Page 107 - Demo

PVG Raju persuaded him to take a sabbatical and teach at the College until the Department could be strengthened. Another instance was his determination to start a Department of Russian at the Maharaja College. He had the foresight to see that India would be collaborating very strongly with the USSR in the areas of defence and heavy industry and there would be a shortage of Russian-knowing Indians. He took the initiative to recruit R.K. Dhote, a Russian language graduate from the fledgling department set up in the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, as a member of the faculty. The Russian course at the College proved to be an unqualified success and transformed the lives of scores of students who went on to find employment at the Vizag Steel Plant, HAL, the dockyards and other public sector institutions.PVG Raju's hands-on involvement reduced drastically after his unfortunate accident in 1964, but he continued to take an interest in the affairs of MANSAS. He had definite views on education and was very particular that the courses should represent a good eclectic mix and not be unidimensional. Over the years new institutions were added and by the time of his death in 1995 MANSAS was running ten institutions ranging from schools to post-graduate colleges. PVG Raju's vision that education was the only path to empowerment and transformation of people has borne fruit today. The validity of his long-term intergenerational view can be seen today in the impact these institutions have had on the lives of the people of the region. By some estimates, they have touched the lives of at least a third of the families who lived in the erstwhile Samasthanam.97