Pitaji (Late Principal Shanti Narayan) — A Tribute
Today, my father (whom all of us brothers and sisters most reverentially and out of utmost respect addressed as “Pitaji”), the Late Principal Shanti Narayan would have completed 110 years of age — a number seemingly insignificant at first sight and certainly so to him for birthdays and anniversaries were to him like any other day, but for mortals like us and for me personally as his sole surviving child, it is a day to remember him, pay my humble tribute and above all to make his descendants aware of what a Saint, intellectual colossus and epitome of nobility that he was. Indeed, as many of those who knew him often remarked, he was a Saint in an earlier reincarnation, who only got the human form because of a break in his penance — a sheer, stroke of extraordinary providence for everybody and anybody who came into contact with him and specially blissful for his children to have been born, nurtured and attained maturity under his guidance and most loving care.
This piece is not meant to be a biography, so I would not dwell on the chronological history of his childhood save for an anecdote that his younger sister (our Paternal Aunt) fondly shared with all of us on many occasions. Known as a docile and gentle child, not prone to any pranks or mischiefs, his Mother (my grandmother) was, may I say pleasantly surprised when another child’s mother came complaining to her about her “Shanti’s” perceived misdemeanour. While, as was prudent, she sought to settle the dispute, but immediately thereafter proceeded, in extraordinary glee, to distribute sweets among the neighbourhood on her realisation that Shanti was a normal kid capable of finding his way around in the world- in hindsight, the signs of piety, gentility and nobility were clearly visible early on itself.
His achievements are endless and contributions momentous — a legendary teacher, an acclaimed educationist, institution developer, a prolific author and a world-renowned mathematician, an able administrator- and many more diverse facets were embodied in his personality/ persona. However inspite of his lofty achievements, what amazed people was his simplicity and austerity, the extreme care, involvement and concern that he felt so intrinsically towards children — whether his own, nieces, nephews, students — anyone and everyone who came under his care. Handling a child’s, even if endemic misdemeanour with extraordinary care and delicacy, encouraging them in the pursuits of their dreams (mind you in a day and age when thought processes were much more conservative), being the bulwark and glue for interpersonal relationships (he would sagaciously, effortlessly and even enthusiastically handle issues as delicate as inter-religion and inter-caste marriages and ensure their seamless integration into the family) — in all these respects, he was far ahead of his times — that is the lineage, upbringing and culture that I personally have been privy to and cherish.
I would like to reiterate about his inherent simplicity as it was overwhelming. Having reached such pinnacles in his career , in authoring many books that have found place in the libraries of the best Universities world over, in furthering the cause of education and so on, his thought process remained pure/ true and he had very limited personal needs and if I may say reflective of a pure mind — the words that he frequently said and which actually reflected his thought process were — “Hey Ishwar Subka Bhala Karo” — (God Almighty please bless everyone). Indeed, his entire life span was dedicated to academics and selfless service — starting as a lecturer in DAV College, Lahore to Hans Raj College, Delhi (where he adorned the office as the Principal for more than a decade), with a brief interlude with the PGDAV College, Delhi and then as the first Dean of Colleges in the University of Delhi
A family man to the core, our house was the pivot where, not only his children but more than a handful of cousins(of all nature , habits, ages and traits) stayed and went on to develop their careers –all under his guidance and care- he would react to any indiscretion with an amazing degree of understanding, provide solace in failure and train them in handling success — in all this very admirably supported without even a faint burrow on her forehead by the unsung hero of our family-our Mother (“Bibi” as we all called her). Under his fatherly and teacherly care, children from all branches of the family and an endless number of students grew up, attained maturity, found their moorings and achieved more than a fair degree of success in their respective fields.
As an aside I may just say that while both my parents had extraordinarily diverse backgrounds and personalities- one an intellectual giant and the other whom circumstances deprived of even a basic education, the level of understanding and support that Bibi offered Pitaji in all his endeavours was deep and the approach ever-willing. Although largely under-appreciated, she was the reason Pitaji could uninterruptedly and wholeheartedly carry on with his life’s mission. Family members still recall how she would prepare meals for many a times as many as dozen children of different ages -without differentiating whatsoever between her own off-springs and the others for whom she was the Guardian.
A sentimental, warm-hearted, caring soul and affectionate to degrees unimaginable, his seemingly stoic personality and almost perpetually smiling face hid a deeply emotional soul — he was never one to wallow endlessly or complain about lack of opportunities or about dreams gone sour or aspirations not fulfilled. He gladly and most readily accepted and came to terms with what life had offered and given him. As an example, once one of his students asked him as to why he had not done a PhD — something astonishing considering the number of pupils he had guided down that path (may be not literally but spiritually), his ready and disarming response was: -
“Main Zindagi ki raah chal raha tha”;
PhD pari mili nahin to kari nahin”.
