Udaipur, Rajasthan Association for Studies in English will organize a Prof. S.N.Joshi Memorial Lecture every year in the annual conferences to keep his memory alive . This was announced in a meeting organized to pay a tribute to Prof. S.N.Joshi at the department of English, M.V. S. College by Prof. H.S.Chandalia, Vice President of the Association.
Former Head, Department of English, Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur Prof. S.N.Joshi was a legendary figure in the world of English Literature. On June 20th, 2018 he passed away. He was suffering from diabetes and had developed some infection in his kidneys. He was undergoing treatment at Udaipur. He had to be taken for dialysis, twice a week. On 20th June, 2018 also as a routine he was taken to Pacific Hospital for dialysis. His reports were better and doctors were happy to see improvement. At about 2.00pm he came home and took some liquid energy drink. Then he lay down on his bed as usual. About 3.30pm his son in law Dr. Lalit Pandey went near him and seeing no movement , called his wife. They discovered that Prof. Joshi had breathed his last in sleep. Doctors were immediately called who rushed in but found that Prof. Joshi was no more. Prof. S.N.Joshi was cremated the same day.
Prof. S.N. Joshi was the motivation behind the formation of Rajasthan Association for Studies in English. He was the President of Rajasthan Association for Studies in English from the day of its formation to the day he breathed his last. The Association grew in his leadership from an initial membership of fourteen to nearly two hundred and fifty. He was the one who helped in framing the constitution of the Association. Fourteen conferences were successfully organized in his guidance and leadership. His novel ideas and scholarship were a guiding force for the Association. The topics of all the conferences were decided in his consultation.
Prof. S. N. Joshi was born on 9th November, 1934. His father was Shri Jamuna Dutt Joshi and mother was Smt. Parvati Joshi. He belonged to Uttarakhand but got his education in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. After earning his Master's in English Literature, he was selected as a lecturer in English and joined Government College, Chittorgarh in 1962. For two years he served there. In 1965 when Udaipur University came into existence, he joined the department of English, Udaipur University. This very University came to be known as Mohan Lal Sukhadia from where he retired in 1994.
A Walking -talking Encyclopedia
Prof. Joshi was not just a teacher of English, he was a great scholar of Sanskrit, Pali, Persian and could use French with equal ease. Prof. Mukta Sharma, Head of the department of English, Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University said that Prof. Joshi was referred to as a walking -talking encyclopedia by scholars every where. Mr. Amba Lal Damami, a well known art and music critic said that Prof. Joshi was a versatile genious . He knew in great depth the nuances of Music and art too. Mr. Damami chaired the meeting. Dr. Paritosh Chandra Dugar mentioned Prof. Joshi as a teacher Par excellence. He never spared any opportunity to learn anything new. He had a great thirst for knowledge. Dr. Anil Paliwal said that Prof. Joshi was not just a doyen of literature but was also a socio-linguist. He had great insight in issues related to semantics. Dashrath Singh Rao said that he was fortunate to have studied as one of thousands of the students of Prof. Joshi. Dr. Anant Dadhich paid his tribute by mentioning his association with Prof. Joshi during the conferences organized by RASE particularly one on travel writing. He stated that Prof. Joshi remembered the poems of Harivanshrai Bachchan and could recite them at length.
Prof. Sudha Chaudhary said that she met Prof. Joshi as a student of Philosophy when she was engaged in her Ph.D. research. He proved to be a great source ok philosophical knowledge and insight that the relationship grew day by day. She said that Prof. Joshi was a true human being and a devoted scholar. He had read RigVeda in original Sanskrit and Buddhist texts in original Pali.
He was a keen student of Marxism and had read writings of Karl Marx in details and was in constant touch with the latest developments in Marxist thought.
Comrade D.S.Paliwal mentioned the institution "Lokayat" which was founded by Prof. Joshi. He said that Prof. Joshi was also interested in the study of indigenous communities of the world, their literature and culture. Dr. Tarana Parveen said that the students of Prof. Joshi loved him. He was easily accessible to them. Talk of any topic under the sky and he would be able to provide detailed information without a moment's delay.
Dr. Manji Barupal said that he never talked of anything but academics. He was always positive and motivating the students to study. He led a very austere life and never cared for worldly splendor and fame. His home was a perfect abode of simplicity , scholarship and love.
Prof. H.S.Chandalia said that many of us may not be aware that Prof. Joshi was an active trade unionist. He was one of the very active members of teacher's movement. In addition he was the President of Trade Unions Coordination Committee of Udaipur for many years. Dr. Mehzabeen Sadriwala, Dr. Pankaj Vyas, Arjun Singh Rathore, Anurag Tripathi, F.L.Suthar, Prof. L.R.Patel, Dr. Farhat Banu and a number of scholars and activists participated in the meeting and paid rich tributes to Prof. S.N.Joshi. Dr. Lalit Pandey, former Registrar and son-in -law of Prof. S.N.Joshi was also present in The meeting.
Dr. K.S.Kang, Joint secretary of RASE convened the meeting and said that he had a long association with Prof. Joshi. When Prof. Joshi's brother used to study iin the Sainik School , Chittorgarh , Prof. Joshi used to visit him . There he had the opportunity to meet him and later the academic relationship also grew.
Towards his later years Prof. Joshi had started devoting his time to the study of oriental literature. He read the Buddhist texts in original for which he learnt Pali language. He was well versed in Sanskrit classical texts and could recite with ease from several of them. He developed his interest in philosophy so much that many professors of Philosophy would go to his house and discuss questions of philosophy with him. His house was like a " Rishi Ashram" where the Upnishad of academic discussion always flourished. This interest did not prevent him from using the latest technological and IT resources. He used his computer with equal ease and searched latest developments in the fields of his interest. A genius like Prof. Joshi who labored hard to acquire more and more knowledge each day is a rare gift of nature not so easily found.
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