Delhi University guarded by man who'll soon be PhD
SMEETA MISHRA PANDEY
Indian Express
NEW DELHI, MARCH 12: Among scholars who will get their doctorate degree this year at the Delhi University convocation, there is an unlikely student. Raj Kishore Pandey, 44, a campus guard at the University.
Kishore, who got married when he was 10, has spent as many as 20 years guarding the campus. He came to the Capital from Tiwaripur in UP in 1980 armed with a 12th standard certificate from his village school and started off as a daily-wage worker at DU. He then moved on to become a security guard who would bring his books to work.
That is the only thing that sets him apart. Indeed, when Kishore arrives at the front gate of the Arts faculty at 5 pm to stand guard, he is the epitome of the chowkidar: The usual khaki uniform, the navy blue muffler, the cycle with the little cloth bag that contains the steel tiffin box hanging around the handle.
He will sit on an old wooden bench -- he says it has given him company -- from 5 pm till early morning. He narrates his story: describing those who helped him and those who didn't, his four children and wife who believed in him and that precious moment, after eight years of research, when his PhD thesis was approved.
The thesis was a `Comparative study of Adhyatma and Ananda Ramayana'. In fact, his face lights up at the mention of the word Ramayana and he asks: ``Did you know that Ramayana has hundreds of versions, each one distinctly different from the other? However, the essential plot in all these versions can be traced to the original one: Rishi Valmiki's Ramayana.''
Completing his thesis was tough, he says. ``Initially, the university authorities refused to grant me permission to begin research. They argued that PhD being a full-time course, I could not both work and study. They asked me to take a minimum of two-year leave without pay and do my research work. However, the then V-C Prof Upendra Baxi helped me. I took leave and he helped me withdraw some money from the provident fund.''
Former DU registrar, the late Prof Madan Mohan, ensured Kishore was assigned evening duty so that he could study by day, he says. In eight years, Kishore completed his thesis and passed his viva test this session.
Before enrolling for PhD, Kishore had completed a masters degree in Sanskrit from Hansraj College and BA from Shivaji College. However, he never managed to bag a lecturer's post. ``Maybe, I lack something,'' he says. ``But then the stigma that I am a chowkidar always bothered the interview board. I could never convince them that I could be as good or bad a lecturer as any other qualified person is.''
Kishore considers himself lucky that he managed a two-year stint as a guest lecturer in Deshbandhu College. ``I had to teach for a total of 20 hours in a month. I was paid Rs 50 for an hour. I loved that period in my life. I would bring home Rs 3,500 from my chowkidar duty and Rs 1,000 as a guest lecturer. But it was too good to last.''
Today, he is eagerly awaiting his PhD certificate. Says DU Registrar Prof K K Panda: ``Once he gets his PhD degree, it will become easier for him to get a lecturer's job here. We will do our best.''
And, how do Kishore's colleagues react? ``They don't treat me in any special way, neither respecting me too much nor ostracising me.''
``Even if I never manage to become a lecturer, I will have no regrets,'' says Kishore. ``I have ensured that my children receive proper education. My son is pursuing his masters in Hindu College and all my three daughters are doing well in school. I have never appointed tutors for them at home. I teach them myself. I have put my education to the best possible use.''
SMEETA MISHRA PANDEY
Indian Express
NEW DELHI, MARCH 12: Among scholars who will get their doctorate degree this year at the Delhi University convocation, there is an unlikely student. Raj Kishore Pandey, 44, a campus guard at the University.
Kishore, who got married when he was 10, has spent as many as 20 years guarding the campus. He came to the Capital from Tiwaripur in UP in 1980 armed with a 12th standard certificate from his village school and started off as a daily-wage worker at DU. He then moved on to become a security guard who would bring his books to work.
That is the only thing that sets him apart. Indeed, when Kishore arrives at the front gate of the Arts faculty at 5 pm to stand guard, he is the epitome of the chowkidar: The usual khaki uniform, the navy blue muffler, the cycle with the little cloth bag that contains the steel tiffin box hanging around the handle.
He will sit on an old wooden bench -- he says it has given him company -- from 5 pm till early morning. He narrates his story: describing those who helped him and those who didn't, his four children and wife who believed in him and that precious moment, after eight years of research, when his PhD thesis was approved.
The thesis was a `Comparative study of Adhyatma and Ananda Ramayana'. In fact, his face lights up at the mention of the word Ramayana and he asks: ``Did you know that Ramayana has hundreds of versions, each one distinctly different from the other? However, the essential plot in all these versions can be traced to the original one: Rishi Valmiki's Ramayana.''
Completing his thesis was tough, he says. ``Initially, the university authorities refused to grant me permission to begin research. They argued that PhD being a full-time course, I could not both work and study. They asked me to take a minimum of two-year leave without pay and do my research work. However, the then V-C Prof Upendra Baxi helped me. I took leave and he helped me withdraw some money from the provident fund.''
Former DU registrar, the late Prof Madan Mohan, ensured Kishore was assigned evening duty so that he could study by day, he says. In eight years, Kishore completed his thesis and passed his viva test this session.
Before enrolling for PhD, Kishore had completed a masters degree in Sanskrit from Hansraj College and BA from Shivaji College. However, he never managed to bag a lecturer's post. ``Maybe, I lack something,'' he says. ``But then the stigma that I am a chowkidar always bothered the interview board. I could never convince them that I could be as good or bad a lecturer as any other qualified person is.''
Kishore considers himself lucky that he managed a two-year stint as a guest lecturer in Deshbandhu College. ``I had to teach for a total of 20 hours in a month. I was paid Rs 50 for an hour. I loved that period in my life. I would bring home Rs 3,500 from my chowkidar duty and Rs 1,000 as a guest lecturer. But it was too good to last.''
Today, he is eagerly awaiting his PhD certificate. Says DU Registrar Prof K K Panda: ``Once he gets his PhD degree, it will become easier for him to get a lecturer's job here. We will do our best.''
And, how do Kishore's colleagues react? ``They don't treat me in any special way, neither respecting me too much nor ostracising me.''
``Even if I never manage to become a lecturer, I will have no regrets,'' says Kishore. ``I have ensured that my children receive proper education. My son is pursuing his masters in Hindu College and all my three daughters are doing well in school. I have never appointed tutors for them at home. I teach them myself. I have put my education to the best possible use.''
Comment