Nishit Shah
B.Com 2007-10, Brindavan
As I prepare to pen down my thoughts after having lost my most revered teacher, countless memories flood my mind having spent valuable time in the company of Sri Ruchir Desai. I was his student as well as a fellow worker in the Sri Sathya Sai Co-operative General Stores in Brindavan. Ruchir sir was a teacher par excellence. He not only inspired me in my pursuit of academic excellence but also had a very deep influence on my character and personality.
We had a tuck shop named Jimmy’s Corner attached to the Co-operative Stores that serviced ice-creams, beverages and snacks. Student brothers used to volunteer there as well. In those days we had frequent power cuts in Bengaluru. One day, a fellow brother who worked with me in the Stores accidentally left the slider of the ice-cream box partially open. He then locked the Stores and returned to the hostel. The power cut that ensued melted the entire stock of ice creams and the subsequent restoration of the power ensured that the melted ice-cream became a big block of ice. This was discovered and reported to Ruchir sir. He understood what had happened. Surprisingly, he did not bother to probe into the details to identify the culprit. Instead, he just asked us to clean up the mess and placed an order for the new stock. The financial loss incurred from such an inadvertent error must have been huge, especially considering that the Stores wasn’t selling to make any profits. Ruchir sir chose to take on the loss instead of fixing the blame onto the students. The beauty is that while he graciously chose to overlook the lapse on our part, he still managed to teach us the valuable lesson of being diligent in our work.
The Co-operative Stores used to sell fruits and once it so happened that many bananas were lying unsold as they were nearly over-ripe. Given that there were quite a few of them, one of my classmates suggested that we make banana milk shake and sell it at Jimmy’s Corner. This would ensure that there was no loss due to spoiled fruits. Ruchir sir sternly reprimanded the boy for entertaining such thoughts and made it amply clear that cutting corners for such short term gains was unacceptable and it was imperative that we make the right choice however inconsequential our actions may be. His advice resonates with his character and also has inspired many students to resist such temptations, lest such compromises become habitual and cause long term harm.
In my 5th semester, I had chosen “Advanced Accountancy” as an elective and this subject was taught by Ruchir sir. Before the final exams, I had completed the revision of the entire course, including solving previous years test papers. On the day of the exam, I had few residual doubts for which I approached Ruchir sir. He was in the Stores that morning and he was surprised to see me seek clarity on minor yet fundamental aspects so late in the day. He quickly clarified my doubts, attributed my confusion to over-thinking and remarked, “Leave at least something to God.” He said that there is no substitute to hard-work and we should be ever willing to do what is required for us to succeed. However, instead of becoming over-accountable for our actions, we must learn to have faith in Bhagawan and surrender to him for the consequences of our actions. This was indeed a great learning for me personally and has even more relevance now. Very often we strive so much for perfection, and in its pursuit we forget the role of God, not realising that without divine grace, even a leaf cannot move. Brindavan will never be the same with the absence of Ruchir sir. For me personally, life will never be the same again.