(Walking along the path ways of life, I did not a across a PhD on the way and so did not acquire it)
A disarmingly simple way, reflecting his philosophy of readily accepting what life had to offer — one would never hear him wail about the type of cards life had dealt him with — he always tried to teach us to accept the cards that life’s deck had given us emphasising that we are still infinitely better than what life offered and dealt with to most others on this planet.
Perhaps the only two regrets in his life were the failure to say farewell to and perform the last rites of his parents — specially his Mother with whom he shared an exceptional bond-the slow means of communication and transport kept him away from performing that sacred duty and a last meeting with her which he really regretted. Towards the last stage of his life, the untimely loss of Meena Bhabhiji (his daughter in law –my elder brother’s wife) followed by the most unexpected and sudden culmination of the earthy sojourn of our dearest (my sister and personal soul-mate), and the family’s core-Nisha Didi, really broke his soul and from which he never really recovered — he spent more than a couple of years bed-ridden with a gradual but perpetual loss of senses and control -a state which was all the more unfortunate considering his giant and intellectual status and extraordinary nobility.
Believers in the philosophy of Karma and knowledgeable people tell me that his suffering was the result of deeds in an earlier avatar — a theory which I try to counter with the argument -were not his countless good deeds and noble acts in this life sufficient enough to counter the negative effects of deeds of an earlier life -what did he do to suffer a series of personal tragedies and to go through the turmoil of endless misfortune and almost half a decade spent on the bed with almost total loss of control on his physical and mental state -what kind of a poetic justice or atonement of an earlier life is this.
For me personally, while I ( out of my own insolence) chose to be deprived of his patriarchal presence and overreaching umbrella in his life time, it was only in his death that I became aware of his towering persona starting with his cremation where a sea of people was present to give him a tearful farewell and pay their last respects and where one of his colleagues ( my sister informed me that it was Prof Yadav from Delhi University) remarked — “He was a noble man — you were lucky to be his children”, to the subsequent prayer meeting where a galaxy of speakers spoke about him and his nobility ,when I gradually began to realise as to what I had missed and chosen to deprive myself of. In particular, the legendary, Dr Sarup Singh, who was the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University and with whom Pitaji worked as the Dean of Colleges and with whom he shared a brotherly bond, remarked on how the ability to do any wrong was totally alien to ‘Shanti Narayan Jee’ and how people of all political hues, religions, all strata of academia and different levels of the University hierarchy had an abiding faith in him. How it was known that his personal thought processes and leanings (if anyone could know what they were — since rationality and correctness were the only touchstones on which he measured anything) he would and could not let them come in the way of his decision.
In fact, widely regarded as an Arya Samaji (being a product of the DAV Institutions and having spent a life time working with them) he himself declined, and I remember that correctly at that, an offer to be the head of particular Arya Samaj Mandir — the logic being that he was not a complete Arya Samaji. An indication and proof, if some was required of his ability to rise above the parochial and live his life not just preaching but also practicing the virtues of simplicity, truth, rationality and correctness (not just political but absolute).
Pitaji adored and identified with the profound thinker J Krishnamurthy very closely and passionately (to call him a “disciple” would perhaps be a misnomer) and would scarcely miss an opportunity to hear him personally whenever the Sage was in town, at some of which occasions I also happened to accompany him. Incisively analysing, dissecting and most readily imbibing, Krishnamurthy’s teachings with almost childlike fervour, he at times begged to differ and came up with his own world view — an indication of the Everestian heights of his intellectual erudition without in any manner undermining the greatness of the Sage — who he held in the utmost and unabashed esteem and reverence. In this process one needs to reemphasise, something which everybody and anybody who came into contact with him deeply admired, his ability to do no wrong and to judge any decision solely on the touchstones of correctness and propriety — and no other- such was his nobility.
Talking about his pursuit of truth I am reminded of the following quote which Sir Isaac Newton is supposed to have said just before his death regarding himself as a shore on the great ocean of truth:-
“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
The above quote is actually reflective of Pitaji’s relentless, uncompromising and unforgiving pursuit of truth and rectitude- a path which he pursued ceaselessly while realising his status as a mere creature in the hands of God.
