'No-one can come close to Sudhakar Sir as a teacher,

especially when you experience him in the classroom…'

In a single word, he is iconic. Not just his hat or "hairstyle" or the way he laughs. The mundane
things which sir does, like always sitting at the ;irst bench in tutorial classes, his animated
gestures, or the stories in which he suddenly breaks into. All of them make him extremely
memorable. His way to teach while sitting on a table is a power move that only some can ace.

Of the many important lessons that sir gave, the one that stands out most for me it the lesson to
see beyond the visible, to look for facts in facts, to not stop learning at what you know, to have the
will to ;ind things. He said how history is something more that just a story because it is a space to
question, to deliberate, and to discover.

Room number 124 will always long for his laughter, just like room number 19 will for him to place
his hat on the table and make us ask questions no matter how insigni;icant they are.

Sudhakar Sir is so many things for all of us. We feel privileged to have the chance of being his
students.

Sir is the human form of a happy ;lappy bird and we always smile at every mention of him.

Palak
Ist year (2019-2020)
I still remember that it was raining quite heavily on the day of our orientation programme, I
somehow managed to make it to the classroom in time and at that moment students were
introduced to Sudhakar sir. Followed by Mukul sir’s speech, for some reason Sudhakar sir patted
my head and in that moment I felt safe and I knew that I was going to have the time of my life at
Ramjas. The next two semesters were wonderful because History itself and understanding the
dynamics of the subject helped me widen my perspective to a large extend. All my self-doubts and
issues would evaporate the moment I entered Sudhakar sir’s classroom.

From keeping us on board while explaining the history of the world to making and appreciating
the beauty of Perry Anderson’s works to forwarding us long write ups and making sure all of us
had access to the ;irst four chapters of Fagan’s, ‘People of the Earth’, sir always helped us go the
extra mile and explore the subject by adopting a holistic approach. At times sir used to be very
strict, but all of us knew that it was just the student inside him who wanted us to have a deeper
understanding of the subject. Sudhakar sir is and will be an exceptional teacher and student. I
think his enthusiasm for History, Science, Philosophy and language is something I will always want
to incorporate in my own life. From educating us about ongoing movements to making sure that
everyone asks an ‘informed question’, I think I have come a long way. Room no. 124 has a different
signi;icance for me and it will always remain special. Thank you dear Sir.

Priya Sharma
Sudhakar sir was a 'Teaching Teacher' who was always convivial, jovial, and most importantly,
accessible. He was unassuming and his passion to take classes was proverbial. He is an inspiration.
I thank sir for I learnt many things from Sudhakar sir!

Umashanker Pandey

It's been an honour and privilege to work with Sudhakar Sir; the strongest pillar of the History
Department, Ramjas! I have great admiration and respect for his dedication to his subject and
profession. Heartiest congratulations to him and all the very best for the new journey ahead.

Dipti

Hello Professor,

Nothing lasts forever, true, but somethings last more than others. And our journey as a teacher and
student, unfortunately, did not last for very long, but the same cannot be said, fortunately, for the
impression that you have had on us. Starting right from your way of teaching to dealing with each
person on the individual level and with the class as a whole, to preparing notes and readings for
the students, to encouraging students to be politically aware, and so on.

This is Suresh, if you remember, the guy who 'read too much but wrote too little' in your aptly
judging remarks for my initial days in college, which helped me introspect my ;laws and grow in a
substantial manner ever since. I wish you were present for more such remarks, but anyway as you
yourself once said, "Individuals come and go, knowledge remains and advances forever."
Thank you, once again, for being a great carrier and propagator of this greatest treasure of all,
knowledge, that humanity has.

Suresh Chauhan
Ist Year (2019-2021)

Dear Sir,

Thank you professor for all the things you taught to us. It’s so unfair that you had to retire, and we
had to let you go halfway through the journey. But we are also glad that we got the chance to learn
from you. You were always patient with all of us and we all will miss your funny remarks between
the lessons.

