*THE PROFESSOR IS NO MORE*
Yesterday, I lost a dear friend; and the course our Professor.
Shanti Prakash Karir was a Dam Buster – we joined the NDA on 12 July 1961,
the day the Kharakvasla dam burst, hence the name. Though we were in
different squadrons, we were, sometimes, in the same class. We also had
common interests, one of them being books. On a Sunday, one was more likely
to find Shanti in the library than watching a movie in Poona. We came
closer to each other after being commissioned into Signals, when we did the
YOs course at Mhow. But I really came to know him during the three years we
spent together doing the SODE course.
I think it was during the SODE that he got his nick name
‘Professor’. He was perhaps the most well read and knowledgeable among us.
A book lover, he read almost anything, and was therefore considered an
‘intellectual’ , which probably resulted in his nick name. He sometimes
wrote articles for the CME Weekly and the Signalman, which were full of
humour. But he was really in his element when he joined the editorial team
of the Signalman, many years later. He did a fantastic job and the journal
improved, in the quality of its contents as well as its general appearance.
Thankfully, it was then printed in black on white, and did not resemble a
film a magazine, as it does now!
Shanti was a gentleman to the core. I am sure he must have had his faults,
but I did not find any. For the last few years, his mobility was severely
restricted, bit his mind was active as ever. When I got my copy of India
Today and Outlook, the first thing I did was to run through Letters to the
Editor. More often than not, I found a letter from him – brief, telling and
purposeful. The fact that so many of his letters were accepted for
publication is in itself a tribute to his talent. These journals get
thousands of letters, and it is not easy to get one published. Shanti knew
the score – his letters were never offensive, verbose, or irrelevant.
The Corps will miss Shanti, and so will the Dam Busters. As some of us were
talking during his funeral today, he was the fifth one of our course, in
Signals, to depart. All we can do is to pray for his soul – he was a good
human being, and had suffered a lot during his last years. Of course, one
can never match the loss and pain of his loved ones, but as close friends
and colleagues, we too will miss him. Adieu, Professor. Rest in Peace.
Maj Gen VK Singh