The other evidence of his giant status, unravelled before me almost a decade and a half earlier (in 2004 to be precise) when fortune lay before me an opportunity to visit Lahore — a city where Pitaji has spent his formative years and which launched his career as a teacher. While my desire to visit the premises of DAV College, Lahore (which now housed the Government Islamia College) was fulfilled, what was truly coincidental was that when I alongwith, my wife and our son visited it, in spite of it being a holiday, the Head of the Department of Mathematics happened to be there. As we clad in our immediately recognisable India T-shirts (we had gone to watch cricket), started talking to him and about our association with that Institution, upon hearing the name of Shanti Narayan his reaction changed and if I may say transformed immediately from the indifferent to the most welcoming and enthusiastic — setting all reservations aside he gave us a warm embrace and started chatting with us animatedly — told us how his books are still devoured by the students there, what a privilege it was to have us there — of course what a misfortune it was that we happened to visit on a holiday — if the College was open they would have feted us — he took us readily and gracefully around showing us every nook and corner including the stone where the foundation of the Institution was laid in the pre-partition era burying all kinds of differences aside- the spontaneous bonhomie and apparent warmth was seen to be believed — all because we happened to be the progeny of revered Shanti Narayan Jee.
Another instance which made me aware of his deep –rooted and intense nobility happened exactly a decade ago when a function was organized to celebrate his centenary. Well to put things in perspective when he was the Principal of Hans Raj College he was known for being extremely caring and sensitive to the needs of his wards. While the extensive infrastructure including hostels, libraries, sports facilities, laboratories built during his tenure bear more than adequate testimony — what was also known was the ready offering of his office space (which he always considered excessive to his needs) to needy children who did not have a place to stay. To cut the story short, at the function an elderly gentlemen- definitely much more elder to me came up and bowed — a gesture which deeply embarrassed me. Before I could react, he said that although I would not know him, whatever success he had achieved was due to the noble soul, whom he most respectfully referred as “Principal Saheb”- the extraordinary reverence most evident on his face. He went on to recount an incident in the early 1960s when he had gone to him to seek admission in Hans Raj College and was ushered to the office of the Principal — while he was admitted and fees was waived subsequently after Principal Saheb came to know of his financial difficulties — his decision, most instantaneous at that, to offer him his office to stay and the Library which was so managed to be open twenty four hours was what transformed his life from one that might have been one of obscurity to one with unbridled opportunity and something he was always thankful for. In a most apparent show of gratitude, he recounted how he and a couple of students, who were otherwise extremely financially deprived got an opportunity to incubate, nurture, pursue and realise their dreams. Pitaji most often would say “We have not inherited the earth from our ancestors, we have borrowed it from our children” — indeed he spent a life time in the service of and repaying the debt of all children as reflected in the incident related above.
Talking about his career as an administrator, while his tenure of more than a decade as the Principal of Hans Raj College was understandably his crowning glory, it is, albeit , his short stint as the first effective Principal of PGDAV College, Delhi that brought to fore his ability as a consensus builder and the tact to be able to handle somewhat conflicting, even belligerent personalities straddling magnetically opposite ideologies, of course, for the ultimate good of the institution wherein there was no room for personal leanings- the interests of the institution being always supreme, sacred and paramount.
The other instance which also further show cased his intellectual prowess and inspirational status amongst his students, again happened rather fortuitously, sometime back when flipping through news channels on television, I happened to zero down on a particular channel where a debate was going on in the light of comments made in public doubting the command in English of students graduating from Hans Raj College and a rather unnecessary comparison with students of St. Stephens College. While I have absolutely no intention of delving into the controversy, just to say that my heart swelt with pride when one of the guests, a journalist by the name of Shubharata Bhattacharya, who had studied at Hans Raj College when Pitaji was the Principal simply and disarmingly stated-“when I was a student at Hans Raj, the Principal was the legendary and fatherly Shanti Narayan — whose books were read and used not only throughout India but at renowned universities worldwide- does Stephens have anyone comparable to offer- I rest my case here”. Well, without diving and delving into the controversy in any manner, what made my heart swell with pride was the spontaneity, earnestness, emphasis and the amount of affection with which the statement was made -mind you without any degree of prompting( none in the family had ever met him and my subsequent attempts to meet him unfortunately did not bear fruit) — again an indication of the awe and respect in which he was held by his students- an outcome of the loving care and affection that he showered on his students.
As for his commitment to his students and dedication to teaching, I am reminded of an interaction I had with Prof Yash Pal, the renowned Indian scientist and educator ,who recounted as to what a privilege it was to have been Shanti Narayan Jee’s student. Recalling an incident very fondly, he remembered that when he and a couple of friends approached Pitaji to learn a particular branch of Mathematics, he plainly confessed to not having enough knowledge (how many of us, including present day teachers would admit to such a thing) but matter of factly suggested that they all undertake a voyage of self-discovery into the subject. They ideated on a plan and Pitaji again very painstakingly, methodically and meaningfully put them through an innovative plan of discovery and learning while imbuing the process with some kind of excitement — no wonder, he was revered by his students and even when, they reached pinnacles of success unabashedly bowed before him — something which I have myself witnessed on umpteen occasions.
