Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, Puri, 27 April 2023
I am fortunate to have worked with both Sarat Kumar Kar and Rajat Kumar Kar in many ways. We lost Sarat Kumar Kar two and a half years ago and Rajat Kumar Kar a year ago to eternity.
In my NCERT days, I was transferred from Lucknow to Bhubaneswar in 1989 thanks to the intervention of the then Director, SCERT, Rajat Kumar Kar. It is difficult for me to forget his help and blessings.
It is very painful to bear his loss. My last award was received by my wife, in my absence, from Rajat Kumar Kar in 2021 at Puri. I feel it impulsive now to write about my association with him.
I knew Rajat Kumar Kar for many reasons. He was a friend of my uncle. I received my first prize in Essay Writing from him in 1976 during Bhanja Jayanti celebrations at Railway Colony, Cuttack. Later, I met him on many occasions at Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Puri. He used to do the running commentary of the Car Festival for many years. Those days radio was the only medium. Later, TV came up and he became an instantly successful TV commentator and artist. Rajat Kumar Kar was a techno-savvy person.
I have written separately on my long association with Sarat Kumar Kar, Minister and Speaker, Odisha Assembly. Both the brothers were great researchers of Indian culture.
I was in Odisha Education Service, School Branch, for some years. Rajat Kumar Kar was Joint Director, Education in those days. Later, I joined NCERT as a Media Researcher in 1987. I was posted at Lucknow. My daughter was born in 1985 and was very small. The then Joint Director, CIET (NCERT), Dr. Manmohan Choudhury, understood my plight and wrote a letter to Director, SCERT, Odisha for providing me working space in his office at SIET, Bhubaneswar. But no reply came for a few months. I reached SCERT office to pursue the matter. To my utter surprise, I found the name plate of Rajat Kimar Kar as Director there.
I was overjoyed. But, there was a fear that he may have forgotten me as many years had passed in between. I gathered courage and asked his PA. He took my slip.
After a few seconds, the call came and I entered inside his room and introduced myself. He asked me to sit.
“So, what is your problem?”, he asked me.
I narrated him my story. He asked his PA to check from the Section Officer (SO) if any such letter was received. After some time, the PA confirmed that the letter was received and it is with the SO. Immediately the SO was called.
I recognised the SO. He was a corrupt officer and once I had taken strong action against him while in Odisha Education Service at Bhubaneswar. He was then a clerk and, possibly, had been promoted as SO.
“Sir, Mr. Mahapatra doesn’t respect his seniors and never sticks to the rules of punctuality. We should not accept him here,” the SO said. His words were not in good taste.
“We have been offered free services of an Officer from NCERT and not to write his confidential report,” Rajat Kumar Kar observed with disgust and ordered the SO to put up the draft reply to NCERT immediately. He asked me to wait for an hour to collect the letter personally from the office and carry it to NCERT.
I was offered a cup of tea and asked to narrate if the SO was correct in his comments about me. I narrated the whole episode to him – how the SO wanted a bribe and how I had taken him to task for that. I got the letter in an hour and the rest is history!
Many years later, I was going to receive an award at the temple of Goddess Sarala in the honour of poet Sarala Das. Poet Ramakanta Rath was the Chief Guest and Rajat Kumar Kar was the Chief Speaker. I was by that time heading National Centre for Children’s Literature in NBT.
“You are the same young man”, he said with a smile.
“No, he has become a child now”, Ramakanta Rath said in jest and we all laughed…..
