Prof B S Raman, an Enigma, a Teacher par Excellence-Tribute to my ‘Guru’
Mysuru: Professor B.S.Raman, an enigma, a teacher par excellence, “Guru” in the true sense left us for heavenly abode on “Guru Purnima” after blessing thousands of students whom he taught and the lakhs of others who were guided by more than 100 text books he authored. Prof. B.S. Raman was unique and there cannot be and will not be a person to fill his shoes.
Blessed we are for being under his tutelage for the years we spent in St. Aloysius. As my batch mate Venkatesh aptly put it – “Prof. B.S. Raman taught us – commitment and dedication to work, how an average but willing to learn student can excel, unwavering focus on goals and meticulous planning among many things.” I can recollect incidents where several of us coming from smaller schools, especially from Kannada medium, had difficulty in grasping the lectures which were mostly in English. But Prof. B.S. Raman would immediately know that and would try to explain the concepts in a more simplistic way till he was convinced that we have understood the issue.
Just to recall an incident which my batch mate Vijaya had, in one of the internal exams in PUC the question was to pass an entry for goods sold in auction. The only wrong answer in his paper was he had written Sales Account Debit-To Auction Account. Prof. B S Raman called him to staff room and asked him in his inimitable Kannada – “Auction andre gothagilva?”{Don’t you know what auction means?} Why I am recollecting this incident is that among the hundreds of students he was teaching in a given year, he probably knew the strength and weakness of each one of them and in this particular instance he immediately recognized that there was a problem in the language to this student and not in understanding of the concepts as all his other answers were right. This was the uniqueness of the great teacher that he was.
Meticulousness and attention to detail was another thing he stood for. Nothing escaped his eagle eye. I remember an incident where in one of the internal exams I was given 99.5 marks in accountancy, but in the answer sheet I saw that there were no mistakes. I garnered enough courage to go and ask him why half a mark was reduced when there were no mistakes. I still remember, he pointed out to the balance sheet I had prepared and said you have not underlined the total in the liability side of the balance sheet. He also told me “I have reduced half a mark only to make you realize that your answer should be complete in all respects and you should pay attention to even the smallest of details”. The corrections he made then have now become a way of life for me and the benefits I reap out of it is immense.
Most of us are what we are today, largely because of what we have learned from Prof. B.S. Raman, both from what he taught us as well as what he stood for – unwavering commitment to teach and to impart his ocean of knowledge to anybody who seeks. Several of my friends and batch mates who have studied under him have all expressed one quality of his – that is to reach out to the average and make them excel.
The concept of Debit and Credit drilled into our head then, is now a part of our sub-conscious too. Even now if anyone wakes me up at 3.00 AM and asks for definition of Debit or Credit I will recite it without a mistake. The fundamentals of accountancy that I have learnt from him have made me what I am today, and given me the great edge in the line of work I do and given me the confidence to handle complicated issues because ultimately it comes down to knowing the Debit and Credit.
The strict disciplinarian that he was, missing or bunking his classes was something you could not dare to do because the consequences would be –“Get out of my class, of course” and the period could vary from anything between one day to one month. In my entire student life I was sent out of class only once and it was Prof. B.S. Raman who sent me out for clicking the ball point pen I had in my hand.
The stern no nonsense attitude in college was quite in contrast to the homely and concerned human being he was when we met outside the college precincts. I remember my batch mate Shamchandra Bhat, who was a great cricketer representing the college during those days, telling me that he had the privilege of being treated with Masala Dosa’s when he met him at Hampankatta and also got tips on how to improve his cricket career, but in college he was the usual stern self. Some of my batch mates were smart enough to go to his house, get a cup of coffee from his wife and also get their leave sanctioned for the NSS camp or Shabarimala trip or some match.
The legend Prof. B.S. Raman was, has moulded many of us. The sense of responsibility and commitment we have developed in the professions we pursue has been largely influenced by his actions both in and out of college.
The last time I met him was when I was posted here in Mangaluru. The first thing he told on knowing that I was heading the Intelligence and Criminal Investigation Unit is that, -“I knew in college itself that you will be reaching great heights. You are destined to go further up. God bless you”. I was thrilled beyond words with the fact that he remembered me and also blessed me. In 2016 when we organized the grand re-union of our 89 Commerce batch, my friends went to his house in Bengaluru to invite him. He was very happy with the initiative that we had taken in organizing the re-union, where we felicitated all the teaching and non-teaching staff, but expressed his inability to attend the same due to health constraints.
I can go on reminiscing about the five years we spent in this college when he taught our batch Accountancy and Income Tax, but the fact remains that the legend is no more and we are left with only the memories of the good years we spent being his disciples. The positive contribution that we, his students, will give to the society and the commitment and dedication in whatever we do will be the only real “Guru Dakshina” that we will be able to give to our legendary “Guru” Prof. B.S.Raman
Rest in peace Dear Sir. We will miss you eternally.
A Tribute by Sudheendra Kumar, a student of Prof. B.S.Raman at St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru between 1984 to 1989. Presently posted as Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax at Mysuru.
