“Are you sure you want to opt for History and Political Science along with English Literature, you can still change your subjects”, she said as if to re-confirm if I was making a sound choice. She was a part of the Admission Committee for B.A in the Osmania University College for Women, popularly known as Kothi Women’s College, Hyderabad. “Yes, ma’am I want to take this combination”, I said. “Why don’t you go for Psychology and Sociology, since your name is in the merit list, she suggested, " are you planning to write Civil Services exams?”, she asked, apparently looking at my clarity of what I wanted to study. “No, not civil services, I just want to study History and Political Science but my main focus is English Literature”…. The conversation went something like that, decades ago, but it is still as fresh as if it happened yesterday.
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| Dr Tutun Mukherjee (Picture credit: Facebook) |
Later I found out the names of the professors who interviewed me. The one who asked me those questions was Ms. Tutun Mukherjee (then, she hadn’t completed her Doctorate). I took an instant liking to this wonderfully energetic person, she was so vibrant and her English was so good! I had just completed my Intermediate (Class 12) and I was intimated by the huge campus and new professors and was yet to make friends.
However, the regal splendour of the Durbar Hall, where we had many of our English classes and of course occasionally meeting Mukherjee ma'am made me feel at home!
My passion for English Literature made me choose the college as it had the best faculty. And, I waited for classes to begin. When I didn’t find Mukherjee ma’am’s name for any of the first year classes, neither General English nor Literature, I was disappointed. Then, I came to know from my seniors that she would teach us in the second and final year.
However, the regal splendour of the Durbar Hall, where we had many of our English classes and of course occasionally meeting Mukherjee ma'am made me feel at home!
My passion for English Literature made me choose the college as it had the best faculty. And, I waited for classes to begin. When I didn’t find Mukherjee ma’am’s name for any of the first year classes, neither General English nor Literature, I was disappointed. Then, I came to know from my seniors that she would teach us in the second and final year.
In the second year, I loved her classes, I loved her style of teaching, her command on the subject and of course her taste for elegant cotton sarees, so graceful she was! Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw, Mathew Arnold’s poems and in the final year, Literary Criticism, Samuel Johnson and few other essays… she wouldn’t just lecture, she would make it an engaging session, often asking questions, giving us tasks, not just to make sure that we are attentive, but to make us think and apply ourselves (literary activities, writing, assignments). That’s how I started learning many things from her. The art of questioning, going deeper in the subject, research and analysis, interpreting stories, poems, plays, contemporizing them and so on.
As I write this note, I am reminded of the days when plays, poems and prose were identified by the teacher who taught us - so much of involvement and immersion - left us with lifetime memories of Literature classes.
As I write this note, I am reminded of the days when plays, poems and prose were identified by the teacher who taught us - so much of involvement and immersion - left us with lifetime memories of Literature classes.
I owe few traits of mine to this amiable professor who was friendly, empathetic and cared for me. My passion for English language and literature grew more and more and I continued with M.A and later, doctoral research. When I qualified for UGC-JRF in Communicative English, she had given me good advice to follow my interest in higher education. Years later, it was nice to see her active on Facebook. Occasionally sharing a ‘like’ or a ‘comment’ she was in touch with most of her students and I was happy to see her radiant personality, actively contributing to the field of Language and Literature.
I was deeply anguished to learn about her passing away on 7th January. The academia has lost an ever enthusiastic and cheerful intellectual who was a friend and guide to many, besides a passionate teacher and a powerful orator. I was lucky to have her in my life at the most impressionable age!
