Prof G C Gupta (1916-2000)
Dehra Dun loses its doyen of education
(Written on March 29, 2000 in respectful remembrance by Anurag Sangal, proud to be his student in 1973-74; and published in the local press)
School education shall never be the same again; having lost Prof G C Gupta, the acknowledged master of Physics and Chemistry and the doyen of school education in this part of the country, who breathed his last on March 26, 2000 after living life to its fullest for 84 years.
G C Sir, as he was referred to by his students at St. Joseph’s Academy, Dehra Dun, was not just a teacher. He was an institution in himself; having joined the school in 1942 to teach Physics and Chemistry, he rose to become the head of Science Department and retired in 1985 after 43 years of distinguished service to school and being a guide, philosopher, teacher, mentor and friend to the thousands of students who passed through the portals of SJA.
In Dehra Dun city today, probably every family has a person who was a student of G C Sir, and who can forget the famous ‘pinchie’…..his the punishment for being truant in his class. He commanded immense respect from his peers as well as his students, both within and without St. Joseph’s Academy.
In 1998, when the then Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall S K Sareen visited his alma-mater SJA and gifted a Mig Aircraft to the school, Air Marshall Sareen kept looking for G C Sir amongst the hundreds present on the occasion. When told that the ailing Prof G C Gupta was in his wheel-chair placed in a corner, Air Marshall Sareen immediately rushed to that place and in full view of those present, first went on his knees to touch the feet of his G C Sir, and then went on to say that whatever he has achieved in life was owing to the times spent at SJA and people like Prof G C Gupta.
A few generations of students all over the country grew up on the books written by him; which were amongst the very few approved as the course curriculum for the Indian School Certificate Examination or Senior Cambridge, then conducted by the University of Cambridge , London, and was the fore-runner to the now common ICSE and 10 + 2 Examination. For many years G C Sir, was the only paper setter for the ISC exam for India; and served as Chief Inspector of ISC Examinations of this Region, even after his retirement from SJA , and up to 1993 could be seen going on his rounds during exam time.
Those were the times when a school was evaluated not for its fancy buildings, but for the quality of its faculty. And indeed, G C Sir was probably the single biggest reason of SJA becoming one of the premier educational institutions in this area. Students of Science flocked to SJA……because if you did not study Physics and Chemistry from G C Gupta, you could never be good enough.
I remember in 1973, when we entered class 10th in St. Joseph’s Academy; then for the first time, the Science stream was bifurcated into two sections, and it was announced that Prof G C Gupta would teach only one section. As luck would have it, our Class X- B was the one left out. All hell broke loose. With no disrespect meant for the teacher replacing G C Sir, we students refused to accept the new arrangement. Classes were boycotted, and memorandum given to the Principal, who requested Prof G C Gupta to take both the sections. But G C Sir refused. Apparently he was against the idea to bifurcate the class in the first place and told the Principal about it. Now he would not go back on his opinion; and such was the respect commanded by him, that no Principal ever went against his wishes. Finally it was the students clamor and pleas that they would lose out on his teachings that made him relent; and we were back in the class of G C Sir.
Above all, he was a very humane and kind person. It was not uncommon for a student to be told to come to his house after school. There, in the verandah beside the manicured garden, the student was made to study under his supervision; coached for better performance; tutored to do well…….all free and non partisan for the one who could not afford. Often, they were more free than paying!
But G C Sir said that he always got his fees, when his students attained good marks.
These stories shall never end; these are what made him a legend in his own lifetime. But like I said, he was much more than just a teacher.
Photography was a passion. He got the SJA management to establish the photography club in School remained its President till the time of his retirement.
Books were his life and soul. He authored many and collected a few hundred. Once he became ill in 1993 and his movements were restricted, he donated his entire collection of books to School Library.
Prof Gupta was a religious educationist. Religion, he believed, provided the strong foundation one needed to do well in life and contribute to society. He shunned publicity, but quietly helped in building of temples and rest-rooms in temple area to provide living space to the devout. His kind heartedness knew no bounds.
Born in 1916 in Lucknow, Prof G C Gupta was the youngest of the two brothers and a sister. He remained bachelor, and is survived by his brother and niece Madhu Gupta, who single handedly nursed her uncle over the last 7 years that he was not well and virtually confined to bed.
He once said that all that he learnt was owing to the strong characters of his parents, his father Late B L Gupta was an eminent Botanist and one of the founding fathers of the prestigious Forest Research Institute, and his mother Late Bhagwati Devi who a pious housewife, and gave all the good values to him.
G C Sir himself studied at the AP Mission and did his High School from the DAV College in 1934. He was an alumni of Allahabad University and was a Gold Medalist in M.Sc. He started his career in the Central Customs Department at Gorakhpur but could not stay away for long from the only love of his life….education…….and joined the St. Joseph’s Academy in 1942. In spite of regular allurements of money and perks from the more prosperous schools, G C remained at SJA all his working life.
In more ways than one, it is the end of an era. God does not make such teachers any more. May his soul rest in Peace.
