1930. Salt satyagraha and the bold Ravenshavians Rama Devi and Malati Choudhury are seen picketing near the College gate and giving a call to students to join the salt satyagraha movement. Some students want to join the picketing and approach the Principal, Mr. T. C. Orgill for permission. Dr. P. K. Parija and Prof. Arta Ballav Mohanty are called in to take up the matter with the students. Dr. Parija takes a stern stand and asks the students if they wanted to study or leave college. A bold Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi said, “Sir, not only will we leave the College, but we shall also persuade our friends to do so.” The Principal intervenes and gives the students permission to hold their meeting inside the College compound.

(From “My Halcyon Days in Ravenshaw College by Shyam Sundar Misra – Member, Servants of India Society)

The only girl in the class gets a dog as a friend As the only girl among 150 boys in 1st Year Science in Ravenshaw College in 1930, B. Mishra found herself in a most bizarre situation. Some professors would bestow special attention on her in the Science laboratory. Dr. P. Parija, for example, would see her sample of crystals first, saying “Ladies first”. But some like a Professor of Mathematics wanted that her father be present when he cleared her doubts in the after-class hours. In the classroom, her seat was always near the teacher’s desk. This saved her from the boys’ pranks but caused her great deal of trouble of another kind in the English classes. “Mr W. V. Duke, the then Principal, was taking these classes. The Principal’s dog, a cocker spaniel, would follow his master to the class room and must sit near me. This dog with a jet black coat was beautiful to look at but he had a stink which I could not stand.”

(Mrs. B. Mishra, former Joint Secretary, Child Welfare, in “Our Lady Students Speak”)

1931-1935. When a hostel superintendent went without food to put an end to the hunger strike by students

Hostel students went on hunger strike against low quality food. Late Narayan Misra, who was hostel superintendent, gave up food at home. While the students fed themselves paratha, rice and curry at a nearby hotel, Misra continued to remain on fast. The students couldn’t bear to see their teacher thus and ended their strike.

(From “Ravenshaw re charibarsha” by Shraddhakar Supkar, a former Member of Parliament)

1936-1940. What the Professors of Ravenshaw did and what they stood for

Soon after Orissa became a separate province on 1 April 1936, Ravenshaw College celebrated its diamond jubilee. On the occasion, the Principal, H.R. Batheja said: “The Europeans have come and gone, and the Bengalees and the Biharis will soon depart, and the Oriya will come to his own.” A seemingly obvious remark to make but the subtle exhilaration in it makes it part of Ravenshaw lore.

“Can a modern student imagine that his principal will take his weight weekly in the College dispensary, provide milk for his better health from the College funds and supply nutritious diet in his own residence? Can any one conceive the idea that a Principal whose pattern of life was entirely European, will run every morning in the College field with a weak student in order to instil into his heart the love of physical exercise so that he may prosper in life? This is what Tripathi used to do in respect of my own self,” says Dr. Shreeram Chandra Dash, former professor and Head of the Department of Political Science, Utkal University. On the eve of the summer vacation in 1937, Prof. Tripathi, with the help of contributions from the teaching staff, organised a community dinner for the students. According to Dash, “It was a sight even for Gods to see, Parija distributing pan and cigarettes, which he never takes, to the students on the dinner table and Tripathi serving water with a burning cigarette in his mouth.”

Suresh Chandra Bardhan, Professor of Economics – meek, unobtrusive and unassuming, and, a trouble-shooter.

Rai Saheb Nirmal Chandra Banerjee, Professor of History – a distinguished homeopath and students’ doctor. “When any one fell sick, it was not for the patient to go to the doctor, it was Rai Saheb Banerjee who went to the residence of the boy.”

Ramanath Mohanty, Professor of Mathematics – an eminent vocalist and instrumentalist. “A visit to his bachelor’s quarters meant a very pleasant evening with cards, songs and tabla certainly interspersed with occasional meals and tiffin…No sum was too intricate for him for a solution.”

Bama Charan Das, Professor of Mathematics – enjoyed wide reputation as a pilot. “Many people came to the College to see this handsome young teacher who could fly in the air.”

Rai Bahadur Arta Ballav Mohanty, Professor of Oriya – had everyone’s genealogical tree at the tip of his tongue and no naughty boy could escape his watchful eye. Prof. Mohanty started the “Prachi Samiti” which published scholarly editions on ancient Oriya literature.

Rai Bahadur Bipin Bihari Roy, Professor of Philosophy – embodiment of charity, magnanimity, kindness and generosity.

Mohini Mohan Senapati, Professor of Philosophy – the absent minded-professor. “An independent thinker he had almost earned a notoriety and his advocacy for companionate marriage created a stir in the social and academic dovecotes.”

Lakshmikant Choudhury, Professor of Sanskrit – an elder brother to his students, he died young. “A visit to his residence was both pleasant and rewarding. Delicacies were sumptuously served, and, if you were needy, a tenner or a fiver was certainly yours…Prof Choudhury also founded the Utkal Sangeeta Vidyalay, which is the first music school at Cuttack.”

(All quotes from “Flashback” by Dr. Shreeram Chandra Dash, who joined the first year class of the College in July 1936. Dr. Dash was former Professor and H.O.D., Political Science, Utkal University) 1940s. The laws of physics in Narayan Misra’s classroom

What goes up must come down. To explain this to students the Professor would throw upward several things inside the classroom – a pen, a ball, a chalk, and many more things. A young Bidyadhar wished the ball flew out and never came back. In the age of Sputnik, Prof. Misra would have landed in deep trouble, as Bidhyadhar muses later. Similarly, to explain the law that ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’, the Professor would keep hurling the ball at the wall, the ceiling, the blackboard, the table, the desk, at this student and that and so on.

(From “Shri Gurucharane Pranam” by Dr. Bidyadhar Padhi, former H.O.D. Chemistry, Utkal University)