Dr RK Pachauri: 20 August 1940 – 13 February 2020
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Dr R K Pachauri: 20 August 1940 – 13 February 2020 2018 World Sustainable Development Forum 2016 Protect Our Planet Movement 2010 Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Japan and Order of the White Rose, Finland 2009–12 Founding Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute 2008 Padma Vibhushan for services in the field of science and engineering 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC 2006 Officier de la Légion d’Honneur, France 2002–15 Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2001 Padma Bhushan for contributions to the field of environment 1994–2016 TERI, India Habitat Centre 1983–94 TERI, Jor Bagh 1982–83 TERI, India International Centre 1975–81 Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad 1972–74 MS and PhD in Industrial Engineering and Economics, North Carolina State University, USA 1965–71 Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi 1959–63 Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur 1953–58 La Martinière College, Lucknow Dr R K P The Visionary Institution Builder Editors Yateendra Joshi, Vibha Dhawan, Rakesh Kacker TERI Alumni Association Ⓒ Alumni Association 2020 Alumni Association Administrative Wing, Darbari Seth Block (ground floor) Habitat Place Lodhi Road New Delhi – 110 003 This publication is available for download from teriin.org/alumni Contents v Preface 1 Personal reflections over a lifetime 122 Dr Pachauri and the growth of 3 A game changer 124 An ode to Dr Pachauri 6 An institution builder in action 126 The perfectionist 10 Starting with a cup of tea in Jor Bagh 129 A pioneer for next-generation leaders 13 A visionary 131 The prescient technologist 14 Witness to the creation: first six years in Delhi 133 Institution builder par excellence 17 The leader who cared for his people 135 Reflections 21 Once a er always a er 139 Putting people first 26 Wit, humour, money, and cricket 141 Learning by doing 32 The down-to-earth visionary 144 Lessons in social entrepreneurship 34 A biotechnologist in disguise 146 All in all 35 A change agent 148 Working at a frenetic pace 37 You play cricket, don’t you? 150 Dr Pachauri and independent regulation 40 The silhouette behind the frozen mist 153 How’s that! 46 A rare visionary 156 The art of connecting with people 51 Head in the sky and feet on the ground 159 The man with the Midas touch 53 The arab and the camel 161 Multitasking: , India Habitat Centre, and more 60 Leading by example 164 Pushed to reach greater heights 62 As I knew him 166 The passion that drove us to great heights 64 A pragmatic approach to high standards 168 Igniting young minds 66 A visionary global leader with great compassion 171 Not anyone can be an institution builder 69 My inspiration 173 A railwayman who became a crusader 70 My guru, my mentor, and a great human being 176 A short story of three conversations 73 Three decades in with Dr Pachauri 180 Be the change you want to see in the world 75 My notable mentor and guide 183 Building the Bangalore International Centre 77 Oilzapper and other stories 185 Research on environment-friendly materials 78 The importance of attention to details 187 A personality far beyond one can visualize 80 The dynamic personality 190 Pursuing dreams in Maharashtra 83 A true renaissance man 192 Green buildings and climate action 85 A role model 194 Close encounters 87 A charismatic maverick leader 199 Obsessed with academic ethics 91 Making the improbable plausible 201 A prophet of science 94 A compassionate yet hard taskmaster 203 Dumbledore of the climate movement 96 A true inspiration for my professional growth 207 A true people’s person 98 A man for all seasons 209 Remembering Dr Pachauri 101 Empowering others 211 My midlife course correction 104 A man full of knowledge and perfection 213 A maverick leader 106 An inspiration to many 217 Eternal reflections 108 Well bowled! 220 A fine environmentalist who led by example 111 The leader, pioneer, and trailblazer I knew 221 Air quality and human health 114 My mentor 233 Dr Pachauri’s note to Veena Joshi 116 A man of foresight and sharp sight 234 Appendix: contributors and their email ids 117 Men who ruled India but preferred to work with RK P 236 Photographs iii Preface Dr R K Pachauri passed away on 13 February 2020. He left behind a sea of memories and important lessons. Some members of the Alumni Association () felt that the association should publish a book – a commemorative volume – to capture those memories and learnings. The contributors to this volume are all members of the (with the exception of Dr Saroj Pachauri and the Chairman and two Members of ’s Governing Council). The contributions are arranged in the order of the year in which the contributors joined : this is shown as part of their