By: Md Mudassir Alam
(A former employee of TOI group, the writer hails from Kishanganj, and currently Public Relations Officer at Central University of South Bihar in Patna)
It was in the year 1996, when I met with Bhuvaneshwar Prasad aka ‘Bhuvan Babu’ as the professor of English in Marwari College, Kishanganj. My father Prof. Mohammad Maswood Alam, who himself was a Reader of English in Nehru College, a degree college in the district introduced me for the first time to the charismatic person Bhuvan Babu, who was a faculty in the college I had enrolled for Intermediate Science (I.Sc). During my two years study period at Marwari College I used to frequently meet Bhuvan Babu, and being the son of a colleague I got added attention from him that somehow provided me special feelings among the classmates.
 |
| Bhuvaneshwar Prasad |
In 1998, after completion of Intermediate I moved to Patna for taking Medical preparation coaching classes. One year later in 1999, I got enrolled in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Bachelors and also completed Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2005. Till the time I stayed in Kishanganj and after leaving the hometown I was totally unaware about the other aspect of Bhuvan Babu i.e of an accomplished Journalist.
It was in the year 2009, I got the chance to meet Bhuvan Babu as the correspondent of The Times of India (TOI) during a meeting related to establishment of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Centre at Kishanganj called by the local activists. And this meeting with Bhuvan Babu was special in many ways, as a budding journalist I started to explore other side of his persona and he answered all my queries with a gentle smile, share the nitty-gritties, and guided me as well for justifying the profession . We exchanged our mobile numbers, and used to talk regularly on issues and happenings related to Kishanganj and the region of Seemanchal. Be it education, society, politics, current affairs, Bhuvan Babu used to keep a vigil eye on all the happenings in and around Kishanganj district. In fact, literally he had covered news from the entire Seemanchal region for TOI and became a brand ambasador for the newspaper as well in the region. What pleased me most was the way of his writing, which undoubtedly would have caught anyone’s attention who really understands the mastery of Journalistic writing.
An ardent education lover and caring person for his region, Bhuvan Babu used the platform of TOI for raising the hurdles put in before the establishment of AMU Kishanganj Centre. Even, I had asked him how he dares to bring the facts related to intentional delay made for the establishment of AMU Centre, by politicising the issue and also the communal colour given by some outfits? With a gentle smile, Bhuvan Babu replied Mudassir you are very young so such questions can come to your mind. However, I understand the importance of establishment of AMU Centre at Kishanganj, and its multi-faceted advantages. Establishment of the centre of a Central University is not meant for a particular community, in fact, it is going to help out the masses in long run. Along with disseminating quality education, the AMU Centre at Kishanganj would generate employment opportunities as well, so I don’t hesitate to write the truth. The reports related to AMU Kishanganj Centre covered by Bhuvan Babu really did wonder as the issue got wide publicity, and did come before the Bihar government, and concerned ministries in the Centre including Ministry of HRD. The impact of Bhuvan Babu’s reporting was clearly visible as the process of establishment of AMU Centre speed up. Thanks to Bhuvan Babu and TOI, AMU Kishanganj Centre became functional with B.Ed course in 2012.
Bhuvan Babu and my association got a common identity in March 2012, when I joined the Times Internet Limited (TIL) of Times of India Group in NOIDA as Manager of its Times City division. I shared the news of joining TOI group with Bhuvan Babu over phone and he congratulated me with high excitement and blessed for future. With a motive to serve the native state of Bihar, I left Times Group in January 2014 and joined the Central University of South Bihar (formerly Central University of Bihar) in Patna as Public Relations Officer. Bhuvan Babu was surprised with my decision, but he appreciated my intention and blessed again for justifying my new assignment. We were in touch over phone and also personally met while in Kishanganj, but the news of sad demise of Bhuvan Babu on 9th April put me in shock since I have never expected it in the near time. Bhuvan Babu’s death was personally a big loss for me as I had lost my mentor and a father-figure, but it was much bigger loss for the region of Seemanchal. With the demise of Bhuvan Babu, the north-eastern region of Bihar has lost a good person, a pioneer in English journalism associated with India’s leading newspaper, , a journalist in true meaning, and overall a preacher who was speaking for the cause of people and highlighting the issues without any discrimination. Bhuvan Babu has left for his heavenly abode, but with his demise Seemanchal has lost a voice. A Big void has been created among the journalistic fraternity in Seemanchal, as I knew the Bhuvan Babu very closely, I feel hardly anyone fill the void in the recent time.