I never interacted much in class so you never really noticed me but when at last you did and
appreciated me on my performance in the internals, I was so proud but at the same time sad as the
time had come for us to bid you adieu.

I hope you are happy and in good health. May you enjoy the very best that life has to offer.

Simran Raghuvanshi
Dear Sudhakar Sir,

It’s been a while now but one is still trying to get used to the empty chair in the corner of the
Ramjas College staffroom that used to be your ‘peacock’s throne’ for a long time. As you seemed to
have peacefully settled down in the blissful greenery of the Western Ghats, your every-day
presence in college is certainly being missed by both students and colleagues alike. You have been
such a bastion of strength to all of us. Please stay the way you are, donning the mighty hat and your
beautiful smile!

Love and regards,

Dear Sudhakar,

I don’t have to tell you how good you are as a teacher, I am sure that is something you already
know. The course on Social Formations and Cultural Patterns in the Ancient World is synonymous
with your name, so you must know what burden I bear on my bony shoulders. I hope I can do
justice to it as you have over these years.

Though you will not only be missed as a teacher in the Department of History, Ramjas College but
also for your guidance on matters from both of;icial to personal, the staff room chats at your usual
corner, even that corner is synonymous with you. I think it should just be named after you! I
cherish sharing stories from our school days and college life and life in general, i really enjoyed
having these conversations with you and would miss this very much. Thank you for being a good
friend Sudhakar.

It has been a pleasure getting to know you and working with you. The humble courteous nature
and a listening ear you have are imprinted on everyone’s mind. You are dearly loved by students
and colleagues alike and so am sure is for everyone you have met along the way.

You have spent the longest time here right from being a student to a teacher and now retiring as
one. Your memories must be clouded with this space since you have spent so much of your life
within these walls. I have to tell you, so is ours. It won’t be the same space without you.

Congratulations on completing this long journey and good luck and best wishes for a peaceful and
fun ;illed retirement my friend. You will be sorely missed, take care of yourself.

With Love,
Pooja

Dearest Sudhakar Sir,

I never outgrew your SOFO lectures and tutorials. Throughout these three years in college, nobody
was able to infuse us with the same level of enthusiasm as you. On the day of our ;irst class, you
asked everyone to write about anything they wanted to. I wrote about the college orientation
programme. This little exercise at the time must have seemed silly to me but it strangely helped me
feel very welcomed. I was clueless about so many things in my ;irst semester. Moving to a new city,
meeting new people- exciting as it sounds, felt like a bad dream initially and I felt suffocated with
homesickness. You once told us homesick kids that there would come a day when we wouldn’t
want to leave Delhi. I did not believe you then but a part of me trusted you and hence I was
hopeful. Your lectures even though they were rigorous were the only place that gave me a sense of
belonging. Growing up a lot of us did not have a teacher like who promoted no favouritism and
treated everyone fairly and equally.

The effort you put into every lecture inspired me to do better. The wonderful memory of the chai
breaks which you would treat us with during extra classes on a Saturday will always stay with us.
You taught us not only human evolution or ancient Greece but also virtues. You always asked us to
check up on our classmates if they remained absent for a long time or stopped coming suddenly.
You would individually talk to us if we performed poorly in an assignment or test. These little
gestures went a long way in making us feel cared for in an alien city. Your signature hat, your jokes,
your sarcasm when we were being unruly - will all be missed.

Before I end this note, here is a little funny memory from 2018 that Jaishree shared with me.
Sometime in April 2018, when we had all assembled around the basketball court for the History
department group photograph, Jaishree had complimented you. She said, “Sir, you look good”. Your
response to this was “I always look good”.

Thank you for everything, Sir. I consider myself extremely privileged to have been taught by a
professor like you, we all do.
Wishing you good health and happiness always!

Akshita Hazarika

Dear Sudhakar,

It has struck me only now as I sit down to write this farewell letter for you, that at the time of your
retirement on December 31, 2019, you had been witness, ;irst as a student and then as a teacher, to
almost half of the 103 year long history of Ramjas College. And not just any witness observing
 Sudhakar Sir

history as it happened to the college, but as a person who chose to immerse himself in the making of
this very history, an active, passionate participant-witness as it were, in the crafting of the ;inest
textures of everyday life at Ramjas.

