“Hard Work and Dedication put together equals Success”. The students of Grade 11 at MAHSS on 6th June 2020 were bestowed upon the opportunity and privilege of having the presence of a prominent, captivating,and an intriguing personality. A man who believes that the only limitation of humankind is our own thoughts and attitude. A man who has fallen in love with Aerospace Engineering, and a man determined to kindle the minds of thousands of aspiring, curious and brilliant students to strive to reach the best of their potential. Well, who else could this unique, and one of a kind personality be other than Professor Rajkumar S.Pant.
The virtual interactive session was inaugurated by the Director of Aryaan Study Circle himself, Mr. Vyankatesh Prabhudessai. He started with a small introduction of Professor Rajkumar S. Pant and briefly explained his teaching excavations all around the world. He then continued by saying that he himself had the privilege of being Prof R K Pant’s first B Tech student and has known him for over 25 years. Mr. Vyankatesh then concluded his warmhearted welcome by saying passionately that Professor Pant is definitely one of the top aircraft designers in the world, a man born with the ability to captivate everyone’s minds with his knowledge and skill set about Aerospace Engineering and its vast spheres. Professor Pant then with a delighted expression on his face started his presentation.
Professor Pant chose a very important and relevant topic for his virtual presentation. He wanted to give a deep insight into the uncertainty and anxiety during theCovid-19 pandemic. He started off by giving a very reassuring statement: Covid-19 is not as vicious and deadly as people make it seem through media. In fact, he continued, mankind has been through far worse and gruesome pandemics in the past few centuries, like the Bubonic Plague claiming around 200 million lives, Smallpox claiming 56 million lives and so on. The corona virus is in fact nothing much as compared to these deadly pandemics. The Professor then showed the students a graph depicting the growth of corona virus cases all around the world and then continued by saying , “Even though the number of Covid-19 cases are increasing at a drastic rate all over the world, there are also a lot of people who have recovered from the virus and conquered it.” Then, Prof. Pant continued by asking a rhetorical question, “So what are actually the worst possible outcomes of the covid-19 pandemic?”
In order to dig deeper into the topic of the worst possible outcomes during the covid-19 pandemic, the Professor focused on a few key aspects like Deaths, Lockdown, Global economy hit, Boredom, Job losses and people being stuck in bad and unimaginable positions. All this, he continued, leads to anxiety and depression among people. Then the Professor changed his tone of voice and told us that amid all of this anxiety and uncertainty, this pandemic should not bother us. First of all, we are not on a ventilator, we are not living on the roads, we have access to safe and nutritious food and electronic gadgets, we have access to power and internet, and we can physically isolate with ease. Therefore, this pandemic should barely have an effect mentally and psychologically on current higher studies pursuing students.
Professor Pant then taught students how to make themselves future proof. He told students that there were two ways of making themselves future proof. Firstly, he said, it is essential to equip and upskill yourself. This can be done by teaching yourself new tricks and skills. Secondly, students should learn how to enrich and upgrade themselves. This could be done by learning how to control and purify your mind. The Professor in his opinion preferred the latter and stated that the former could only be useful in a few spheres of life, but the latter would help and benefit us for the rest of our lives.
The Professor then took the students through a very interesting and captivating journey into how the human mind works and operates in different situations. He stated that human beings have two types of reactions. One reaction is called the‘blind reaction’ also known as the‘negative reaction.’ This path often leads to misery, jealousy, anger and fear. The second type of reaction is called the ‘Bare reaction.’ This is the proper type of reaction which usually leads to peace and harmony within our heart, soul and mind. The Professor then continued by saying that the true problem of not reacting in the most appropriate way, actually runs very deep. Most of the students, when they were small, were taught indirectly how to blindly react. Therefore, right now it is extremely essential to learn how to look inwards and live in the present, not worry about the future or lament things that may have happened in the past.
Prof. Pant then taught students the significance of breath through the practice of Anapana Sati. The Professor said that breath is a meter to measure the condition of the mind. He then gave a brief insight into the benefits of Anapana Sati. He said that practicing this breathing technique would help us deal with all of our fears and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic. It would also help us to relax our mind, improve our concentration and experience true happiness and peace. Prof. Pant then gave a small but rejuvenating activity where he made the students listen to an audio and meditate for a few minutes. It was truly one the most calming and refreshing meditations I have ever done.
In the end, the Professor had an interactive session where he answered the queries of all the students. Mr. Vyankatesh himself asked a few relevant questions to the Professor which gave the students a deeper understanding and perception about IIT. The experience of meeting Prof. Pant was truly one to remember and cherish for the rest of my life. There is one quote that genuinely summarizes my encounter with Professor Rajkumar Pant, “When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.”
Written By: Marushka Rita Fernandes (Class 11- MAHSS)