Dr Shankar Tatwawadi: An Intellectual Lighthouse
It was precisely 11.20 pm on 30 March 2024 in Thane. After a daylong session of Vijnana Bharati’s Vividh Aayam meeting and post-dinner, I retired to my room to have a glimpse of the day’s newspaper.
Suddenly my mobile phone beeped.
“Namaste Debobrat ji…Shankar Tatwawadi bol raha hoon. Kya hum mil sakte hain? Kuch charcha karni thi.” (Shankar Tatwaadi speaking. Can we meet? Want a discussion)
This was the first time ever that Tatwawadiji called me in person. Otherwise, we had met during a few events and had informal chat in general. It was quite an unexpected call at this hour, that too from a nonagenarian, with whom I had never interacted on phone.
As we both were staying on the same floor, without losing time I rushed to his room, wondering what he would like to discuss.
I knocked and stepped into the room. Shankar rao was sitting on his bed with a few papers scattered around, two-three books and a copy of Science India magazine.
Politely asking me to sit, he started telling me about how India’s first department of Pharmacy came into existence at Banaras Hindu University, and shared his deep insight and experiences related to the department.
Actually, during the lunch session that day, we had exchanged notes related to pharmaceutical education in India. It was just an informal chat like it usually happens during lunch and dinner sessions in any seminar or conference.
He had noted my mobile number and said he would revert. To me it was just a formal gesture and it didn’t strike me that he would take it seriously
So, I was really surprised to see his enthusiasm and sense of responsibility, as he had told me that he would revert.
The news of the sudden demise of Dr Shankar Tatwawadiji on 13 March 2025 brought back the memories of the above incident as a flashback.
Born in 1933, Shankar rao obtained Masters in Chemistry from Nagpur and went to BHU for doctoral studies. Later, he went to the University of Texas and the University of Kansas in mid-1960s.
He joined BHU as a professor in the Department of Pharmacy, where he later became the HoD. He took early retirement in 1992 and devoted himself fully to the Sangh’s work.
Dr Tatwawadi played a pivotal role in expanding Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) activities in the USA and worked as a Vistarak there for some time. In 1989, he was officially assigned as Pracharak for the UK, where he worked until 2011. He took charge as Vishwa Vibhag Samyojak in 1993, travelling across more than 60 countries, overseeing major programmes of the Sangh. Under his leadership, shakha activities outside Bharat expanded significantly.
Passionate about science, Sanskrit and spirituality, Dr Tatwawadi associated himself with Vijnana Bharati as a Margadarshak after 2011. His guidance and mentorship immensely benefitted Vijnana Bharati.
A deeply affectionate and approachable person, Dr Tatwawadi maintained close ties with countless karyakartas and their families worldwide. May his soul find peace in its eternal journey.
— Debobrat Ghose
