I called my paternal grandfather 'Papa'. To his children (4 sons and
2 daughters) he was 'Papa-Jaan'. But for all his grandchildren he was just
'Papa'. It was the same for all the kids in the neighbourhood too.
Papa was Prof. Syed Monazir Alam (S. M. Alam), Principal of
Ranchi Agricultural College (RAC), Kanke, Ranchi (now capital of the Indian
State of Jharkhand). This college has now become an University, Birsa Agricultural
University (BAU). Papa was instrumental in its establishment and growth.
He was born in 1917 in Mangal Talab, Patna, Bihar to
Mr M. Yahya and Salma Bibi. This is part of Patna City (old part of Patna). He
went to Patna City High School, which is situated overlooking the tank. He
excelled at studies from childhood and frequently won scholarships.
He was very active in extra-curricular activities and was an excellent football player. He also organised social functions with his friends. Some of his childhood friends went on to achieve very prominent positions like Mr Ahsanuzzafar became the Mayor of Patna and Mr. Jameel Ahmad became an MLA.
My Dadda (grandmother) used to tell us that Papa was so handsome in his younger days that when he would be walking on the road, the ladies would secretly look at him from behind their 'purdah'..........!
Papa has been called the FIRST Agriculture graduate of the state of Bihar as he received first position in first class in the first batch of the first agriculture college !!
He eventually was granted a scholarship to complete
his masters degree from USA. He went to America in 1949 and did double MS, one
from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and the other from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
As usual he excelled and won many admirers there. One
of his American professors, a renowned man in his field, complimented Papa by
saying that he has not met a better student and a better gentleman!
He returned to India in 1951.
He was posted at Sipaya Farm near Chhapra, Bihar. He
also worked at Pusa Sugarcane Research Institute, Samastipur; Bihar Agricultural College, Sabour; as well as in Patna and Muzaffarpur.
Papa & Dadda with their children and elder son-in-law
In 1955 he came to Ranchi and was instrumental in
establishing the Ranchi Agricultural College (RAC), in Kanke. He was one
of the founding fathers of RAC, which he served with complete involvement and
dedication. It became his life's work.
He was a strict disciplinarian and was an extremely
able administrator. At the same time he was self-effacing and often laughed at
his own cost. Hence he was loved by the students and the staff too, a rarity in
today's times. They could clearly see that this man was prepared to go to any
lengths to help and serve them without expecting anything in return.
Main Building of Ranchi Agricultural College, Kanke (Now part of Birsa Agricultural University)
On many occasions he would send his own car at his own
cost to the Railway Station to pick up or drop students and staff coming from
far off places. He would be ready to come to their aid any time of the day. All
this was not strictly part of his responsibility but he personally felt that
the students are like his children and he treated them as such.
Many years after Papa passed away, I saw his erstwhile
students, who were now in high places, come and touch the feet of my Dadda (my
grandmother). This shows the esteem in which they held Papa. On one occasion,
again after many years of his passing away, we had moved into another house in
a different part of Ranchi (Ashok Nagar), a man stopped in front of our gate
and asked me, 'Is this Alam Sahab's house?’ , I said yes and I told him that I
am his grandson. With a lot of emotion he told me that 'Alam Sahab made my
career by guiding me in the right direction, and I owe a lot to him'. There are
many such stories. He built many careers.
Another interesting facet of his personality was the
fact that he wrote plays which he would direct himself. These would mostly
be hilarious comedies and will be played by the students in the college
auditorium. He also penned humorous parodies of popular film songs too. This was the lighter side of his personality.
He was an extremely upright and honest man. Even when
he was the Principal of the college, the car he had was a very old model
Hillman car, when many of his juniors colleagues had Fiats and Ambassadors (the
in-cars of that time). This Hillman car looked a bit like a vintage car but
this never bothered Papa.
His human qualities were remarkable. He treated big
and small alike. He would make a point of leaving all guests till the
gate. People just felt attracted towards him.
We had an 'adivasi' maid servent whom we called Jamuni
Bua. Her husband had passed away and she had a son, named Birsa, who was 4-5
years. Papa would treat Birsa with much affection and love and would keep him
next to him even when he was receiving important guests. Birsa was treated like
any other kid in the family and had access to all rooms and areas of the
house.
