An Ode to a Visionary – Prof. S.H. Wandrekar
| With Prof. and Mrs. Wandrekar at Pali, August 2006 |
Prof. Wandrekar was, for me, a
father figure, a unique soul, one whom I looked up to, and who taught me a
great deal about life, and about work.
| With Prof. Wandrekar during the visit to Shanghai World Expo in October 2010 |
| Prof. Wandrekar with the faculty and students of first batch of the Masters Program, 2008 |
Although he was the Chairman of my
Institute, he was more than approachable. I was lucky. Not many people get this
opportunity to create, nurture and bring up an Institute under such a father
figure. Prof. Wandrekar believed in people. And he put enormous faith in
them. And in turn, people had enormous
faith in him.
He was simple yet elegant and
classy. He believed in quality and would never accept anything substandard. For
him, presentation was as important. He had a global vision. And most
importantly, he was humanistic. He cared for people and he deeply cared for the
environment. And he believed in action.
| With Prof. Wandrekar during the visit to Shanghai World Expo in October 2010 |
There were numerous projects I can
recall that we took up – the Pali eco-village project, the Goa mine restoration
project, Sawantwadi, conservation of Havelis, tree plantation, and so on. For
me, what is important is not how these projects fared but that we made an
effort. There are people in my institute, particularly Rajeev Taishete, Mukund
Porecha, Dr. Lattoo and Dr. Joshi, who have all become part of this ethos. We
took part in these projects because of the enthusiasm, the thought that we were
doing something that was right, the thought that we had to lead by example, and
there are numerous people amongst our faculty and students who have now imbibed
this character. Despite his schedule, he
always accepted our invitation and knew each one of our faculty member. He
always took the time to talk and motivate our students.
| Honored to receive an award from Prof. Wandrekar on his retirement day on 25 April 2012 |
These were more than projects –
they symbolized hope – for a better environment, better future and better
planet – through education and through the application of knowledge. That is
one message that Prof. Wandrekar gave – knowledge is important, but application
of knowledge for the larger cause – is even more important.
Prof. Wandrekar believed in
aesthetics. He would not hesitate in picking up a piece of garbage or telling
off a student that he or she was badly dressed while using the elevator.
| With Adv. Chitnis during the Workshop on 'Teaching and Research' in April 2013 |
He was humble. He would attend and
organize seminars and conferences – Knowledge was an endless realm for him – on
which to paint his canvas. One thing that always astounded me about Prof.
Wandrekar was his child-like curiosity, and his ability to make others also think
likewise. He had enormous faith in knowledge and its power of transformation.
This I have come to believe very strongly. That people can change when
empowered with the knowledge.
Prof. Wandrekar believed in
networking. He met with all kinds of people – activists, minsters, artists,
scientists. He conversed naturally and humanely. I believe he could see the
connection through all of them. He saw the world as a unified progression.
| Prof. Wandrekar addressing fresh students of M.Arch. (Environmental Architecture) in August 2013 |
Whenever any new or exciting
project came up, I would never hesitate to walk up to his cabin and convey it
to him. He, in turn, would encourage me and guide me. He always saw the
positivity in things and would like to move in that direction.
‘Prof. Wandrekar is no more’ - I
find it difficult to accept this. I believe he is with us – his guiding hand
will be behind every endeavor we take up - to educate and to strengthen our
bonds with nature.
- Prof. Roshni Udyavar Yehuda, Head, Rachana
Sansad’s Institute of Environmental Architecture, 19 September 2014
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