Paduthal Venden , Mattru Padigamum Puneya Venden
Nadi Un Kovilellam Thiruthalam Chella Venden
Thedi un Adiyarkellam Sevai Nan Cheiyya Venden
Adidum Thillainatha Nin Padam Paninthe Pinne!
- Dr. R.S. Ayyar
“Oh Lord Nataraja, I don’t wish to sing or write poems in your praise, I don’t wish to go on pilgrimages to visit your temples serve your devotees – once I surrender myself at your dancing feet!â€
Dr. R. S. Ayyar, retired Dean, IIT Bombay, passed away on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 in San Jose, CA. He was 87 years old. He is survived by his wife, Parvathy, daughters Ranjani and Jayashree, his sons-in-law, Anil Saigal and Ganapathy Kumar, and his three grandchildren, Amrita, Arun and Meena.
Dr. Ayyar was the founding member of IIT Bombay. He joined the department of Civil Engineering in 1958. He held several administrative positions at IIT Bombay, including Dean of Academic Programs and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering. A beloved professor, an exceptional teacher, he was the favorite of so many students in the civil engineering department.
A “Celebration of the Life of R.S Ayyar†was held on February 13, 2019 in California. Born in a small village near Kanyakumari, India, Dr. Ayyar’s life was filled with a lot of struggles as a child. “He was not very athletic, was born into a very poor family and had poor eye-sight. A lesser man would have used any of these as issues as a reason to give up. The great man that he was, he never let any of the challenges keep him from exceling and excel he did in every sphere of life that he touched,†said Ganapathy Kumar.
A multi-dimensional personality he was not only a leading academician, he was also very well versed in the Indian Scriptures. He was a great poet, painter and a Tamil Scholar. Most importantly he was a loving son, husband, father and grandfather who made every person who came into his life feel most special.
All those who came into his ambit will sorry miss him. May his soul Rest in Peace.
Note from the students of IIT Bombay:
"It is indeed a sad occasion to mark the passing of Professor R.S. Ayyar, a stalwart in the field of Structural Engineering and a remarkable human being.
We were the 1978 batch of Civil Engineering students from IIT Bombay and fortunate to have known Professor R.S. Ayyar. We were introduced to him in the Structural Analysis course in the latter half of our 4th year. He seemed like a larger than life personality: a majestic voice, brimming with confidence, rendering seemingly intractable problems trivially easy with a few lucid insights. We were in awe of his indefatigable energy, boundless enthusiasm and love of subject. We took two more Structural Analysis courses with him in our 5th and final year at IIT and he continued to impress us with his knowledge, incisive mind and gentle wisdom. He was like a virtuoso violinist, delivering every lecture to perfection, flawlessly hitting all the right notes in perfect symphony, illustrating the greater principles while pointing out the subtle nuances. He graded our papers promptly (in one case returning them 2 hours after the test -- a record!) and his grading was meticulous, transparent and unquestionably fair. He used to rattle off our names when taking attendance, often without even looking at the list without missing a beat, and he would gently poke fun at one of our classmates (a mountaineering enthusiast who rarely attended class) when he did show up.
Professor Ayyar towers in our memories as one of the most gifted and respected professors from whom we had the gift of learning. Many of us regarded him as the single best professor we ever had, or our favorite faculty member -- or both! Over time he became far more than a teacher to us. He was our guide, our mentor, an inspiring coach, and ultimately our friend, motivating us to achieve the most we could, to strive for great heights, and to excel, no matter which path we chose. And he did it all with grace and humor that we can only hope to emulate. Some of us grew close to his family; and he touched the lives of so many within our batch alone. One can only imagine the impact he had on so many students, peers, and others during his illustrious life.
Dear Professor Ayyar, we can never forget your outstanding contributions to the profession, to society and to our lives. As we pray for your soul and for your family, we feel sure you must now be in the happier regions above. Sir, you will live in our hearts forever."
Regards,
Rajiv (on behalf or 1978 Civil Engineering B. Tech batch, IIT Bombay)
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