Learning from a stalwart

The ever-inspiring Prof Bhushan

In life, one gets few chances to learn from stalwarts in his or her chosen field, and I think I grab each one that I get! Yesterday presented one such opportunity for me. I was in the office of Prof Y K Bhushan, who I can safely name as one of the 'Grand Old Men' of higher education in India. Although he is 77 years old, he is truly young at heart, and I experienced it in person over the hour and a half I spent with him. Well, Grand Old Man is just the expression, not only for the sake of the language, but also because he is quite grand in his thoughts and their execution. His picture here may justify that tag that I have given him, but does not tell you the many stories behind all the trophies, plaques and awards that adorn his office mantle at IBS in the Hiranandani Knowledge Park in Powai, Mumbai. In many ways he reminded me of the professor whom I called my Santa Claus, Columbia University's Dr Frank Moretti.

Upbeat with his visit to Pakistan last week, Prof Bhushan narrated some of his experiences as part of a panel representing India there. A while later, he added his personal reason - he was born in Peshawar, and although that was many years ago (well, 77 to be exact, since you already know) he does feel a strong bond with the land where he breathed his first on this Earth. From the minute he started talking, his passion for what he does, and the reasons for doing it all were all evident. 

I was there to meet him with an agenda, to understand his vision for my paper (The Free Press Journal's Knowledge) for which he is going the Guest Editor in October. We discussed themes, and macro and micro issues that plague higher education in the country today. The difference, however, was that with every problem that he stated (or I interjected with), he had something positive to say for the system and it students. He told me to look at the pros and work on them, rather than against them. He was sure that some of the 'old school' teachers cannot piggy back on the positives of the new generation, and end up complaining more than complimenting. "So what if students today are up until 3 am? We need to rejoice in the fact that most of them are up working, and not whiling away their time," he believes. And that's why he is young at heart!

Prof Bhushan talked about several things, but the one that touched the educator in me was that education was all about learning, not about teaching. "We can teach as much as we want, but in the end, only the learning will be effective. Therefore, I have always striven to take my teaching as close to learning as possible to bridge that gap." It is an idea that I have always worked upon, and not that I needed validation, but it doesn't get better than getting it straight from a stalwart's mouth.

Despite his occupation with institution building, which by his own admission has taken him away from teaching, he confessed to overbooking himself with conferences and panel discussions. They give him a chance to keep up with the field. "Then I am all over the place, and pushing myself to deliver on various platforms," he said, with a glint in his eye that indicated that he was not complaining. As I mentioned, he is just back from Pakistan, and all set to go to Malaysia in a few days.

Prof Bhushan's idea of leaving something that the next generation can look forward to is where one can see the foresight. Why be selfish now? Think of sustainable solutions in education, and you can leave behind some legacy for your successors. Towards the end of our meeting, when he saw my passion for the field, he said I reminded him of his grand daughter. Only a person who shares a similar passion for anything can understand the sentiment. And what he says about legacy... he demonstrates in every way. It took me one simple text message to contact him and it was he who called me in return. A simple request is all it took for this busy man to grant me this meeting. No other questions asked. Which other Campus Head and educationist with 56 years of teaching experience would offer his car to a media person to be dropped off at the nearest train station after the meeting is over? In 10 years of working in the field, Prof Bhushan is my first. So what's wrong if I aspire to be like him?