Prof G M Ram

 

It is over a year since Ram Sir left this world for his heavenly abode. Many a time, I thought of posting an obituary on my blog, but could not. I felt like being held back by some inexplicable force. It took me several months before I could find a convincing reason for this strange state of mind. The simple reason was that my mind could not accept that Ram Sir was no more. Now after a year, getting over the shock and grief I felt no relevance for an obituary. But I changed my mind after I received a phone call from a girl I taught almost four decades ago. She told me that she had always tried to remind herself of a piece of advice I had given her when she started her teaching career. I was a little surprised as I was too young then to advise someone. Then she told me that this was the advice I received from Ram Sir when I started my career as a teacher. It was at this point that I decided to write this note.

1977 - That was the year I joined St John’s College, Agra as a PG student of Physics. Even before the first class I had felt demolished. All my pride as a Kerala youth simply vanished at the sight of the college, a huge imposing structure in red stone, indeed an architectural marvel.

Our first class. Ram Sir stepped into the room with his characteristic majesty. After a brief speech, he started the class. The topic was Mathematical Physics. I was surprised by a totally new style of teaching. I felt mesmerised by the ease with which he went from Mathematics to Physics and returned. That was the first time I realised the link between Physics and Mathematics. How the two were blended was a real eye opener.  And to top it all, he spoke beautiful and fluent English which was a treat by itself.

I left St John’s in 1979 after my PG and joined the CMS college in 1981 as a junior lecturer in Physics. I wrote a letter to Ram Sir informing him of this and never expected a reply from him. Those days it took a minimum of eight days to get a reply from Agra. To my surprise, I got a letter from Ram Sir on the eighth day. I still remember my hands shivering while opening the letter. He congratulated me, thanked God and closed the letter with the following sentence; “Any job done well is a reward in itself”.

In 1984, I was back in Agra for my M.Phil at the Agra University. By then Ram Sir had become the principal of St John’s college. I went to the principal’s bungalow to meet him. The description of the palatial building will need an exclusive essay which I don’t attempt here. I was received like a special guest and after talking for about an hour he told me that I should come back there in the evening for dinner with him and his family. With folded hands I told him “Sir, this invitation itself is a great honour for me. But I should be excused for not accepting this invitation. Sitting beside you in this palace for dinner, food will not go down my throat”. He laughed loudly and said “OK, OK”.

In 2005, I was again in Agra with my family. By then Ram Sir had retired from St John's college and was at the CNI Diocesan office most of the time. I went to the office and at the reception I was told that Sir was in a meeting with the Bishop. I waited for half an hour and gave a note to the receptionist and requested her to hand it over to Ram Sir. I just wrote “Rajan K. John,  1977-79 M.Sc Physics”. Sir came out in five minutes. Seeing him I ran up to him and said “Sir, I will not take more than two minutes. I have to catch the afternoon train to Kerala, that’s why I sent in that note”.  He sat beside me in the lounge and talked about many things, mostly related to the college. After some twenty minutes, I politely told him, “Sir, you were in a meeting with the Bishop and I have taken too much of your time”. With his characteristic smile, he said “The Bishop can wait”. I was shocked by the answer. Even today that answer remains an enigma. Perhaps there is a great message in that answer that the teacher is for the student. Anything or anyone comes only after that.

In 2017, I was again in Agra with my daughter Anna. Another one of my teachers, Prof. J. K. Sharma Sir  (A word about Sharma Sir. He passed MSc at the tender age of 19 and started teaching  at the  St John’s college. His students then were two or three years older than him.  Later he did his PhD from IIT Kanpur.) took us to Ram Sir’s house. He was very happy to see us. I touched his feet and sat beside him. Nearing ninety he was physically weak, but talked to us enthusiastically for over an hour. Sharma Sir encouraged him to talk about his student days at the Harvard University. He had a sharp memory and gave a vivid description of those times. He very clearly described places and incidents from around sixty five years back in time. Anna could not believe when he said that it took two months to reach the US from India by ship in those days. All of us had a very good time. After quite some unforgettable moments, we reluctantly rose to take leave of him. First Sharma Sir touched his feet. Then Anna touched his feet. Finally I moved forward but instead of touching his feet, in a flash, I said “Sir, I feel like hugging you”. He laughed aloud and said, “You do whatever you want to do”. I hugged him. The tall man he was, he hugged me too and I could hear him whisper “God bless you”. That was the last I heard from him. While leaving, I was sure that I would not meet him again. Yet when he left, it was the end of a world for me, a world in my thoughts so dominated by Ram Sir.