‘Led simple life despite being Goa CM’: IIT-B remembers Manohar Parrikar

A day after his death, Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), held a condolence meet for one of their illustrious alumni on Monday.

Former staff and students got together to share their memories of meeting and interacting with Parrikar. Everyone called his death a “loss of a dear friend”.

“He always led a very simple life even on campus and retained the simplicity even after taking over the post of the chief minister of Goa. He never walked in for any IIT-B function with security and always sat and interacted with everyone around, introducing himself just by his first name,” said SP Sukhatme, former student and director of IIT-B.

Sukhatme shared his experience of working with Parrikar in the late 2000s when he was invited by Parrikar to participate in a scholarship program for students of Goa. “It was his brainchild and he wanted to give financial support to students interested in higher education, a program which has given an apt platform to hundreds of students since. No other state in the country provides such scholarships to students till date,” he added.

“Parrikar remained a true friend of the institute throughout his life and never turned down an invitation to visit his alma mater,” said AK Suresh, acting director of the institute.

Among others who spoke at the condolence meet was Girish Garg, a final-year chemical engineering student, who had interacted with Parrikar in 2017 when he was at the campus to inaugurate the 21st edition of their annual fest — Techfest.

“During and after the inauguration, he interacted with many students by visiting research stalls on campus. Not only did he show a keen interest in many projects, but he also shared his knowledge and ideas to enhance their projects and make them socially applicable,” said Garg.