Citation for Professor Gurumurthy Neelakantan

Professor Gurumurthy Neelakantan was born on 12 May 1960 at Therazendur in Tamilnadu. He was educated at Loyola College and Madras Christian College, Chennai. He earned PhD in English from IIT Kanpur in 1989. He returned to IIT Kanpur as an Assistant Professor in 1996 after having served a few years at the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Itanagar and Delhi College of Engineering. He was elevated to the post of Professor in 2003 and was awarded the Rahul and Namita Chair Professorship in 2012.

Firmly believing in the power of the classics to transform human lives, Professor Neelakantan probes a range of concerns, debates and issues in his teaching and writing. Given his broad interest in the arts and human sciences, his pedagogical approach situates literature in a larger matrix of discourses that variously meditate on culture and civilization. Besides literature, he also teaches courses on English language and professional communication. Ever fond of the Socratic Method, he begins by raising questions which then evolves into an interactive discussion leading to well-considered positions. Besides being accessible and humorous, he takes his students’ queries seriously. No wonder, many students assert that his courses have made a significant difference to their lives. His graduate students, well-trained under his nurturing and rigorous care, have gone on to become productive scholars.

Professor Neelakantan's research interests largely lie in American Literature. He has published extensively on the fiction of Saul Bellow and Philip Roth in major international journals. His research seeks to study how religion and sexuality inform the crisis-ridden contemporary era in a cross-cultural perspective. He serves as a consulting editor to Philip Roth Studies, and is also an elected member of the International Association of University Professors of English, Switzerland.

In his seventeen-year long career at IIT Kanpur, Professor Neelakantan has made significant contributions to teaching, research and service. He has occupied several leadership positions at the Institute including Head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Chairman of Senate Scholarship and Prizes Committee, Editor of Directions, and Wardenship, to name only a few.

It is with pride and pleasure that IIT Kanpur confers the Distinguished Teacher Award for the year 2013 on Professor Gurumurthy Neelakantan.

I visited the Department of English, Film and Drama at the Belfield Campus in University College Dublin, Ireland during 21 May- 20 June 2015 as an Erasmus Mundus scholar under the EMINTE scheme. As an independent researcher, I carried out extensive research in the American literature collections of the James Joyce Library at UCD. My research largely examined how Philip Roth’s fiction in general and his celebrated American Trilogy in particular engages with the idea of freedom, a foundational ideal of the nation, and thereby presents a panoramic vision of America’s triumphs and tragedies. Thanks to Eugene Roche, Assistant Librarian at the Special Collections of the UCD Library, I also had an opportunity to examine the original manuscripts of William Butler Yeats. My mentor Professor Nerys Williams invited me to present a seminar on Roth’s “Biographical Impulse and Fictional Representation in Roth’s Exit Ghost” to the students and faculty of UCD. The talk was well-received and there was a lively discussion on Roth’s fictional achievements and his place in the larger contemporary western literary landscape. More important, I had the rare honor of being invited to the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin for attending a poetry reading session in which major Irish poets including Michael Longley, Harry Clifton and Paula Meehan read out their poems. Visiting the James Joyce Museum on the 16 June, I experienced first-hand the excitement and jubilation that the Bloomsday Celebrations evoke around the world. Overall, I had a productive and memorable stay at Dublin and my gains were as much as cultural as intellectual.

Outside of James Joyce Museum

Poetry Reading Session

Acceptance Speech for the EMMI Award conferred by St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School, Manjakuppam, Cuddalore 21 June 2015

Gurumurthy Neelakantan

Rev. Fr. M Peter Rajendiram, Secretary St. Joseph’s College, Rev. Fr. Arulnathan, Principal, St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School, Rev. Fr. M. Peter, Dr. G Viswanathan, Founder & Chancellor of VIT University, Shri. Janardhanan, Chairman Alumni Association, Shri Ashok Kumar, my Fellow awardees, respected alumni, distinguished teachers both past and present, beloved students, and members of the St. Joseph’s Manjakuppam family:

I’m deeply honored and humbled by the recognition you have conferred upon me. My hearty thanks to my nominators as well as the Board of the School for considering my achievements and contributions to the society worthy of the EMMI Award. While I was fortunate enough to receive a few awards, this recognition from my Alma Mater holds a special place in my heart for bringing in a sense of reassurance that I have lived up to the ideals and values that this great Jesuit institution has imparted to generations of students. In the first place, I gratefully acknowledge Rev.Fr. M Peter, the then Principal, who by his personal example taught me that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well and one’s life becomes meaningful only when it is guided by love, compassion and selfless service. His inspiring and edifying messages delivered during the Prayer Assembly meetings in the mornings have become for me a well-spring of moral sustenance. We all know that this great institution has a rich legacy of caring and motivating teachers. I was lucky to have been guided by many such remarkable teachers who also happened to be fine gentlemen. Attending the classes of Mr. Roche, Mr. Susai Rathinam, Mr. Venkatappan, Mr. Louis, Mr. Mathews, Mr. Frederick, Mr. Pandurangan, Mr. Venkatesan and Mr. Tirunavukarasu, among others, I developed a love for teaching and realized that there is so much joy, excitement and even power in this activity that aids civilization. Interestingly, the foundation for my successful career as a teacher-scholar of English Literature was laid in the first few days of my English classes in the Eighth standard which was taught by Mr. Roche. His amazing understanding of English Grammar and Rhetoric and the clarity with which he could explain the lessons cast a spell on me and it was then and there that I decided to become an English teacher myself. Some of my beloved teachers who taught me with such love and care are no more with us. I take this opportunity to thank all my teachers from the bottom of my heart for touching my life and inspiring me to do my life’s work. More important, I owe more than I can express here to my late parents who through countless sacrifices and hardships ensured that I got the best education possible and helped me to follow my destiny in becoming a teacher. Wherever they are, I know they would be brimming with joy to see this award being conferred on me.

If this is a proud moment for me, my siblings and the many friends and well-wishers, I also realize that for me it should no less be a moment for silent introspection and for renewing my commitment to the ideals that have helped me grow intellectually and morally. And if at all I have to give a message to the students it would be to learn to work hard, to learn to dream and to learn to believe in one’s power to make that dream come true. And I’m grateful to St. Joseph’s Manjakuppam for nurturing my intellect and moral being and for enabling me to develop strong qualities of leadership. This award means a lot to me because it symbolizes my Alma Mater’s abiding sense of trust in and recognition of my services as an educator.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again!