Guest column | To Shomie sir with love: From cosmos to computers
With a genuine passion for his students, Shomie Ranjan Das introduced them to the wonders of cosmos and helped establish a modern computer department at The Lawrence School, Sanawar
The best learning takes place not from books, but from life itself! Nature is the greatest teacher. And, when one is blessed to have a good teacher, it goes without saying that the learning is for life. As students at Sanawar in the 80’s, we were blessed to have a virtual galaxy of stalwarts whose very presence was a life lesson. And, indubitably, the very best, brightest and the kindest of all these legends was Shomie Ranjan Das.
The heartfelt condolences of generations of former students from Mayo, Sanawar and Doon went out to the family of Das on his untimely demise.
Shomie Ranjan Das was an integral part of The Lawrence School, Sanawar from May 1974 to March 1988 as the headmaster. He will forever be remembered with love and respect by generations of Sanawarians. It was well known that he had been the tutor of King Charles, while at Gordonstoun. What was not so well known was that he was instrumental in bringing the Round Square movement to India. Indeed, life at Sanawar was an embodiment of the ideals of Kurt Hahn, who founded the Round Square movement.
Of the many things that were way ahead of its time at Sanawar, was the immense learning that took place on our 139-acre sylvan campus in our natural surroundings. Nature was our unstated curriculum and the great outdoors our syllabus. Truly, it taught us lessons for life! Some of the greatest lessons cannot be learnt only from books and what you learn from mother nature is learning for life and these are lessons which cannot ever be forgotten.
It was but fitting then that physics was what he formally taught. The natural world is but the physical world! It was the year 1986 and students were making a beeline for Heady’s House as he had invited them all! Not only boys but girls as well. It was heady stuff! On a fine balmy spring night, through the clear sapphire blue night sky, we were shown a hazy blob. It was Halley’s Comet. And then, a line of students formed up to view this celestial spectacle through a telescope that Das had set up.
His was a mind that was simply incomparable. In the 80’s, he was presented an Apple computer. That was in turn handed over to a student who used it to study artificial intelligence (AI). And that was before AI became a subject!
Prospective career. He brought in computer engineers from HCL to set up the computer department at Sanawar. Such was his vision!
As a schoolboy, when one chanced upon him taking a walk he would always ask “How are you?” Neither did the answer matter nor how one was, what mattered was that one immediately felt better with this human connection with him.
He served with distinction as headmaster of several top-ranked legacy boarding schools, including Mayo College, Ajmer; The Lawrence School, Sanawar; and The Doon School, Dehradun.
Just the other day, I happened to recollect a random memory of Das quietly standing, hands behind his back and gazing out from the birdwood cloisters. And I have always wondered what exactly was going on in that brilliant mind. What exactly could he have been thinking of? And what was it that the gaze was seeing. Tonight, the penny dropped- he had been seeing the future!
He will be remembered with great respect and love for his futuristic vision, genuine concern for the well-being of students and unique leadership approach.
himmatdhillon@yahoo.com
(The writer is headmaster of The Lawrence School, Sanawar)