Another discovery of what of Pitaji’s intellectual accomplishments happened on a coincidental visit to the University of Cambridge, a couple of years back. Having a faint recollection of Pitaji occasionally talking about his desire, which did not materialize, to have studied for the famed Cambridge Mathematical Tripos under the tutelage of the legendary Prof G.H. Hardy, the visit was both sentimental and some kind of a home coming for me. However, what made it memorable was to see one of his books lined up in the Library of the Isaac Newton Centre for Mathematics and to personally see reviews of his books in the famed “Mathematical Gazette” published in the 1950s. While the reviews were an honest appraisal of his work, what unmistakably came out was the appreciation for his excellent command over English (especially remarkable since he did not study it till much later in his life) and his contribution to the furtherance of Mathematics Education in India and parts of Asia. Of course, what was even more remarkable was the fact that considering the most rudimentary modes and manner of communication (technology has made rapid advances since then), his books having travelled almost half way across the globe and to be considered worthy of review in a prestigious journal was a fact most astonishing and in itself a reflection, if any was required, of his contribution and gigantic stature.
One needs to remember that his first book was published in 1939 (when he had not even turned thirty) and at a time when there were practically no books authored by Indians available in the market and to this extent he attempted and succeeded largely in breaking the hegemony of foreign authors who till then had an almost unlimited and seminal control over the Indian market. Needless to say, the series of books were not only a reflection of his passion for Mathematics but also a patent manifestation of a desire to remove the dread associated with it in the minds of students. One of my cousins (who later on became a Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and with whom Pitaji had a special emotional as well as personal bond), while marvelling at the painstaking effort and his almost incessant obsession to make his books error-free, fondly recounts instances of how he ventured to write books on branches of Mathematics he had not studied and how once when he was bed-ridden because of an injury he over a period of couple of weeks dictated, without any reference to any material , a book on “Number Systems” which was a path-breaking initiative again into areas where no authors, specially Indian had so far ventured — mind you he did this in an age when almost the entire output had to be written by hand — modern age computers and other technological tools were far away in fact not even visible on the horizon.
To put things in perspective one needs to remember his phenomenal output of almost thirty text books — all a result of his desire to bring Mathematics education to the reach of every student and removing the terror and indifference associated with it. Additionally, not many people are aware that he alongwith one of his most trusted pupils wrote a book titled: “Algebra for Schools”(in two volumes) for the NCERT — which was a staple for anybody pursuing Mathematics at the Higher Secondary (till the curriculum was changed) and most remarkably for which he chose to forgo any royalty — while somebody could talk about the huge financial loss, something which scarcely bothered him, what gave him the highest satisfaction was the benefit that endless students derived from his books.
On a personal level I feel a sense of angst at myself for being unable to recognise his nobility, stature and contribution when he was alive. In fact, I even chose, deliberately, not to spend time with him, to endeavour to learn from his teachings and or to have a feel of his thought processes -something that I deeply regret. Only hope, considering his benevolence and Godly persona he would pardon my follies and that in my afterlife Almighty would provide me an opportunity to atone for my guilt and indiscretion. It was only in his death that he became a Hero, Mentor or Inspiration — whatever anyone can possibly be. Personally, I can only say, I always miss him in my thoughts, look upon him for guidance and aspire to become even a tiny fraction of what he was — a task stupendous and astonishing in itself — he was a saint in ordinary robes — Father figures like him are God’s gift from Heaven- a gift about which I realised when it was too late.
Before closing I can only say that to my mind and based on what I have heard from so many, who interacted with him, he represented humility, spirit of self-less service, compassion and affection towards children to a degree beyond compare and pursued truth and the path of righteousness with the “integrity of a saint and the tenacity of a bulldog”. To conclude, I can only repeat what he repeated umpteen times most involuntarily but earnestly– “He Ishwar Sabka Bhala Karo” — God Almighty please bless everyone.
Pitaji was also inspired by the following stanza from the poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost and which was also placed on his work desk:-
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep;
But I have promises to keep;
and miles to go before I sleep”.
This stanza inspired him to go on when life seemed still and to carry on with what life had ordained him to do inspite of the inviting lovely woods and the dangers posed by the impending darkness to face storms, walk through deserts, cross the seas and overcome whatever obstacles that may come in the pathway of life.
While in his last stages he suffered a series of ill-deserved, personal setbacks and was bed-ridden for an inordinately long period, I do hope in his after-life, Almighty God has suitably compensated him — I promise you Pitaji to whatever is within my power to carry on your legacy.