This is big enough in itself. What makes it truly heroic is that you did this mostly in quiet,
unspectacular, seemingly un-heroic, routine, everyday ways. I do not mean to deny dramatically
effective, theatrically powerful, truly memorable हवा का %ख बदल देने वाले interventions made by
you in the hostel when you were the warden, or in marathon Staff Council or Staff Association
meetings, or at Department meetings and GBMS, or during RCSA and DUTA-led agitations, but
really, these stand out for me as ;lashes in a pan that you kept warm and alive on the slow burn of
an undying ;lame.

You felt compelled to do this for reasons of temperament perhaps, or more likely because Ramjas,
slowly and imperceptibly came to mean the world to you, but I still think it is remarkable that for
the large bulk of this time in your life, and in the life of our department and the college, you did so
with un;linching commitment to the public good and with an exceptional willingness to surrender
to the legitimate demands of your convictions in democracy, secularism, critical thought, the rights
of students, teachers and karamcharis, and your abiding concern to keep ;inding ways for students
who studied under you to leave Ramjas, truly educated and markedly ;iner people than they were
at the time of their admission.
This was the reason perhaps that you tried unfailingly, year in and year out, to get to know from
students when they came to their initial classes with you in their First Year at Ramjas, their own
histories and the stories of their lives. You wanted to know from them, either by listening to them
speak or by reading what they wrote, about who they were, where they came from, what they
thought about the world, about education, about history, what they wished to do with their lives
and so on and so forth, so that you were better placed as a teacher to help them engage
imaginatively, critically and interestedly with whatever it was you were teaching them, be it
Modern China or Ancient Social Formations or matters of Contemporary concern.

This is the reason perhaps that a man who was your student two decades ago, while reminiscing
about your teaching recently, could say to me with utmost con;idence, ‘no-one can come close to
Sudhakar Sir as a teacher, especially when you experience him in the classroom, the one space that
seems to transform him completely, that seems to light him up with reason, knowledge, wit and ready
arguments, and which he in turn transforms into a room charged with Education and what
Education and the teaching of History should mean’. This is also the reason perhaps that made me
feel when I heard him say this that he was in fact speaking for generations of students who have
been taught by you, those who may not have expressed similar thoughts in the same language but
who would nod vigorously in the af;irmative were they to hear this said. This again is the reason
perhaps that at every Department Festival Concert in recent years when you stepped in to dance,
and at every Farewell function organized by students of the Department for the batch that is
passing out since ‘time immemorial’, the loudest cheers of all, have more or less always, been
reserved for you. This is the reason too perhaps, that students of all hues have gravitated towards
you, felt comfortable speaking with you about all kinds of issues and concerns and readily
accepted the chastening they might have received in the course of conversations with you.

Over all the years that I have known you, I have associated, among other things, this ability to
listen patiently, the willingness and desire to understand what people are trying to say even if you
don’t agree with them, the courage to then express and explain your disagreement, if necessary--
and even stand corrected-- and your capacity to turn the tide for the better through reasoned
arguments and persuasion in seemingly impossible situations, I have associated all this with you
more than with most other colleagues. As with students, so with teachers and karamcharis, it is
this quality perhaps that has drawn all manner of people to you wherever they might ;ind you—in
more recent times, sitting in the swivel chair in front of the computer terminal at the extreme left-
hand corner of the Staff Room—to literally pour out their hearts to you. And it is this quality and
your near steadfast adherence to it in practice, disappointments and knocks to this history
notwithstanding, that has, I think earned you a place as one of the ;inest, most respected teachers
and colleagues not just in the Department of History, but in Ramjas, if not in DU as a whole.

Is it any wonder then that Hadd-Anhad 2019, our Department’s Annual Festival should have been
dedicated to you, or that you should be present on the Department T-Shirt designed by students in
2020 through the image of a hat akin to the one you wore daily to college?

