograph with a heavy heart – brimming with emotions of sincere gratitude, love, affection and above all weighed down by his selfless sacrifices – tireless hours spent in moulding me into a confident, motivated person, possessing self-esteem and an unwavering belief in my ability to grow and succeed. On seeing me, JK Sir’s face lit up like the ‘Aurora Borealis’ – sheer joy and immense satisfaction shone bright as he hugged me warmly – his mission of galvanising me on the road to knowledge and success in life bearing fruit. With tears streaming down my face I touched his feet in our true ancient ‘Guru Shishya Parampara‘ and the warmth of his embrace was that ‘heavenly blessing‘ which our ancient sages have sung from times immemorial –
‘Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwara
Guru Saakshaat Parabrahma
Tasmay Shri Guru vey namah.’
Even after having left Welham Boys’ School my meetings with JK Sir were regular, since on the last weekend of the month I cycled down from Doon School to Welham Boys to meet JK Sir and other teachers and each such interaction with Sir always enriched me.
In 1974, after having successfully passed the ‘Senior Cambridge’ exam I left Doon School and Dehradun for further studies. However, I visited Dehradun once a year – an annual pilgrimage of tribute and thanksgiving to my ‘Alma Mater’ and J K Sir – the grounding years so strongly entrenched in my mind, heart and soul that this ritual not only tethered me to my childhood years in Welham’s but instilled a proud sense of belonging.
In 1986 came the ‘crowning glory’ of my career when I was selected in the All India Civil Services Examination and appointed to the Indian Revenue Service. On the journey to Mussoorie to join the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) my first port of call was Welham Boys’ School – the proverbial return of the ‘victor‘ – having accomplished a lifelong and much cherished ambition of joining the Civil Service- the seeds of which were sown in the education I got at Welhams – the toil, dedication and commitment of JK Sir and all my teachers in school. This meeting was one of fulfilment for both the ‘Guru‘ and the ‘Shishya’, as both had achieved their respective objectives and goal in life – the Guru‘s yearning for his pupil to not only succeed but to excel him and the Shishya’s burning ambition to not only live up to his Guru’s expectations but exceed them.
This introspection brought to mind the ancient shloka of our sages – “पुत्रात शिष्यात पराजयम”. “There is happiness in defeat from one’s child and one’s pupil
The father and teacher’s greatest ideological and moral victory”.
Our ancient epic ‘Mahabharata’ portrays this ethos and moral compass in ‘Guru Dronacharya’ – whose cherished goal was to see his disciple Arjun and his son Ashwathama excel him and India has- instituted the ‘Dronacharya Awards‘ in recognition of this ancient wisdom so lucidly enshrined in our epic ‘ Mahabharata – a live link to our rich ancient heritage.
I respectfully bent and touched Sir’s feet for his blessings and as I looked at the evening sky lit with myriad stars shone bright as a ‘Beacon‘, I looked in awe and gratefulness at the ‘beacon‘ that JK Sir was to me.
I was in constant touch with Sir and every Teacher’s Day on 5th September had me ringing him up and exchanging greetings and only a few months back I had spoken to Sir.
JK Sir’s passing away, a nonagenarian, in August this year, having lived his life full of years and honours, draws a curtain on a many-splendored personality – a Teacher ‘par excellence’, a flamboyant Cricketer and above all a lion hearted human who gave his all for us students to be worthy of our education and live by his teachings forever. It has left an indelible imprint on me –internalised & integrated with my personality.
Rest in eternal peace in your heavenly abode Sir,
Our most revered and immortal dear JK Sir,
For to live in the hearts of men is not to die…
(SD Srivastava is a retired IRS Officer, who was Principal Commissioner, Income Tax.)
