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| The Rosebowl Dec 31st, 2000 Page - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 |
Mr. D.N. Varma
It is hard to think of my father in the past tense. He was a constant factor in our Dehra Dun lives - a living embodiment of unruffled and unharassed retirement, secure in the knowledge that all his debts were settled - in Eliot’s words, someone who lived with quiet satisfaction after ‘he had paid the rent’.
It is an irony of life that a man whose life had been devoted to the imparting of knowledge had to battle with brain disease at the end. However, come what may, he took everything in his stride, never losing his sense of satisfaction at a life’s work well done.
His life had revolved around The Doon School and teaching. Nothing, but the contentment of being able to impart knowledge to his students mattered. Not for him to hanker after lucrative assignments - I had asked him once if he did not consider taking up any other assignment (he had been offered headmastership of other schools) - he laughed it off. He was totally dedicated to his profession and the joy of his life was his class and his lab. Nothing else mattered for him - his reward was the progress of his students and the books he had authored, which were a constant source of pride to him.
One of the greatest joys for him was the mention of some old pupil. For someone who had gone through five years, post-brain disease, he had an amazing memory of students, with their records and nicknames. He would revel in the progress of any student of his whose achievements were mentioned to him. Unmindful of the act that he had lost contact with many of them, just news of them brought a smile to his face and heart. Their progress was his guru-dakshina.
And, of course, the school was his pride and joy. I always noted the possessiveness and bonding he felt whenever he was in the surroundings of the school - that was the reality of the past hat overshadowed all else. His total delight in meeting old colleagues, ex-students and participating in school functions was a tribute to the bonding of the Dosco family.
In the fast moving scenarios of today’s world and changing perceptions, he may have felt out of place. But the Chemistry icon of yesterday would not have minded that - all his needs had been met - his ambition was his ward’s progress.
There are few men of that mould today.
Vandana Prakash (nee Varma)
[ex 906-TA ’82]
Excerpted from The Doon School Weekly.
Eratta
In the Last issue of Rosebowl
dated 31-8-2000
(a) The name of the daughter of Shivani & Amir Singh Pasrich
[ex 443-TA ’86] was printed as Ameena by mistake on page 1. Her name is Ameera Nanki.
(b) Some of the names of the persons in the group photograph of the class of 1959 were inadvertently left out on page 4.
Our apologies for the errors.
London Get-together held on 8th September, 2000 at The Vice Roy of India, Glentworth Street
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| Left to right : Sunny Nanda (non-Dosco), Sheila Nanda, Vijay (Tanz) Thapar, Haran D’Silva & wife |
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| Left to right : Daman Raj Singh, Vijar Thapar, Ravi Kurien |
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| Left to right : Nitan Kapoor, Vijay Thapar, Sanjeev Ghai, Anil Sabharwal (Sabby) Harash Sethi (Bittoo), kneeling - Suveen Kapoor |
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| Roshan Seth holds Court ! |