There are people. There are institutions. And then there are people who are institutions. In August 2024, several people spread across the US and India lost such a person with the passing away of Prof. Arvind Kudchadker (whom I fondly referred to as Aajoji). Aajoji had a multigenerational impact on my family, first as my father’s professor at IIT-Bombay and subsequently as an integral mentor, guide for all of us for the next 45 years(!).
My father (Mahaveer Meghawat) first met Aajoji in 1978 and they quickly developed a great relationship. Aajoji cared deeply about his students and had an extensive network developed with years of hard work, goodwill and deep empathy.
I’d like to share an anecdote as to how he used that network to champion for his students in a society where power and access were/are a function of birth, not merit. My father’s first job offer after IIT-B at a large FMCG was rescinded a few days before he was set to join because someone “up there” decided that it had to go to a bureaucrat’s son instead. Aajoji wouldn’t have it and pulled out all the stops reaching out to everyone in his network to find an equivalent job opportunity instead. Aajoji was a Guru in the truest sense of the word.
It is one thing to have theoretical debates about merit, it is quite another to fight to make sure that merit gets recognized and finds its rightful place in society. Many people mistakenly attribute the global reputation of IITs solely on fierce competition and brutal selection percentiles among students. However, there are many such real battles that a rarefied class of educators like Aajoji have fought over the years to maintain high ethical standards in Indian educational institutions, ones that allow the rest of the world to benefit from them.
By the time I came to know Aajoji, he was retiring from IIT Bombay as Deputy Director. The retirement didn’t last long because when Mukesh Ambani decided to pick someone who could help realize his vision of creating a new technological institute in India, it was practically a no-brainer that it had to be Aajoji. Aajoji thus began an extremely productive 2nd innings going on to found not 1 but 2 top notch engineering institutes in India : DA-IICT and PDPU. This has already impacted the careers of countless young Indians and will continue to do so for a very very long time.
A popular quote goes “When I talk to managers, I get the feeling that they are important. When I talk to leaders, I get the feeling that I am important.” Aajoji was an exemplar of such a true leader. I remember how every conversation with him always left us all with an overwhelming feeling of being supported, loved and immensely hopeful for the future.
None of this would have been possible without Shanti Kudchadker, Aaji, Aajoji’s life partner who welcomed all of us into their lives with an open heart. I could write another essay on the terrific journey of Aaji, one that took her from being THE first female PhD graduate from Texas A&M University (yes, you can google that!) to playing a pivotal role in the Indian education scene. Aajoji/Aaji were a guiding light throughout my father’s entrepreneurial journey, being honorary chief guests at every Diwali celebration at the company HQ.
One would think that such towering achievements would affect the way a person expresses their seniority. Not the case with Aajoji. He was as approachable and empathetic as he was on the first day I met him as a little girl. One of the most memorable conversations I had with Aajoji was about MOOCs. One day I mentioned to him in passing that I was hooked to Andrew Ng’s MOOC on ML. His eyes lit up and what followed was 2 hours of animated discussion where he enquired in great detail about what it was that I found engaging, difficult etc. The passion he had for education was unparalleled. He genuinely shared my excitement for MOOCs and I felt one of the rare, few people who truly understood how revolutionary MOOCs were/are.
It is an occupational hazard of being a minority in STEM in silicon valley, that I must regularly put up with small minded men and fake leaders, people who shrink the world in a sense. But for all such people, a big reason why I keep on keepin’ on is because someone like Aajoji believed in me, mentored me and then truly championed for me to get access to opportunities he believed I deserved.
His legacy is more than that….it taught everyone who was ever connected to him what the bar can be for leadership and influence. And for that my family – Mahaveer, Saroj, Akshit and I – will be forever grateful to Prof. Arvind P Kudchadker, our beloved Aajoji. RIP.
P.S. If you have been connected to Aajoji, you could leave a tribute at https://www.forevermissed.com/arvind-kudchadker/about or https://www.che.iitb.ac.in/obituary-professor-arvind-p-kudchadker
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