SKM at Pantnagar

 
SKM joined the G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar in the year 1973 straight after school - his choice of Agriculture as a subject of specialisation raised many an eyebrow back in his hometown Jamshedpur but SKM had decided that he was going to cast his lot with the farmers of India. At Pantnagar he was an unmistakable figure because of his short stature and unique gait. His ability to befriend complete strangers proved to be a great asset for SKM and before long he was one of the more popular students in the College of Agriculture.

SKM could never take notes in the class because of his over-ossified fingers. He often walked into any of his classmate's rooms on the night before exams and lie on their beds and ask them to read aloud so he could revise those lectures. These classmates often discovered that as they went through their notes SKM would be sound asleep in their bed and they would stop reading aloud! Immediately he would wake up and ask why the classmate had stopped reading aloud! The reading aloud would be started again and SKM would promptly go back to his slumber! The next day when the exams came around SKM would top the class without ever having read a word! Such was SKM's amazing power of understanding and his ability to grasp complex concepts with little or no effort.

At Pantnagar SKM threw himself into every possible activity on the campus be it the University Cultural programs or the Agro day functions - he could be seen mustering the support of his many friends, juniors and seniors alike. His ability to manage events and people came into sharp focus at such times.

SKM endeared himself to every one he came in touch with - there are few who can forget SKM not because of his short stature but because of his big heartedness and affable nature.

SKM went on to graduate from Pantnagar in 1977 and gained admission into the M.Sc program in Genetics at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi.