Prof J R Isaac, 03-04-1930 to 22-01-2019
Photograph by Jaisingh Isaac, taken on 25-12-2019
Photograph by Jaisingh Isaac, taken on 25-12-2019
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/professor-who-shaped-iit-bombays-computer-science-dept-dies-at-89/articleshow/67680210.cms
I look back at the time I was a student of Prof Isaac. He was
one of the three or four computer technology pioneers who taught the early
professionals in this field in India. It was the early sixties. Computer
science and technology were the sunrise subjects to study. Anyone who entered
these fields at that time was going to have an exciting time. But Isaac’s
success went beyond all this. What was his secret?
In one’s life we learn a lot from our parents. Later we learn
from our teachers. Parents and good teachers leave a big mark on one’s life.
Why? Because they care deeply about the learner. They create gifted children
and gifted students. How? They gift so
much! Education is not knowledge
transfer! It is the giving of the greatest gift that can be given by one human
to another! Good teachers have faith in
their students. They are relaxed and, by example, teach their students that learning is
fun; and that being generous is a great way to live. They treat students as
friends and behave informally all the time. The students sense all this and
reciprocate. In the case of Prof Isaac, he was always Jimmy to them. He was
accessible any time of the day, at the office or at his place inside the
campus. Caring deeply for his
students was not an academic obligation for him. It was humanity, a profound
concern for students.
Let me mention a simple act of kindness of Prof Isaac involving a student he did not know. It was 1980. A new student of IIT Bombay, Harish, was standing at nearby bank branch. When his turn came for attention, he told the bank staff member “I am new here, have just come into Bombay, and don’t know anyone here who can sign a reference form for opening a bank account”. Someone in the queue behind him spoke up, saying “No problem, I teach at IIT, and will sign the form for you.” Harish later learnt computer programming from Prof Isaac. After completing his studies, he went on to become a very successful chemical engineer. His ageing mother made a call from Bombay yesterday to her daughter, who is our neighbor, to convey this story of Harish’s experience to me. Almost anyone can be a professor, but some not only teach, but at the same time care as deeply for their students as a parent. No wonder, their acts of kinds and informality are remembered over decades not only by students but also by their parents!
Let me mention a simple act of kindness of Prof Isaac involving a student he did not know. It was 1980. A new student of IIT Bombay, Harish, was standing at nearby bank branch. When his turn came for attention, he told the bank staff member “I am new here, have just come into Bombay, and don’t know anyone here who can sign a reference form for opening a bank account”. Someone in the queue behind him spoke up, saying “No problem, I teach at IIT, and will sign the form for you.” Harish later learnt computer programming from Prof Isaac. After completing his studies, he went on to become a very successful chemical engineer. His ageing mother made a call from Bombay yesterday to her daughter, who is our neighbor, to convey this story of Harish’s experience to me. Almost anyone can be a professor, but some not only teach, but at the same time care as deeply for their students as a parent. No wonder, their acts of kinds and informality are remembered over decades not only by students but also by their parents!
I will not name Prof Isaac’s students who have become rich or
famous. There are dozens of them all over the world. To Prof Isaac, they were
all the same. In fact, he remembered his mischievous students more often than
the others!
May his soul rest in peace!
