To say that my first impression of Prof. Deepak Gupta hadn’t been a great one; would be an understatement. But, I have never been for one to cling on to first impressions anyway.
His black floppy hair fell on his forehead in a careless fashion making him look as if he’d just woken up. He set up his computer and came in front of the classroom. Clasping his hands in front of him he announced, “Good morning, I am Deepak Gupta and I will be teaching you Computer Science this semester.”
Computer Science for me was dry, dull and boring as hell. Why I had to know of the insides of a computer being a management student was beyond me to understand but Mumbai University had ordered it and I was naught but its slave. If in the beginning of the semester, with the fabulous first impression that Prof. Deepak Gupta had made, someone would’ve told me that Computer Science would end up becoming my favourite subject, I would have called him a monkey’s uncle. But it did end up becoming my favourite subject, not because the subject suddenly caught on my interest but Prof. Deepak Gupta became my favourite professor.
In the second lecture, I noticed that he had a noticeable voice. Not booming as if it was ricocheting off the walls of the classroom. No, his voice was at a reasonable volume and his speech, clear. By the fifth lecture, I realized that he was always, under every circumstance, prepared for the lecture. By the tenth lecture, I knew that he would never fail to astound me with his depth of knowledge.
The professor himself gives our internal marks. They are based on class participation, attendance and a test or a presentation of some sort. The last part is left to the professor’s discretion. It was the first semester in college and I barely knew anyone. He formed groups of five for us so that we mingled amongst ourselves and each group was given a topic. My group had to go to Lamington Road and find out what goes in assembling a computer. This was the first professor who had given me a hands-on experience. The presentation was a success and he was very pleased. Without even us realising, he established a sense of unity and competition at the same time in class.
That first year in college, I decided to join the NSS program and guess who was the Professor In-charge? Yes, Prof. Deepak Gupta didn’t restrict himself to the confines of the classroom and he encouraged his students to venture out in the world too. I never would’ve known that giving would’ve brought me so such joy if it hadn’t been for him as my guide.
Prof. Deepak Gupta is a highly educated man, having done his Bachelor in Management Studies and then moved on to do get his Masters in Commerce and Maters in Business Administration. But, he didn’t stop there. He continued on to get his ACBM and ACMM. Presently, he is pursuing an Advertising Program for Marketing Professionals from IIM, Kolkota.
He came back with a bang when he taught us Production Management in the fourth semester. Production Management should’ve been a technical subject but he made it seem like a cakewalk. Never did I feel bored or sleepy in his lecture and everytime I thought, “This? This is easy to do.” He would raise the bar, making me rise even higher in the process. And, everytime I would doubt my own capabilities he was there to motivate me and to lend me a helping hand.
He was friendly with students but that didn’t mean they could walk all over him. He had a silent authority about him which made the most difficult of students listen and want to please him.
He had taken an entire lecture on Dabbawalas one day in class. I had heard of the hype around Dabbawalas before but had never bothered to question it. What’s the big deal in carrying a dabba from one place to another, I would think to myself but he managed to convince me otherwise. I never would’ve imagined that the process of carrying a dabba could be so intricate, so complex and so beautiful. I don’t think I would’ve been able to appreciate the full extent of its complexity if it hadn’t been for his patient teaching.
He was never for one to have a serious lecture. No, I don’t think there was even a single lecture of his where I hadn’t laughed. And while other professors would struggle over taking the attendance over the din of our collective voices as the lecture would end, he had his own unique method. He would make us close our eyes while he would call out our roll numbers and even if one person opened his eyes, he would start right at the beginning.
However, like all good things come to an end so did his precious teaching in our college. He got a job at a better University and we weren’t surprised to hear that. Prof. Deepak Gupta had been meant for more and we wished him good luck in his endeavour. And anyway, it didn’t matter that he couldn’t teach us just one more subject, he was immortalised in our hearts and minds forever.
Submitted by –
Preet Rajdeo
(Usha Pravin Gandhi College)
Very well written and absolutely true. The choice and flow of words is perfect and aptly describes Prof. Deepak Gupta. Great work Preet.