Nagabhusan, Raju, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, Nityananda, Nihar, Fall of 1973

Ken Lombard, Nagabhusan, Nityananda Misra, Bijoy Misra, Prasanna Samantarai, Winter of of 1974

Almost a year ago Nagabhusan Senapati, Naga, as we called him, passed away in Columbus, Ohio, far away from his birth place, Bhabanipatna, Kalahandi, Odisha. He left a vacuum in our lives and in the lives of his small family. He is in heaven and perhaps musing over that how so many people still would like to have him around to solve complex problems of vibration dynamics, implications of ultrasound waves at different wavelengths and other far out physics theories which only he could appreciate and understand within our small circle of friends. In those days all of us were trying to finish graduate school work to get out to Corporate America to live our respective ‘American dreams’ while making a hurried exit from the poverty line!  

Nagabhusan attended Ravenshaw Collegiate Higher Secondary School. He was one year younger to me in school. We knew Naga’s ability in academics and his penchant for the pursuit of science. We respected his father, Shri Ramaswamy Senapati who was the then the District Inspector of Schools. Nagabhusan graduated in the year 1962 securing second position in the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha. Five years later he went on to secure first position in the Mechanical Engineering Department in the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Nagabhusan not only stood first in his Department but also secured the prestigious PGM (President’s Gold Medal) for scoring the highest marks than any other graduate in any department. This was in the year 1967.

Before we came to Boston area, Nihar and I were living in Burlington, Vermont as one and only graduate student couple. We moved out of Burlington on my appointment to join a small Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts.   The first two nights in Cambridge we were the guests of  Nagabhusan and Rajkumari. Every weekend, Raju prepared food for at least six people; Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, Nihar and I were always on hand for dinner on Saturdays. We were not concerned and never had asked Nagabhusan if he had any ‘hot’ research projects that he needs to prepare for during all these weekend days! We had picnics in area beaches, MIT Westgate apartment yard and in highway rest areas.

Dr. Gauri Das always had a gathering on New Year’s Day. He used to invite all of the Odias, living here, for lunch. He was a bachelor then and was meticulous in his food preparation. All of the fellow Odias living in this area would gather at his apartment and chat for hours. People gradually left the area

Nagabhusan and Rajkumari left Boston in 1977. Naga left to join Battelle Memorial Laboratory as a Research Scientist. Their first daughter (Sangeeta) was a few months old at that time. Most of us became busy raising families, attending graduate colleges, pursuing the proverbial ‘American dream’ and lost touch with each other for many, many years. The fond memories that Naga and Raju had left us with here in Cambridge Massachusetts were forever etched in our hearts. We met a few times over the years, sometimes in Columbus and other times at Rogersville, TN and yet another time, Naga alone visited us in Milford, MA over the course of last thirty years. But the first five years of our life in Massachusetts were the best ever!

One of the finest qualities of Naga (that we did not quite appreciate back then) was to explain pretty complex physical and chemical phenomena in such simplicity that even a lay person can understand. We remember this acutely. Couple of examples come to mind – one was the explanation he gave us on ultrasound application that it can disintegrate kidney stones! This was then a novelty in non-invasive procedure for curing such ailment. Another one, when we would sit inside the Kresge auditorium and Naga in a hushed voice would explain the acoustic detail of that auditorium. Even today when I visit the Kresge auditorium and other places of MIT, acting as a tour guide, to our many relatives who have visited us (in this area) coming from all over the world, we provide the theory of sound attenuation and reverberation as Nagabhusan taught us.

Nityananda and Nihar Misra, Hopkinton, MA, October, 2013.

Nityanananda Misra studied a year senior to Nagabhusan in Ravenshaw Collegiate School.  He and his wife Nihar met Nagabhusan and Rajkumari in Cambridge in 1972.  The two young couples had a joyful five years in their early married life.