Pore was a dear friend, though a few years senior to me. His sister was a Physics teacher at Bombay University, and I, being the son of a Physics professor, felt a special bond with him. He was always close to me.
Originally from Thane, Pore moved to Pune for a job at Kirloskar Commins. After my fresher year in the first wing, he played a key role in helping me move to the first floor of the scenic last wing of H6, where we lived together for almost two years.
Things changed in 72-73 when smart Alec’s like Ramesh & Pant arrived in the hostel with a bunch smart guys. We would say a group of aggressive “fresher” boys have arrived and it became challenging for us seniors to handle them. One funny incident stands out: late one night, Pore bought a sandwich from the canteen, and one of the fresher boys asked for half of it. In a bid to ward him off, Vinayak decided to shove the entire sandwich into his mouth, keeping the overbearing kid at bay. We all enjoyed that clever tactic.
As you know Ramesh made it big in life and Pant also progressed rapidly so did my wing mates from that batch. That batch changed the face of IIT organizing bigger and bigger mood indigos.
I had some IITians in my Masters in Orlando. Both made it to CEO level. Technologists turned into great achievers.
Pore and my parents lived near each other in Karve Nagar, Pune. Whenever I visited from the USA, I’d meet him. By then, he had taken up a consulting assignment with Walchand Nagar Industries, where he had a chauffeur-driven car to take him to the factory. He was a genuinely sweet person, but tragically, he left us too soon.
Written by Ajay Tankhiwale
IIT Bombay 1974 Reunion 