Mr Speaker Sir: We’ll miss those words of Partha Chanda Sir, writes Dr Rajdeep Roy

May 19: It was in the year 1987, when after passing HSLC from Holy Cross School, that I took admission in Higher Secondary at GC College, Silchar. During that phase, in my first English class, a middle aged teacher entered the class room and started teaching English literature in a British accent. His pronunciation was so rhythmic, his speech was so clear, his accent was so refined and his way of explaining things was so magical that I was mesmerized attending his lecture. On reaching home, I told my father (BJP leader & former MLA Late Bimolangshu Roy) about the English class and wanted to know from the more details of that teacher. It was then that my father told me that the teacher was none other than Partha Sarathi Chanda, a bright, talented and brilliant scholar of this valley.

Well, it is said that ‘first impression is the last impression,’ and true to this saying, I became his die hard fan from that very day. These two years of my life in GC College (1987-89) revolved round Sir (Partha Chanda). The same feeling towards Sir was also shared by all our batch-mates. His unique style of teaching, presenting topics of literature wrapped in lucid language and his personality was sufficient for anyone to become his disciple. Today, when I recall those days, I really feel fortunate to go down the memory lane and relive those days in the company of Sir.

It was during this phase in the year 1989, when we started an organisation, called, ‘Jyoti’ to promote quiz and debate among the youths, my relationship with Sir became much more intense. North East Regional Inter College Invitational Quiz (NERICIQ) and North East Regional Inter College Invitational Debate (NERICID), the 2 flagship events of Jyoti were conducted with full vigour from 1989 to 2005. At that period of time, Partha Chanda Sir used to feature regularly in the guest section of the debate competition. I still remember those golden days when all of us used to listen to the debate of Prof. Partha Sarathi Chanda and Prof. Kamalendu Bhattacharjee. Their deliberations were a feast for our ears.

During those days, these two stalwarts in the debating circles used to draw a lot of crowd. Though both of them were ideologically positioned at two different poles, yet their style of debate had a charismatic influence on the youths. We grew up listening to them. I still remember in the late 80s and early 90s, people used to walk miles just to listen to these giants of debate. I always remained a fan of his style of debating. His debating style was characterized by facts intermixed with humour. He was also a thoroughly read person. In the course of the debates, he used to quote many great scholars, not necessarily akin to his political beliefs. That was perhaps his signature style which distinguished him from other contemporary debators. This aspect further made his arguments more interesting and convincing.

My late father Bimolangshu Roy was then involved in politics. Partha Chanda Sir during the late 90s and early part of the century became a very close aid of my father. As days passed by, I gradually started sharing a personal relation with him. My relation with Partha Chanda Sir was outside the purview of his relationship with my father. After the demise of my father, as and when I entered politics, I still remember getting good advice and counselling from him. There were days when we sat together in political platforms and participated in many deliberations on national, regional or local issues. it was indeed surprising to note that our opinions used to match and mingle.

When our relationship grew from the corridors of college life to political circles, I used to share jokes and both of us laughed to our hearts content. One thing, which I want to lay emphasise is his unique sense of humour and his witty rebuttal. He was one such person with whom, sitting on a political stage, I could share a laughter on a topic far away from politics.

When I started rising up the ladder in state politics and used to talk in public platforms, Partha Chanda Sir used to come up to me and say, “Rajdeep, I was very much impressed by your speech.” Apart from being a good speaker, Sir was also a good listener. He used to listen to my lectures with apt attention and later say, “Rajdeep, that particular point on which you spoke was too good.” He often used to say, “Giving public lectures is an art and you are slowly mastering that art.”

There also came a stage in my life, when I used to share debate platforms with Partha Chanda Sir. I still remember, in one such debate competition at GC College, Silchar when the stalwarts Prof Partha Sarathi Chanda and Prof Kamalendu Bhattacharjee were on the same side and myself along with Sushmita Dev were in the opposition bench. In another such occasion at Ramanuj Gupta College, Partha Chanda Sir was the leader of the opposition and I was the leader of the treasury bench. Prof. Kamalendu Bhattacharjee was the Speaker then. The moment he stood and said “Mr Speaker Sir…” we used to wonder what would be his googly today! Those were indeed golden moments, which I would cherish throughout my life.

What was striking about Sir was that he used to remember and call everybody by first name. This he did not only in the college days but even when he entered politics. That used to give a warmth of a personal touch which he shared almost with everybody. He was no doubt a meritorious person with a gift of the gab. Sir was also open to criticism which is indeed an extinct quality now-a-days. Today, when I got the news of his demise, at once, all these moments flashed upon my inward eye. I would definitely treasure those precious moments in my heart of hearts, which I lived in the company of Partha Chanda Sir.

In England, when a monarch died, it was customary to say, “The King is dead; Long live the King.” In the same tune, I would conclude the obituary by saying, “Partha Chanda Sir is dead; Long live Partha Chanda Sir!”