iv A Tribute Professor Krishnaji (January 13, 1922 — August 14, 1997) Edited by Govindjee Urbana, Illinois, USA and Shyam Lal Srivastava Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India i The Cover A photograph of Krishnaji (Dada), 1980 Editors Govindjee, the youngest brother of Krishnaji, lives at 2401 South Boudreau, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA E-mail: [email protected] Shyam Lal Srivastava, a former doctoral student, and a long time colleague of Krishnaji, lives at 189/129 Allenganj, Allahabad-211002, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India E-mail: [email protected] All rights reserved Copyright © 2010 Govindjee No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of Govindjee or Shyam Lal Srivastava. Printed at Apex Graphics, Buxi Bazar, Allahabad – 211003, India ii Remembering Three Generations of Krishnaji Krishnaji (Dada) (1922 – 1997) Bimla (Bhabhi) (1927 – 2007) Deepak (1949 – 2008) Ranjan (1952 – 1992) Manju (1954 – 1986) Neera (1973 – 1988) Rajya Ashish (1983 – 1986) Rajya Vishesh (1985 – 1986) iii iv Preface he primary goal of this book is to pay tribute to Professor T Krishnaji, who we call Dada. He was a great human being, a friend to the young and the old, a visionary teacher, a remarkable scientist, an institution builder, an academician, and an excellent and effective administrator. And, at the same time, he was a loving and loyal son, a loving brother, a loving husband, a loving father, and a loving grandfather. A second and equally important goal of this book is to present his life and that of his dear wife Bimla Asthana (Bhabhi to one of us, Govindjee (G), and Jiya to the other, Shyam Lal Srivastava) to his extended family, friends, relatives, students and professional scientists around the World. A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of photographs of his entire family that includes the families of his brothers (Gopalji and one of us, G) and his sister (Malati Sahay). The book is divided in four parts. • Part A includes the recollections and the tributes by Krishnaji’s contemporaries, associates and his graduate students. It begins with his profile by Suresh Chandra, Abhai Mansingh and Shyam Lal Srivastava (Chapter 1). This is followed by tributes and recollections by: Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar (Chapter 2); Baldev Behari Lal Saxena (Chapter 3); Arvind Mohan (Chapter 4): Ram Gopal Rastogi (Chapter 5); Ganesh Prasad Srivastava (Chapter 6); Satya Prakash Khare (Chapter 7); Suresh Chandra (Chapter 8); Abhai Mansingh (Chapter 9); Rameshwar Bhargava (Chapter 10); Bhartendu Srivastava (Chapter 11); Om P. Srivastava (Chapter 12); Shyam Lal Srivastava (Chapter 13); Ashoka Chandra (Chapter 14); Ramji Srivastava (Chapter 15); Pradip Kumar (Chapter 16); Prem Chand Pandey (Chapter 17); Nabin Kumar Narain (Chapter 18); and Mohan Swarup Sinha (Chapter 19). v • Part B includes the recollections and tributes by his family members: Gopalji (Chapter 20); Malati Sahay (Chapter 21); Radha Krishna Sahay (Chapter 22); Govindjee (Chapter 23); Anju Okhandiar (Chapter 24); Purnima Ranjan (Chapter 25); Rita Sinha (Chapter 26); Chitra Kumar (Chapter 27); Avinash Varma (Chapter 28); and Nandini Sinha (Chapter 29). [A complete list of Krishnaji’s extended family members is provided on pages 85 and 86.] • Part C is unique to this book; several students and family members have shown their respect to Dada and Bhabhi by providing photographs. This section shows 9 photographs (Figures 1-9) related to Dada’s academic life and 75 photographs (Figures 10-84) related to his personal life and those of the families of his two brothers and his sister. • Part D includes: A selected list of Krishanji’s publications; a reprint of his 1961 general article on ‘Development of Scientific Research in India’; a short write-up on his 1982 retirement celebration and on his 70th birthday celebration; also included is a short write-up on Allahabad and Allahabad University. This is followed by beautiful original Hindi texts by Malati Sahay and Radha Krishna Sahay, based on which their English versions were prepared for Part B. Part D ends with a collection of ‘Perceptions of the Divine’, We have read and edited the text provided by all the authors for Parts A and Part B, and have prepared Parts C and D. We have deep affection and admiration for Dada that is based on our own experiences. He was a mentor, a guiding light, and a good friend to both of us and we both loved him in different ways, and, he loved us too. To us, he was a person larger than life. He clearly was a man of great character; he was warm, thoughtful, and generous. He inspired others to achieve and reach their goals. He was a visionary, a passionate and a brilliant teacher; at the same time, he was a wonderful family man and a great and a good friend to his students and