affiliation; for those who left subsequently, the affiliation also shows the position they occupied at the time of leaving whereas for those who continue to be in at present, it shows their current position in . All the contributors are also listed separately, in alphabetical order, along with their email ids. The editors wish to thank Ms Sangeeta Badhwar, Joint Secretary, TAA and Mr Shyam Sunder Nayar and Ms K Radhika, , for their valuable support. Thanks are also due to Ms Anupama Jauhry, Mr Santosh Gautam, and others of the team in Press for their help in the design and publication of this book. Dr Veena Joshi graciously shared a copy of the handwritten note addressed to her by Dr Pachauri (see page 233). Our grateful thanks to all the contributors for taking some time off from their busy schedules to share their thoughts and helping us to create this book. Yateendra Joshi New Delhi Vibha Dhawan August 2020 Rakesh Kacker v Personal Reflections Over a Lifetime Patchy was an exceptional individual! Exceptional in many different ways: he was an exceptional leader; an extraordinary visionary and an incorrigible optimist; a rare institution builder; a caring mentor, a supportive colleague, and a good friend. Patchy combined many different qualities, which made him a memorable professional leader. With his warm and caring predisposition, Patchy touched numerous lives wherever he went, internationally and nationally, and most of all within . However, before Patchy joined we lived in the where he worked for his PhD, while I worked to put bread on the table. I had a very demanding international position that involved long hours of work and a heavy travel schedule. I was so immersed in my work that I was inclined to give up my PhD undone. Patchy would not hear of it! He made sure that I submitted my thesis in time and defended it—despite the distractions of my job and my family responsibilities. Without Patchy’s unfailing support, I could not have continued my career for which I will always be beholden to him. was Patchy’s first love! He devoted his life to building this institution. was his life’s dream. As his wife, I remained a second figure who tried to support him in fulfilling his dream. Beginning with a small office in rented premises in Jor Bagh, a few years later was housed in an imposing six-storey building in the India Habitat Centre. As it outgrew that space, more offices were rented. ’s grass-roots research results were reflected in its programme for informing national policy. Some of these learnings permeated the international arena through Patchy’s role as chairman of , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In this role, on behalf of , he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 200, which exalted to a new level. Through those years, we hosted many parties at our home for his colleagues from overseas and India. ’s programme was exceptionally vibrant and dynamic comprising numerous workshops, conferences, and other events, which involved policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from far and near. At these informal get-togethers at our home, there was much comradery, fun, and enjoyment, which mirrored Patchy’s own humorous and lively personality. Patchy conceptualized a programme, which he named (Protect Our Planet) Movement. This is a movement to involve youth in efforts to address climate change. He strongly believed that intergenerational change would be needed and that the responsibility of making a difference should be vested in young people also, because the impact of climate change would be felt most by the coming generations. The World Sustainable Development Forum () was set up in tandem with the Movement and includes high-level politicians, scientists, businessmen, artists, and others. This forum provides a platform that enables these stakeholders to discuss important issues of climate 1 change but, more important, to initiate actions to support climate change. Recognizing the complementarity of the programmes, and the Movement, it soon became clear that the two should interact to synergize their impact. Thus, when convened in Mexico in , the youth from the Movement were involved as active participants. And in 2020, when met again in Mexico, 1200 young people from approximately 2 countries joined. The engagement of young people in the discussions at this platform inspired the members of to move their agenda forward. In turn, youth from the Movement were encouraged to undertake more projects, which were meaningful in their respective countries to promote climate action. Over the past two years and the Movement have been further invigorated to pursue a common agenda. The programmes these organizations are undertaking will continue to grow and develop over the coming years. This may be viewed as a befitting legacy of Patchy for his lifetime of work.