• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Portrait of a Wizard.

ByAkarshak Bose

May 6, 2021
Portrait of a Wizard.Portrait of a Wizard.

For the first time when I entered his office, Dr Subbiah Bharathi sir jumped off from his chair and extended his hand and congratulated me warmly. He was much taller than everyone else in that room, but he was very grounded, asking me questions related to my book. Perhaps he understood my nervousness. That’s how I met him 3 years back when I had just completed 1 month of my college life in SRM Ramapuram in Chennai. Chennai wasn’t a comfortable choice for me. I had a mental breakdown during my initial days as I was away from my comfort zone for the first time. I used to cry silently and used to spend hours alone on the BBC. And then something miraculous happened one day. When I was watching the BBC one evening, a loud voice abruptly called out my name. I looked up, it was my director (then Dean) Subbiah Sir, who was standing right in front of me, with a couple of other people who were probably around. A strange trepidation gripped me. I was blabbering, I stood nervous. He came near me, and sat down along with me on those stone benches, while he asked others to leave. For the next 30-40 minutes, he sat beside me, motivating me, cheering my mood up, and doing everything he could, to make Ramapuram my second home, in which he succeeded. That’s how it all started, but I don’t know how the bond became so strong, perhaps the wizard wanted to make the bond unbreakable. Sometimes I used to yell over the phone (for which I later regretted). Sometimes he strongly opposes my decision and becomes angry, but he never fails to understand me. In return, I never did anything to put his head down. The Wizard gifted me wings to fly high, helped me to identify my true potentials. To be honest, inside the campus I give him the respect he deserves, but outside the campus, we are best friends. We can talk frankly for hours, and we can disagree on ideologies from time to time, but we are united by a common love: literature. There are a lot of things to learn from him. Over these 3 years, I had the opportunity to have a glimpse at his style of functioning, closely analyzing his decisions. Sometimes his questions are so tricky that you will need hours to ponder on them. During any difficult days, he stood there, calmly and whenever his heart and head take different routes, he follows his heart. You will not be able to know whether he is stressed or not, because he is an expert at wearing fake smiles. And most importantly, with his simple words, he created an enormous impact on others. He has a strange power of captivating people’s hearts even if they are meeting him for the first time. Even today I find it difficult to believe, “Dean of a College” sits next to a first-year student, listening his stories, while motivating and cheering him up. He is a tall man, but his legs are so dug so deep that it seems he is ordinary. Time is changing rapidly. He made me understand the importance of adopting changes. Thus, when I fail, I look towards him. When I am confused, I listen to him and I dare to take a risk because I know there is someone who will correct me. “Subbiah Bharathi” isn’t a name, it is an “Ideology” whose roots are buried deep down, and are eternal like a banyan tree- A symbol of calmness in crisis, a shelter for breakdowns, a light in the darkness, and a motivation in failures. He is a wizard for many, who personified humbleness with his Aura.

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