colleagues. Many were blessed by his support and his kindness. He had a big heart, a clear mind, and an unmatched dedication and vi devotion to serve others, especially those in need. He always had a sympathetic ear and he committed himself to serve people; he always worked to assist those who are less fortunate. He inspired admiration, respect and devotion from all those who came in contact with him. When he made a promise to someone, he kept it no matter what. Whenever tragedy befell to anyone, he was always there for them. He himself suffered personal setbacks and had to face terrible sorrows (such as death of his son Ranjan), but he continued to do his duties and worked as hard (or harder) for his profession and for the welfare of his extended family. He was not only adored by his extended family, but also respected by all his colleagues. Both of us are grateful to both Dada and Bhabhi (Jiya) for the innumerable gestures of kindness and generosity they have extended to us, and for the concern they had for our lives. We hope that this book will inspire others to follow the footsteps of both Dada and Bhabhi. With inspiration in mind, one of us (G) has also collated a text on ‘Perceptions of the Divine’, obtained from his various friends at Urbana, Illinois, USA (see their names under Acknowledgments). As noted earlier, it is included in Part D. Acknowledgments This book will not have been possible without the help of many. First, we thank all the twenty eight authors in Part A and Part B of this book. Special thanks go to Arvind Mohan (Swami Arvind Chaitanya) who provided his article within 24 h of our invitation. We are especially indebted to Anju Okhandiar for the English version of the texts by Malati Sahay and Radha Krishna Sahay, based on their Hindi texts. We also thank Rajni Govindjee for reading the book before it was typeset. Photographs for Part C were provided by many family members, especially Nandini (Ninni) Bhatnagar, Gopalji, Sanket Ranjan, Soubhagyadeep, Anju Okhandiar, Rita Sinha, Chitra Kumar, Elfi Chandra, Anita Govindjee, and Rajni Govindjee. In addition, some photographs were taken from the book: Amma and Babuji: Our life in Allahabad (edited by Govindjee; PDQ Printing, vii Urbana, Illinois, 2007). We thank Samir Shyam for improving some of the photographs and making final corrections in the text. We are thankful to Dilip Chhajed, Pradeep Dhillon, Stephen Downie, Hans Hock, Zarina Hock, Jain Swarup Jain, Braj Kachru, Yamuna Kachru, Rajeshwari Pandharipande, Rizwan Uddin and Narendra Ahuja for their participation in our quest towards the ‘Perceptions of the Divine’. Finally, we are highly grateful to Bhanu Pratap Singh for his immense and untiring contribution and the enormous amount of time he has given to this project: e-mail flow to the contributors; and typesetting of the entire text and of the photographs. We thank Late Mohan Swarup Sinha for his gracious help, and Jamil Ahmad for his excellent service in printing the book. January 13, 2010 Govindjee 2401 South Boudreau Avenue Urbana, Illinois-61801 USA E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 1-217-337-0627 Shyam Lal Srivastava 189/129 Allenganj Allahabad-211002, Uttar Pradesh, (UP) India E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 91 (0) -532-2466239 viii Contents Preface Part A : Recollections of Professor Krishnaji by Contemporaries, Associates and Graduate Students 1. A Profile of Professor Krishnaji Suresh Chandra, Abhai Mansingh and . Shyam Lal Srivastava 1 2. Krishnaji – My Class Fellow Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar 6 3. Our Dada, the Great Professor Krishnaji Baldev Behari Lal Saxena 8 4. Professor Krishnaji and His Time with Us: A Loving Tribute from a Former Student Arvind Mohan 11 5. Professor Krishnaji Ram Gopal Rastogi 16 6. Professor Krishnaji, My Teacher, My Guide, and My Mentor Ganesh Prasad Srivastava 19 7. Professor Krishnaji and His Influence on My Academic Career Satya Prakash Khare 21 8. A Humble Student’s Homage to Professor Krishnaji: Some Cherished Memories Suresh Chandra 25 9. Professor Krishnaji – A True Teacher who was Always There to Help Students Abhai Mansingh 33 10. Prof. Krishnaji: A True Mentor of Experimental Physics Rameshwar Bhargava 42 ix 11. Professor Krishnaji, My Teacher Bhartendu Srivastava 45 12. Professor Krishnaji and Mrs. Bimla Asthana Om P. Srivastava 53 13. Professor Krishnaji: My Mentor, a real Teacher, Experimental- ist par excellence, a Visionary and a Great Human Being Shyam Lal Srivastava 54 14. My Personal Tribute to Professor Krishnaji Ashoka Chandra 63 15. The Personality of Professor Krishnaji Ramji Srivastava 70 16. My Memories of Professor Krishnaji Pradip Kumar 74 17. Professor Krishnaji: A Great Scientist and a Great Human Being Prem Chand Pandey 77 18. A Tribute to Professor Krishnaji, an Academic Colossus Nabin Kumar Narain 79 19.