Reminiscing: Dr RK Verma

My life as Karmayogi

About Myself and Academic Assignments

I retired as Chief Scientist (JS Level) from CSIR-NISCAIR- an autonomous body under the Ministry of Science & Technology, New Delhi, in 2011. I was HOD of Abstracting Journals Division at NISCAIR and former Editor of Indian Science Abstracts (ISA) also.  Currently I am editing a Journal entitled ‘International Journal of Library, Information, Networks and Knowledge (IJLINK), in the field of Library and Information Science. I am also actively engaged in various academic assignments which includes part time teaching, counseling, guiding researchers and students for their projects, and participating in international conferences. I am also associated with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as an expert providing advisory role in the field of Management Systems Documentation and work in various Committees for preparing Indian standards in this field. I have chaired various technical sessions during National as well as International conferences and also visited many countries for various academic assignments. Besides my above academic assignments, I feel proud in mentioning my dedicated services to the society in terms of preparing election I-cards as an active member of the ‘Multimedia Project for Election cards’ for which our office was designated as one of the centers to cover its all technical aspects during initial stages when Sh. T,. N  Seshan was the election commissioner. I remember I used to visit various locations in Delhi and worked day and night to prepare election I-cards for the citizens and helped them on individual basis. Among my hobbies I used to play Table Tennis and won awards at my Office Sports club tournaments. I also used to recite Hindi Poems during Hindi Divas every year during my tenure in office and won prizes.

Awards

I was conferred upon lifetime achievement award for distinguished services in the field of Information science by ICDT (International Conference on Digital Transformation) at National Law University, Patiala, during Sept, 2019. 

About Family and Relatives

I have a very cooperative, considerate, and understandable jeevan saathi- my wife who has stood with me in every ups and downs in life. She retired as school Principal and have been my strength in hard times. I have two daughters who are happily married and leading prosperous life. Many of our close relatives are doing Govt. service or in teaching line and I feel proud to mention here that one of my cousins is an IFS and currently an ambassador 

Some interesting experiences

I was born in a small town of Hansi (Dist. Hisar) in Haryana to a middle class family. From the very early days of my childhood at Kurukshetra I was exposed to theatre, music, and literature through my family. I remember when I performed the role of ‘Gopi’ in a small stage drama on the occasion of Janmashtmi at Kurukshrtra where I used to live with my grandfather who was a very religious man and established Hanuman temple at Kurukshetra residence. I used to accompany my father, who was an educator. My father took me to various religious programs and weekly Kirtans and used to play the harmonium and sing. I had initial informal learning of harmonium from him. I also used to play harmonium in ‘Ramlila’. I persevered at learning the harmonium, long after my brothers had abandoned it and developed a sense of Sur-Taal without any formal training. This hobby became my passion and I started participating in various functions at school and university levels while pursuing my B.Sc (Hons.) and M.Sc (Physics) studies. During my tenure in the New Delhi office, I used to organise and actively participate in various cultural programmes like the annual CSIR foundation day (26th September). I recall certain instances where I was attracted towards the world of music. One such instance relates to the visit of great bhajan Singer Hari Om Sharan at our residence in Kurukshetra during the sixties, where he was invited by my father. I was so fascinated with his bhajans particularly a very popular one ‘Daata ek Ram Bhikhari Sari Dunia—‘and melodious voice that I hummed his songs for a long time afterwards. I used to listen Binaca Geetmala regularly. I was also fond of Hindi movies having Mohmd. Rafi, Mahendra Kapoor, and Mukesh Songs but was not allowed to watch them frequently.  I remember one such instance where I felt lucky to visit my maternal uncle at Mumbai with my mother during my school summer vacations and enjoyed the movie ‘Bluff Master’, though my first movie which I watched was ‘Mugle Azam’  enjoyed in a raw Talkies in a fair at Kurukshetra probably in 1962. My visit to Mumbai was based on a lucky draw (which I won) since only one out of four brothers was permitted to travel with my mother. Besides my father’s inspiration, I also owe my gratitude to my elder brother, who is a passionate singer and introduced me to the use of karaoke. I must also mention about my nephew who is a good singer and has his own studio and also worked for Radio Mirchi for some time. 

A Setback in my Life

A few months before my retirement I faced a tragedy of losing my son during 2011, I was perturbed and was depressed for some time. But somehow I controlled myself and believed in Karma as a Karmayogi and set a good example as head for my family members.  I also handle all domestic chores and can cook food which I learnt in my childhood when I stayed with my grandfather during college. Now I realize how all the training and experience have come to my rescue when most needed. After my retirement I was out of touch with music for quite some time, though occasionally I used to sing in my friends’ company. 

Dignity of Labour and My Views on Life

 I have no hesitation in stating that I also used to distribute newspapers during my school and college life. It was being done as a help to my grandfather who was newspaper agent at Kurukshetra. I learnt cooking and value of hard work from my grandfather to whom people used to address as ‘Bhagatji’ due to his devotion to Lord Hanuman. At this juncture I must appreciate my Uncle who was also a teacher and a very disciplined and hard task master and from whom I learnt how to lead disciplined and systematic life. I also learnt from many ups and downs in life that most of the events evolve in life and one must be prepared to face the same with a positive attitude considering it as almighty God’s wish and either as a lesson for us or an opportunity to introspect oneself for better future.

What is music to me?

Music is magic for me which connects me to my inner self and I feel instant positive energy with its almost soul touching experience. It has multifarious benefits, it improves your lung capacity, imparts positive energy, keeps you in a happy mood and induces the same in family members and friends besides a lot of other far reaching physical and emotional benefits. Ultimately it charges your battery of life

Seniors Today As an Angel

I feel that it was a God sent message from my younger brother in Mumbai who sent a link to me in case I am interested to register for Seniors Have Talent program. So I just prepared a 3 minute video song clip and applied for registration. When I got the invitation to perform in Round 1 of Season 4, I was very happy. 

At the end of the day I feel that one must make up his mind to pursue at least one hobby at this age so that he or she can get never-ending positive vibrational energy to sustain happiness and inner satisfaction in life. To me, a peaceful life is the ultimate purpose. I will never forget the role of the Seniors Today Team which is working very hard in connecting people in useful exposition of hidden and suppressed emotions through this platform. I have also observed that the Seniors Today Team has a total transparency, highly professional, and dedicated efforts with missionary zeal and I pray to God for its exponential growth. I would like to end my story with a popular ‘sher’

‘MUDDATEIN HO GAYI CHUP REHTE, KOI SUNTA TO HAM BHI KUCHH KEHTE…’