You, with your capped head, endearing smile, reassuring presence and sudden unselfconscious
outbreaks of loud comments and laughter, have been loved, dear Sudhakar, and are sorely missed,
but there is so much that you have left us with that I cannot imagine a time in Ramjas College when
you shall not be remembered fondly and looked up to as much for the principles by which you
lived, worked and struggled, as for inspiration.
Sudhakar, for all that you have meant to the Department of History, Ramjas, and to the College, and
to many of us personally, here’s wishing you many more years with the slow and green rhythms of
the life you seem to have come to love in the Western Ghats. Hopefully, you shall ;ind time also to
read, write, discover and pursue other interests that being at Ramjas might not have allowed you
to do in as full a measure as you might have desired. And ;inally, no matter what else you do, I hope
too that you shall remain forever, a teacher, even though this might now mean looking back at
moments past with your sharply critical eye in order to continue teaching with new sparkle on
paths and roads under open skies, or under trees in places as yet unimagined.

All the best, and with love,

Sudhakar Sir,

For laymen, history is just a lesson about the past, chronicles of kings and conquerors, and this is
because they haven't been blessed with a teacher like you.

We were fortunate enough to be taught by a teacher who had a sense of history like none other. Sir,
your lectures instilled this essence or drive for understanding the past events as more than just
stories.

We weren't open to new ideas and possibilities from what we studied in school, let alone changing
our existing ideas. Now whenever we read anything under this sun, we never forget to read what is
it that speaks between the lines and why was it written in the ;irst place. We still are quite the
sophomores with a few more readings at our back and we will try our best to do what you taught
us. Thank you Sir.

Eton, Satish, Shivam, Anurag, Anshuman.

Dear Sir,

Your classes provided the foundation, the essential elixir for me to read and think about what I
read a little more closely than I hitherto did. And that 'investment' has clearly made all the
difference. Reading anything now, is a delightful pleasure. What else can I say except that you
launched me into my own individuality. For the interface between the once own sweep of
familiarity and that of the author's is very profound. Some of the well-known aphorisms of 'close-
reading' and 'good, grounded graduation' shall continue to enlighten for the remainder of my life.
Thanks a lot !

Ashutosh Pathak
IIIrd year

Sudhakar Sir,

You were the face of the history department for me when I started. I dreaded pre-history and
rarely attended classes. But when you began teaching us Greece and Rome, I felt fascinated. I
realised that my attempts at comprehension would be severely inadequate so early but I like to
believe that that’s where the koshish began. I was there to understand and you pushed me to try
harder. You said that you thought I had a good mind. Your booming voice and the ability to provide
footholds in a ;lood of information meant that while you appeared daunting, you were also
immensely helpful. Thank you for kick starting something new in me. It seems to have grown and
fruti;ied in the last two years. I feel like I am leaving Ramjas wiser, although not any less confused
than before. I wish that you remain in good health and I hope your retirement days are full of calm
and happiness

Anahita Nanda

Dear SS,

Last time we talked, you were enjoying in Western Ghats. I hope that you continue enjoying your
long deserved rest there. I usually prefer mails, but since we didn't have a proper farewell this felt
nice. A few moments across my three years in Ramjas have speci;ic de;ining moments, which
continue to shape my response towards life. Importantly, I felt out of place in this ;ield until you
forced its acceptability into my head. A teacher who is both young enough to get excited about the
subject and old enough to guide every stumbling ‘bachelor’ of life. I am extremely glad that we
could share classrooms, where everything from neanderthals to Islamic civilisation sounded like
magical realism. There could be no better introduction to the subject than ‘history padhne isleye
aye ho kyunki maths nahi ata’. That was the truest explanation of my entry into history. Of which I
am glad I did.

I hope for better, healthier days and lifelong learning and unlearning for you too. For myself, I will
remember to differentiate between wisdom and information, never lose heart and always keep
smiling. I shall keep writing.