He treated people from all religious faiths,
castes, statuses, alike and actively participated in the festivities of all. In fact, when he was Principal of RAC, the Holi celebration of the
whole campus used to start from our house. I remember, we used to accompany
Papa to the houses of all his Hindu colleagues and friends on the occasion of Holi,
Diwali, Dussehra and so many other festivals. In fact we wholeheartedly
participated in all these festivals and looked forward to it.
On the occasion of Christmas, Papa would ask my mother to bake many cakes and would instruct me to deliver
these to the Christians in our neighborhood. These included the poor labourer
Sushil who lived in a hut, driver Joseph and other fourth grade employees in 'Warder
Line' to Prof. Kerketta (who had done his Ph. Ed from England). When I would
deliver these cakes, these people would be overcome with delight. Just imagine
a Muslim sending home baked cakes to all his Christian neighbours, rich or
poor. Quite a rarity.
In this context I recall another incident. When I was 8 or 9 years old, a Christian from Kerala, whom we called James Sir came into our neighbourhood. He wanted to start an English Medium school called Jehovah Jireh. Kanke being a small place where Christians were in minority, James Sir faced a lot of resistance. Papa believed this school will be good for the community and supported James Sir. Since Papa was a prominent and highly respected figure in Kanke, his support helped James Sir start the school. Papa even got my sister Saba and myself enrolled into this school as its first students! At that time it was in a single room. Now this school has a large building of its own and is well established.
Papa was closely involved with Madrasa Aaliya in Kanke too. He laid the foundation stone of the Madrasa. Maulana Akhtar, who was the head of this Madrasa, took Papa's advice on important matters.
In fact, because of growing up in such an atmosphere of religious harmony, when in later life I came across certain people with communal feelings, it came as a shock to me.
When Papa was the Principal of RAC, he was
instrumental in creating such an atmosphere of fellowship and intermingling among the staff and their
families and the students that the whole campus seemed like a big family.
Papa after retirement - surrounded by his family
No wonder so many people adored Papa.
Papa's love and generosity would be reciprocated by
people from all communities on the occasion of Eid in our house. Our house
would be jam packed with guests on Eid, some 400-500 people will come to greet
us mostly non-Muslims. Remember, this continued long past Papa had retired.
Hence people came purely out of love and affection for him, not to get any official
favours.
Papa just loved children. He would do anything to
create an atmosphere where kids can have fun. After he retired in 1975, he
moved into a house near Boreya Road, in Kanke. Though the house itself was
quite modest, it was surrounded by a big orchard. He maintained a huge kitchen
garden and also Cows, Chicken, Goats, Dogs etc. It was surrounded by huge maidaans,
there was a pond and a river nearby. We kids enjoyed thoroughly spending a lot of time on the trees and playing various games. He gave us full freedom to enjoy
ourselves. The time me, my sister and my cousins have spent in our childhood in
this house, is cherished by all of us. Papa had a lot to do with that.
He suffered a heart attack and passed away on 26th
July 1986 in Kanke, Ranchi. He was 69.
I remember, in his 'Janaza' (funeral), a huge number
of people participated, Hindus, Christians and Muslims. They all went to the
Qabristan (graveyard) and after he was laid to rest, prayed and sprinkled soil on his
grave. We all could feel the acute sense of
loss.
By all accounts, Papa was a rare human being and a
remarkable man. And I am not saying this just because he was my grandfather. I
consider myself lucky that I spent my childhood with him. I hope the generation
after mine (like my son Ammar and others) get to know about Papa's personality and human values.
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My sister, Saba Alam's memories of Papa -
A tribute fit for a wonderful man like Papa...You've written it beautifully...Ihad tears in my eyes while reading this...Ihave so many lovely memories of him, a gem of a person...I have yet to come across a more beautiful soul and such a complete package..Papa it's been so long since you left us but it seems you were always there, in our thoughts...I very vividly remember the way he used to ask me if I have money while going to school and quietly slip a two rupee note in my hand which was enough for a scrumptious dosa those days, the way he taught me to cut wires and repair an iron plug, the way he used to mischievously ask me 'Mobi po' which was our code word for 'ask your mom to prepare pudding'...and so many exciting picnics I had with my cousins which were arranged by him. we had such great days with him
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