Nagabhusan was like my younger brother.  In 1962, he completed the higher secondary exam and joined the 5 year B.Tech. program in Mechanical Engineering in Kharagpur IIT.  At that time, I was also in Kharagpur IIT doing my M.Tech. in Metallurgical Engineering, but I did not have a chance to know him there.

 

In December 1969 when I was in MIT, there were seven Oriyas in Boston area and we formed New England Utkal Samaj.  I was elected President of this organization.  One of our objectives was to help bright Oriya students desirous of coming to America for higher education.  This was published in the Samaja and I got a letter from Nagabhusan informing me that he had been accepted to the graduate program in Mechanical Engineering at MIT.  I wrote to him giving him some advice and he came to USA in February 1970.  When he arrived, I met him at Boston airport.  As I had to go to a meeting that evening, I took Nagabhusan to Dr. Prasanta Patnaik who was a visiting faculty at Harvard University and lived in an apartment near Harvard Square with his wife Geeta.  Nagabhusan had dinner in Prasanta Babu’s house.  Later that evening, we came back to my apartment.  Next morning we went to MIT together and Nagabhusan got his admission in his department and accommodation in Ashdown House.  At that time Manmohan Subudhi was also a graduate student in the same department and was staying in Ashdown House.  Nagabhusan and Manmohan became close friends.  I used to invite them for dinner quite often and we spent a lot of time together.  In the summer of 1970  Nagabhusan and Manmohan became roommates in Ashdown House.  I remember when they bought a refrigerator we had fun time to bring it from the seller’s house to their room.  Then they started cooking regularly and invited me for dinner some times.

 

We were all very fond of swimming in the ocean and most summer weekends we were going together to the beach.  At that time in Rhode Island, Dr. Jogeswar Rath was doing his fellowship in a hospital and Chandrasekhar Mohanty and Dhiraj Pradhan were graduate students.  As the water of the Atlantic Ocean was warmer in Rhode Island compared to Massachusetts, we loved to go to Jogesh Babu’s apartment in Rhode Island and then go together to the beaches there.  After dinner we used to play bridge in Jogesh Babu’s apartment.  Nagabhusan did not like to play bridge, but he would sit there watching us and talking to us.  I admired his calmness and patience.

 

On October 17, 1970, at a convention of Oriyas in Hartford, Connecticut, the Orissa Society of Americas was formed and Nagabhusan was elected the first Treasurer of this organization.  We also started publishing a quarterly newsletter called the Orissa Society News.  I shall never forget the immense help of Nagabhusan and Manmohan in putting together the newsletter and mailing it to the members of OSA.

 

On October 30, 1971 the coastal areas of Orissa were devastated by a killer cyclone and tidal waves.  At that time Nagabhusan’s father was the principal of Jagatsingpur College.  Nagabhusan was very worried about his family.  I suggested that he should try to telephone them to find out if they were OK.  Nagabhusan did not have telephone in his room and we decided he should use the telephone in my apartment.  In those days to make a call to India, you had to book the call with the international operator.  The international operator would contact the party in India through the Indian operator to arrange the call.  We booked the call at 9 PM at night.  Nagabhusan tried to sleep on the sofa in the living room, but he was so much worried that he could hardly sleep.  At 4 AM in the morning, the international operator made the connection and called us back.  Nagabhusan talked to his family and was relieved to learn that they were doing fine.

 

Nagabhusan completed M.S. in mechanical engineering in January 1971 and continued with the Ph.D. program at MIT.  In February 1972, he went to India and got married to Rajkumari.  On February 21 when he returned to Boston with Rajkumari, I was at the airport to receive them.  We had dinner at my apartment and then I took them to their apartment.

 

I got married to Chinmayee in January 1975 and she joined me in August 1975.  All the Oriyas of Boston area got together in our apartment and many of them brought small gifts as a token of their love and affection.  Nagabhusan and Rajkumari gave us a set of two small corning containers.  We still use those containers almost everyday and remember them.

 

In late 1970’s we moved to San Jose, California and Nagabhusan and his family moved to Columbus, Ohio.  In the first week of November 2012, I called Nagabhusn and invited his family to the wedding ceremony of our older daughter Snigdha on December 8.  Nagabhusan was very excited and enthusiastic and he told me that if his health permits, he would love to attend the wedding.  He could not join and but 2 weeks after that God took him away from us.

 

Nagabhusan was a very special person.  He was quiet by nature, but he was very caring.  He had a subtle sense of humor.  It was very refreshing to talk to him and ask his advice.  I admired his down-to-earth nature.  He was the first Oriya to be awarded the President’s Gold Medal in IIT, but he never boasted about it.  His passing away has left a void in my heart and I miss him immensely.

 

Gauri C Das, San Jose, CA.

 

Dr Gauri C das attended IIT, Kharagpur and completd his Master's degree in Metallurgical Engineering there.  After doing his PhD at Imerial College, London, he came to MIT as a Post-doctoral Fellow.  He received Nagabhusan at Boston and hosted him on arrival.