Malik Irtiza

Sudhakar Sir,

A professor too generous with his knowledge to impart but extremely meticulous when it came to
rewarding assessments and in the pursuit creating the best out of his students.

The news of your retirement was dif;icult for me to comprehend for in just the few months of your
teaching, your impact on my life was so much more than just "a man with a hat", as you proclaimed
yourself to be. Your tutorial classes were something I looked forward to attending every week not
just for academic purposes but you always had underlying and subtle life lessons.

Thank you professor for being a motivation for all your students.

From that introverted student you persuaded to interact more and I'm deeply grateful you did.

Aranya Sahay

Respected Professor,
Ah! It's always hard to bid Goodbye to someone who is as venerable as you are, but the joyful thing
is that your teachings will never depart from me.
Having completed my 12th from Science stream, I was always confused how to handle historical
and dialectical debates during my initial days at college. But with your guidance and teaching, I
evolved (just as how anatomically modern man evolved into behaviorally modern man :-D). I will
always remember your style of teaching with deep explanations. The tutorial classes used to be my
favorite because you gave us invaluable insights about how to read 'in between the lines'.

Seeking your blessings & wishing you a very happy and healthy life ahead. I hope you visit us when
you have time to do so :^)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Yours truly,
Kavisha Sharma
1st Year

Dear Sudhakar Sir,

आप गुरु महान हो, आपके तकोर् ने उस कुसीर् मेज दीमक से बचा कर रखा है! वो staffroom की कुसीर् मेज हमेशा आपका इं तज़ार
करेंगी! आप जब पेट मे हल्का सा मुक्का मार कर मुस्कराहट के◌े साथ हाल पूछते थे, तो सब आफताब हो जाते थे! और जब पीठ
ठोकते थे, तो बच्चा बच्चा आत्मिवश्वास से भर जाता था! आपके प्यार और शानदार सफर के िलये बधाई!
आपका
Devender
Dear Sudhakar Sir,

while writing about you, I am falling short of words to express my respect for you. there is so much to
say and so much to be still learnt from you. You made me realise the duty and pleasure of being 'the
Teacher'. You will be missed by your students and colleagues always.

Best Wishes,
Saurabh Kumar

Dear Professor,

I do not know how one is supposed to write a proper farewell note (with a good balance of wit, emotion
and expression, etc,), and I have never written one before. Be that as it may be, however, I am still
determined to write this note for you. Why? Because I must express how grateful I am for having studied
with you and of course to wish that you are having a good retirement life (away from students such as us,
who never were what are called 'good' students).

First, Professor, the gratitude part (at the risk of repeating what you must have heard countless times
before) . I am thankful, of course, for having you as a teacher at all (for you are one of the most brilliant
teachers I ever had, and anyone could hope to have), but I am even more thankful that we had you in the
first semester itself. For without your tutorials and classes, I (at least) would have not learned to actually
read the readings on time or try to ask questions from the text or have any confidence in what I write.
Then, of course, Geography! For, as you said, there is no history without geography. But I had always
studied history without any heed to geography, and would not have corrected myself at all if it were not
for your repeated emphasis on geography and that old Map you brought to the class every week.

Apart from all things academic, there is another thing I must mention - your statement at the end of a class
about how students should participate in protests and how you, in your days as a student, used to. That
and listening to your speech in an RCSA meeting, finally allowed me to go and participate in the protests
organized for things I believe in. And for this, I am immensely thankful to you (though my parents are
not).

Now, then, we come towards the end of this note. Here, I want to mention three things, Professor. First that
I regret not having made the best out of the opportunity we had as your students. Second, that we all
wished that you would stay for one more semester and miss you dearly. Third, I hope we will have an
actual and real farewell for you and Hari sir where we can actually meet (and that you will still come to the
college some days).

So, finally, I bid you adieu. Farewell, Sudhakar sir, I hope you are having a good retirement time (inspite of
the pandemic)!

Your student,
Chiranshu
 Sketch by Rajesh, Batch of 2010

To Sir With Love