Man names scholarship after teacher who gave him Rs 100 as a ‘poor student’

Today,while Vinayak is a professor in the department,Pardhan is the project director of Jindal Saw Ltd’s unit at Bhilwara and the president of Pradhan Foundation Trust,which has set up Maharani Lakshmibai College in the rural heartland of Haryana.

To repay his gratitude to his teacher,Pardhan has started a scholarship in his college in Vinayak’s name. All through these years,he says,he could never forget the generosity of a teacher who gave him the money when he needed it most.

Talking to The Indian Express,Pardhan recalled the day in May,1979,when he had only Rs 5.25 in his pocket — the bus fare to go home to Charkhi Dadri. “Suddenly,I was asked by the university to pay some charges. I panicked. I was a poor student and had even worked as a labourer to meet expenses,but never borrowed money from anyone. I was confused about how to deal with the situation. Suddenly,seeing Professor Vinayak passing by on his mobike,I ran towards him,” he recalled.

Before he could fully mumble the reasons as to why he needed Rs 100,Vinayak smilingly took out his wallet,put the money in his palm and rode off.

In 2009,Pardhan wrote a heartfelt note to his teacher. “Hon’ble Gurudev,Pranam,” started the letter. “I am yet to succeed in forgetting a small episode full of astonishment,elation and your support for the students,” he stated. Pardhan then narrated the entire episode.

At the end,he stated: “Though the obligation cannot be returned by any monetary means but for my sake,please accept the cheque I have sent to you for Rs 6,400.” The amount was calculated on the basis that the investment doubled in five years at that time and Rs 100 will now come to Rs 6,400. “Let the non-monetary debt multiply in my safe treasure in heart and soul,” said Pardhan,now 53.

Vinayak,who is now in his late 50s,has never encashed the cheque. “I have lovingly kept both the letter and the cheque and often show it to my students even today. I don’t recall the incident myself,though after his letter I remembered that I had a student by the name Bharat Bhushan Pardhan,” Vinayak told The Indian Express. “It is a memento of a student’s love for a teacher and to be treasured,” he added.

Pardhan,who came from a family of humble means,is the eldest of six brothers and sisters. “My father Puran Chand Pardhan,a superintendent in the Haryana education department,believed in the power of education and used to say that if I excel in studies and do well,my siblings will excel too. He was right,” said Pardhan. Inspired by his father’s ideals,Pardhan said that he and his wife Shamim Sharma had decided to pool in all their investment in education and from this session,started Maharani Lakshmibai College.

Shamim,the Principal of Government College,Dabwali,is the patron of the college and a member of the Pradhan Education Trust.