He plans to set up an NRI university,a college of liberal arts,an institute of research and innovation,medicity project with minimal invasive surgery centre of excellence and the list goes on. There is no stopping for SB Mujumdar,founder and chancellor,Symbiosis International University (SIU),a proud recipient of Padmashree,as he completes 75 years on Saturday. At 75,one may think of staying at home,playing with grandchildren and pass time watching TV or reading books. However,for Mujumdar there is no retirement. It is the work that keeps me going. I love meeting people. If I stay at home,I will become sick. So,it is better I come to office everyday, he says with conviction. Symbiosis and SB Mujumdar are almost synonyms for Puneites. The institute that was started in 1971,with a specific purpose to make foreign students feel at home in Pune,has not only achieved the very purpose,but has grown by leaps and bounds to serve the local community at large. As Mujumdar puts it,The basic idea behind the institute was to build symbiosis between locals and foreigners. There were so many issues with foreign students,including food,hostel facility and more importantly the behaviour of local people when I started Symbiosis. People in Pune used to discriminate the students who had come from African countries. I interviewed many of them and I decided to start an activity that could make them feel at home as well as spread a message to locals that these students are in a way ambassadors of their countries and wrong behaviour towards them could malign the image of our country, said Mujumdar. Symbiosis started activities such as cultural programmes and food festival of foreign students. However,I thought that if these students learn with local students,there can be a better symbiosis of cultures. I sent a proposal to the government and started evening law courses. The activities grew gradually and it gave birth to the Symbiosis family,which presently has 19 institutes under its wing. The students from across the country come to Symbiosis for higher education,besides foreign students. SIU set up campus at Lavale village near the city and off-campus centres at Bangalore,Hyderabad and Noida. The varsity is also going abroad in Muscat in Oman and has tie-ups with many foreign institutes. Mujumdar is convinced that there is no alternative for private education. Quality will come only if there is a competition. I always say that after political and economic independence,it is time to have academic independence in the country. Education will be cheaper once we get this independence, he said. The 40-year journey of Symbiosis is a dream come true for Mujumdar. When people try to be sceptical about his success,he becomes restless. People always think that Mujumdar must have bribed people to grow his institute. I must tell,I did not bribe anybody for this. If you are honest in your efforts,you get the things done, Mujumdar said. Embracing simplicityOn personal front,Mujumdar is happy with the progress of Symbiosis. But at the same time his feet are firm on the ground. His simplicity makes him stand out. At any function,he wears a white cotton shirt that has become a trademark. Not only that he is still using his white Ambassador car,bought in 1978,which he finds very comfortable. Whenever he goes abroad,he hears familiar voices. These voices are of foreign students who have graduated from Symbiosis. In a way he is part of a global family and he believes that world is one family.
