Mr VK Bansal
There are great men and there are greater men but very few have the privilege of leaving behind a legacy that is unequaled in the realm of education. VK Bansal made Kota the education hub it is today – the spirited harbour for all engineering and medical students.
Mr Bansal’s story from tutoring students in his living room five decades ago to the magic called Kota, is all known. While working for www.Pagalguy.com, I had the privilege of meeting with Mr Bansal twice – on both the occasions without an appointment and in the hot and dreary afternoon hours. His secretary Anup Kaur, who is an extension of Mr Bansal’s professional demeanour knew that ‘Sir’ was always delighted to meet people and engage in long-drawn conversations about various issues including mithai, workouts and of course Maths – his passion.
Whenever we met, Mr Bansal steered away from sympathetic overtures – he never like discussing his wheelchair or his numerous illnesses – he suffered from muscular dystrophy. Mr Bansal smiled every time he spoke and I always wanted to ask him why but I used to let it go because his smile had the innocence of a child.
To let out a secret, I tried to meet Mr Bansal every time I visited Kota because he sparked positive vibes and I always left Bansal Classes gate always smiling to myself.
I wrote quite a few articles on Banal Classes because every triumph in its Kota headquarters and other branches in the country always tailed back to Mr Bansal’s acumen. I even met Mr Bansal’s first student – notorious Punit Pandey. He too had nothing but heaps of praises for the his first mentor.
A visit to Kota will never be the same again. The Bansal Classes campus will now be devoid of its infectious laughter and most of all I will miss seeing Mr Bansal racing away on his wheelchair on the ramp and along the garden paths to his home – with a perpetual smile.