‘I was enchanted by his simplicity, and his ability to connect with people’: M Jagadesh Kumar

For me, a teacher is a guru; a mentor who has deep knowledge of a discipline, who can mould the values of the students and can make them good learners.

Who are the teachers who deeply influenced you as a student?

I have only two gurus – one is my mother. Since childhood, I learnt a lot from her, about how to face challenges in life and how to overcome them. She never went to a school and could hardly write or read Telugu. But she remained my guru and philosopher until her death in 2016. The other person who influenced me was my Ph.D. supervisor at IIT Madras — Professor KN Bhat.

What drew you towards him?

From Bhat, I learnt how being focussed and working hard can lead you to achieve something significant in life. I came from a village and he made me very comfortable by speaking about it, sharing his own life story. Since he also came from a rural background, I could easily connect with him. I had joined IIT Madras for my Master’s degree but I also got admission into Indian Institute of Science (IISC) for electrical engineering. But when I met Bhat, I was enchanted by his simplicity and his ability to connect with people. I decided to do my research and Ph.D. only at IIT Madras under his guidance. I am still in touch with him.

What makes a good teacher stand out?

I believe connection with students is very important. As a teacher, I have always tried to practise some of the lessons I picked from own teachers. For instance, I invite my students to my house at the end of every semester, spend time with them, have food with them. I am approachable, and considerate to the limitations of my students, and teach them at a level that they can easily comprehend.

As told to Sourav Roy Barman