Home Dehradun Mathematics wizard ‘Jalota Sir’ is no more

Mathematics wizard ‘Jalota Sir’ is no more

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A tribute by Raj Kanwar
Ramesh Jalota, popularly known as ‘Jalota Sir’, died in his sleep in Doon sometime on Saturday night. He had been living alone in his Nashville Road residence ever since his wife Premila died in 2008, just before they were to complete 40 blissful years of married life.
His cook, Shanti, had as usual left the house after laying his dinner. Jalota Sir was quite hale and hearty and had enjoyed the bonhomie of his close friends such like Vikram Kapur and others who generally visited him for a gossip session.
However, the following morning, when his neighbour and a good friend Mr Arora made a routine visit to Jalota’s house, he found the gate locked, which was unusual. There was no response whatsoever despite repeatedly ringing the call bell. One of the young neighbours then jumped over the gate and knocked on the door but to no avail. Eventually, the police was called and the door was broken open. Lo and behold! Jalota Sir lay dead in his bed.
His Panchkula-based daughter, Renuka Nayar, arrived here post-haste, yesterday. Renuka and Jalota’s friends made all the required arrangements for the funeral and the last rites. His mortal remains were cremated this morning. His second daughter, Anupama, lives in far away Dallas, Texas. However, her long time friend Laksha Mehta was present.
Jalota Sir was an iconic Mathematics teacher at the St Joseph’s Academy and was popular both with the students and the faculty. He had devised his own simple method of teaching Mathematics by which students easily learned the otherwise complex subject and loved attending his classes. He also took tutorial classes at home during vacations or closer to examinations. Both, my daughter Minnie, and son Gagan, were also his students at St Joseph’s Academy.
He leaves behind daughters Renuka and Anupama, three granddaughters and a grandson, besides a host of friends and former students.