Amit fulfilled the dreams of his Father

Dr.  Er. Amit Kumar Srivastava - Prof. Department of Civil Engineering, 
Associate Dean(Outreach & Extension Activity) Delhi Technological University, Delhi.

" As heard from my parents and elders, I was a very NOTORIOUS CHILD. As I was growing up my elders told me about many of my notorious habits and how I used to trouble them. My younger sister with her arrival in the family, took away all my naughtiness and transformed me into a responsible elder brother. I used to look after her and take care of all her needs. I reached the age which my parents thought is the best for me to start my educational journey. My name got enrolled in one of the schools in my hometown Purnia, Bihar. From there on, my school life started. I was very much interested in studying. During that time, the condition of the electricity was not that good in my city. And what I could recall from the tales told by my parents is that I use to put oil in lamps or earthly pots during the day time only, so that I do not get disturbed while studying at night. I use to work hard and study a lot but my result was not up to the mark. Later I understood 'LONG HOURS DON'T MEAN MUCH, RESULT COUNT'  and I changed my ways. We lived in a joint family and for that our house was small. My mother told me whenever I used to get disturbed in my studies, I used to crawl under the bed with my books and study there or I used to go to my terrace. The terrace was the safest place for me to study as no could reach there. Because the terrace had no stairs and I used to go there by jumping from the roof of one room or the other room. My schooling got completed.

My father was an engineer in P.W.D and so even I wanted to be an engineer. I joined an engineering college in Bangalore and Civil Engineering was the branch that I chose for myself.  In my first year of college, I studied a lot and with dedication, just like I did in school, but my result was not satisfactory. I wanted to know the reason that was holding me back from excelling.  So, one day I sat down and did my self-retrospection to find out the faults in me or the area of my weakness. I understood what was holding me back from performing. I was not able to write down the concept of what I have studied. I did not understand how to serve what I have studied, on my answer script to the faculty. I found this and started working on it. Slowly and gradually my performance started getting better and towards the end of the four years, I became the UNIVERSITY TOPPER. Living more than 1000 miles away from parents was indeed not easy. I could not go and visit them as frequently as students from nearby places could. But even 1000 miles could not stop my parents from loving me and supporting me. Every six months, my parents took a train from Purnia to come and meet me in Bangalore. It was a journey of 2-3 days by train. They used to come and meet all of my faculties to ask about my progress report. During that time, there was no such concept of personal cellphones and if we wanted to call anyone we had to go to the P.C.O. I used to wait there in queues for my turn to come and call my family. Now when I recall those days, things during that time were not that easy as they are today and I think that is what kept me going. If things had been easy, I wouldn't have worked as hard as I did. After four years, my college life too ended. From the people around me, I got to know about the GATE examination and I decided to study for the same. I qualified for my GATE exam in 1996 with A.I.R 162. I was of a temperament that I could not tolerate anything wrong and even today I inculcate the same. My father said I should join the teaching sector and for that, I should pursue my M.tech. I realized my father wanted to see me framing the future of the other students. I went to Allahabad and joined the college which is known as NIT Allahabad in the present days. Now my father's health started deteriorating and he fell ill. In 1998 I cleared Polytechnic exam and was selected as the lecturer in Civil engineering branch. My parents had shifted with me to Delhi. In 1999 I qualified for the exam of BPSC with A.I.R 49. People said my temperament will make my survival in this job difficult. I also realized my father wanted me to join the teaching sector and I diverted all my focus and attention towards my teaching job. I worked there as a lecturer till 2003. I appeard for the exam of Delhi College of Engineering. Till then, my father's condition had deteriorated very much and he became seriously ill. In February 2004, I got selected as a lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering in Delhi College of Engineering which currently provides education under the name of Delhi Technological University. When I told my father about this he became very happy and I could see the proud smile on his face. Soon after I joined my new job, my father died.

In 2000 and 2002 I qualified IES with A.I.R 33. A Ph.D. is required in the teaching sector. I now needed to do my Ph.D.,but as I was already in a job I had to cross many hurdles just to get the permission for pursuing it. I got the permission for pursuing my Ph.D. But being in a job already, I had many protocols to follow which I did follow. Till the time I joined the Ph.D. course, I was married and the father of one lovely daughter. My family never came in between me and my Ph.D. They were the source of inspiration that helped me throughout my Ph.D. In 2012 it became illegal for me to use Dr. before my name. From there on, looking back was no option for me. While doing my Ph.D I designed an instrument for which I was awarded the Verma Diamond Jubliee award for Innovative Instrument for the year 2010-2011. I have more than 50 research publications at national and international level Journals and Conferences. I received my first prize in the State Level Technical Paper Competition-1997.  I have got an appreciation letter from UNESCO for my contribution as a convener of the international workshop from 8-19 August 2010 on climate change and water resources in South Asia, jointly organized by UNESCO, Columbia University(USA) and DTU, Delhi. I have even participated and presented a paper in 20 national and international conferences.   Because of my job, I got an opportunity to travel to various places like California, Spain, and Italy to attend the conferences. In Italy, in 2019, I presented a paper and chaired the session in the International Conference ICGRE'19 in Italy, Rome. Along with my teaching, I am also a consultant for various projects like - Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Delhi Development Authority, and other government and private organizations.

I firmly believe in the concept that PARENTS WON'T CHOOSE ANYTHING WRONG FOR YOU. My father had seen the capability of being a teacher in me before I could see. Now, I am a lecturer, and every day I keep in mind that my action in someway or the other will affect my students and would come them handy in their life as well. Trust me, now when my students reach heights, it gives me so much happiness that I was able to contribute at least a bit in shaping them. I could not have asked for a more supportive and cooperative family than I have. I think nothing could help you become so happy other than making someone else's life happy and helping the person achieve their dreams. Thank you daddy for seeing the hidden teacher in me."

* The views expressed in the above article are of the writer and not Winged Club.