Page:Sharad Joshi - Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage.pdf/38

 students came from rural background and mostly spoke only Marathi. The official medium of instruction was English. To make his students feel at ease, Dr Bhanage used to speak in English interspersed with little Marathi here and there. Therefore Dr Bhanage became quite popular with the students. That was important because eventually the College had to establish itself in Kolhapur and for that this goodwill of the students was vital. For Joshi the matter was a little different. For him this job was only a temporary thing. He was staying at one Padma Guest House near college. The mess there was quite inexpensive. Monthly bill for meals was just Rs. 30 and, thanks to Dr Bhanage’s generosity, his monthly salary was Rs. 210. For just one person this was a fairly generous amount. In Sydenham College, Joshi was a poor student amongst other rich students, but here the tables had reversed; he was considered a rich person in poor surroundings! Joshi had an impressive personality. Six feet and one inch height, well-built body, intellectual glow on face and the overall smartness in behaviour which Sydenham College had imparted, made Joshi stand out. To add to this he had impeccable English, again the influence of his former college, and when he spoke he was particular about never using even one Marathi word. This was quite different from Dr Bhanage’s student-friendly style. Students would sit in rapt attention admiring Joshi’s English elocution and often the students belonging to other classes would also attend his lectures just to hear his English! Hardly anyone understood what he was teaching but such was Joshi’s personality that they dared not ask any questions. Joshi did realize this but did not bother much. He thought that just as he had improved his English and began to understand what his professors in Sydenham were teaching, even his students in Kolhapur would one day start understanding what he was teaching them. Moreover, he was keen to finish his lectures and Entering the Professional World

Q

35